Chatard coach Vince Lorenzano has participated in 10 state championship games as a player and assistant or head coach. That includes time as a player at Cathedral and as a coach at Ritter and with the Trojans.

But this season's Chatard team, which won the school's ninth state title with a 31-7 victory over South Bend St. Joseph's in Saturday's Class 3A championship game, stood out in one way above all the others.

"It just never felt like there was a time where there was any kind of letdown as far as effort," he said. "That's really something I've never seen, from all the teams I've coached.

"There was a core group that was constant all the time. They played hurt, they played in all kinds of weather. Nothing fazed them."

In the end, they were rewarded for it. After a slow start by Chatard standards, the Trojans won their last nine games of the season.

"Coming out on the top is the best feeling ever," said senior cornerback Steve Valdisseri.

Two of Chatard's losses -- to Cathedral (21-7) and Cincinnati St. Xavier (30-0) -- were expected.

But there was a 28-22 loss to Arlington, in a game that started on one day and finished the next because of bad weather, that seemed to show this wouldn't be a terribly dominating bunch.

But the Trojans rolled through the state tournament, outscoring the opposition 174-54. Only one of the six games was closer than 10 points.

"These guys are in a class by themselves," Lorenzano said.

Many of them will now leave.

Chatard started seniors at 16 of the 22 offensive and defensive spots Saturday, so Lorenzano and his staff will have holes to fill next season.

But few schools are able to reload as quickly as Chatard.

It also looks to have a standout running back for the next two years in Aristotle Pappas.

"At this point, I'm not real worried about it," Lorenzano said of finding replacements. "I'll start dealing with that after Christmas. I'm focused on enjoying this with this group."

Lorenzano does have his administrator's license and said he would like to pursue that at some point in his teaching career.

But for now, he's looking forward to returning to the Chatard sideline next season.

"I'm in a long line of coaches here," he said. "It's a tradition-based, family based, faith-based program. I'm just trying to keep it going.''