Indianapolis Cathedral kicks off the 2023 Indiana high school football season at six o’clock tonight in the Horseshoe Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium. This year’s Fighting Irish schedule may be one of the most difficult in recent memory with three defending state champions on the nine-week slate. In addition to Indiana champs Center Grove (6A) and Bishop Chatard (3A), the Irish will face Kentucky reigning titlest Lexington Frederick Douglass (5A) for the first time in school history. Other notable additions to the schedule are first-time regular season opponent Indianapolis North Central and Indianapolis Roncalli, which the Cathedral last played in the regular season in 2010. Hammond Morton and Brebeuf Jesuit, both of which the Irish defeated in games that ended with a running clock in 2022, are not on this season’s schedule. Fighting Irish opponents for the upcoming campaign produced a 78-35 record (.690) last season, which is much better than the 59-36 (.621) combined mark of Cathedral’s regular season opponents a year ago. 2023 Cathedral Football Schedule (2022 Record in Parentheses) August 18 Lafayette Jeff (at Lucas Oil Stadium) (9-3) 6:00 pm August 25 at Brownsburg (10-2) 7:00 pm September 1 Penn (at Arlington) (7-3) 7:30 pm September 8 Bishop Chatard (at Arlington) (11-4) 7:00 pm September 15 at Indianapolis North Central (0-10) 7:00 pm September 22 at Frederick Douglass (Lexington, Kentucky) (15-0) 6:30 pm September 29 at La Salle (Cincinnati, Ohio) (2-9) 7:30 pm October 6 at Indianapolis Roncalli (12-2) 7:00 pm October 13 Center Grove (at Arlington) (12-2) 7:00 pm