Notre Dame coach Charles Fant is always hoping that his Fighting Irish football team can get off to a fast start.
He never thought it would be as quick as what he saw Thursday night at Jim Eberle Field.
With a District 7-AA championship on the line on an evening when they honored all of the fall senior athletes, a football game turned into a track meet and eventually a victory party as the hosts put a 68-13 whipping on visiting Grundy County.
Notre Dame needed just 88 seconds to get on the scoreboard as quarterback Alex Darras hooked up with Patrick Martin on a six-yard pass play. Rhys Robertson booted the first of eight point-after kicks in the first half and the Fighting Irish were off and running.
Auston Banks zipped 70 yards on the first play following a Grundy punt while Banks scored again on his next carry as the 23-yard run made it 21-0 just past the midway point of the first quarter.
All in all, Notre Dame scored its first four touchdowns in just a dozen plays. And Mr. Everything -- Kareem Orr -- hadn't even touched the ball.
Banks didn't play after that first quarter, but after gaining 194 yards on just five carries, he really didn't need to. His final attempt was a 63-yard TD following another Yellow Jacket punt.
Orr did finally get into the act when he snagged a 35-yard pass from Darras with 1:05 left in the first quarter that extended Notre Dame's lead to 35-0.
An interception return of some 35 yards for another touchdown by Jared Andrews with 3.9 seconds left extended the lead to 42-0 when the first quarter finally ended.
Grundy County finally got on the board midway through the second quarter when quarterback Houston Mainord hooked up with Christian Brown for a 36-yard scoring pass to make it 51-7, but Notre Dame turned right around and scored on the kickoff when Banks lateraled to Orr and the Louisville commitment raced 72 yards untouched to make it 58-7.
Robertson's 22-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the second period made it 61-7 at the break.
Both teams added a single touchdown in the second half as the mercy rule was in effect and the clock ran continuously the final 24 minutes.
Sophomore Calvin Sims, making the most of his opportunity for playing time in a reserve role, had runs of 25 and 31 yards before scoring from the 14 with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Then Grundy's Alex Nunley scored his team's final TD on a 15-yard sweep early in the fourth.
Notre Dame improves to 9-1 overall with its ninth straight win while clinching the 7-AA title at 5-0. Grundy County falls to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in 7-AA.
"I think we're the district champions for the second time in school history, but I believe we really have something special here," coach Fant told his team when the game finally ended.
"I'm excited, but I never dreamed we'd score that many points. These guys were on a mission as we're trying to rewrite the history of this program, but we had an outstanding week of practice and we came out and executed our game plan tonight.
"Our offensive line opened some huge holes and our defense played pretty well too, but to finish the regular season with nine straight wins is amazing," Fant added.
Banks could only stand and cheer from the sidelines after his explosive first quarter, but he wasn't complaining.
"We had fun out there as the offensive line was opening some huge holes for me to run through. I just wanted to get what I could, but we finally won a district championship," he smiled.
Darras was all smiles as well when this one ended.
"I can't think of a better way to celebrate Senior night," the talented junior suggested.
"I'm just glad that we got the victory. We just try to get after people and it was good news that we got off to such a fast start," he added.
Notre Dame ended the game with 407 total yards, including 301 on the ground.
Banks was the leader with 194 on five trips while Sims finished with 70 yards on four attempts. Patrick Johnson only got one carry, but it was good for 34 yards on an inside reverse.
Anthony Flemister and Gage Miller both had two catches for 25 and 22 yards respectively, while Orr had the one grab for the 35-yard TD.
Grundy County finished with 163 total yards, including 158 through the air.
Mainord completed 15 pass for those 158 yards with Trey Hampton catching two for 43 yards. Brown's only reception was for the 36-yard TD while Trent Hampton had one grab for 28 yards and Nunley another for 22 yards.
Notre Dame's defense also got into the act as Nunley was slammed to the turf in the end zone for a 13-yard loss and a safety by Joe Dossett early in the second quarter.
Ricky Ballard had an interception in the first quarter that set up Notre Dame's third touchdown while Andrews took his pick some 35 yards near the end of the first quarter as the lead swelled to 42-0.
GRUNDY COUNTY 0 7 0 6 -- 13
NOTRE DAME 42 19 7 0 -- 68
ND -- Patrick Martin 6 pass from Alex Darras (Rhys Robertson kick), 10:32 left in first;
ND -- Auston Banks 70 run (Robertson kick), 9:11 left in first;
ND -- Banks 23 run (Robertson kick), 6:10 left in first;
ND -- Banks 63 run (Robertson kick), 4:25 left in first;
ND -- Kareem Orr 35 pass from Darras (Robertson kick), 1:05 left in first;
ND -- Jared Andrews 35 interception return (Robertson kick), 0:03.9 left in first;
ND -- safety when Alex Nunley tackled in end zone by Joe Dossett, 11:45 left in second;
ND -- Kealey Green 3 run (Robertson kick), 10:47 left in second;
GC -- Christian Brown 36 pass from Houston Mainord (Kevin Stewart kick), 5:52 left in second;
ND -- Orr 72 kickoff return (Robertson kick), 5:33 left in second;
ND -- Robertson 22 field goal, 0:17.6 left in second;
ND -- Calvin Sims 14 run (Robertson kick), 4:13 left in third;
GC -- Alex Nunley 13 run (kick failed), 10:25 left in fourth.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)