Notre Dame commit recap: Defensive recruits advance to championships

The playoffs haven’t been kind to many of Notre Dame’s commits, but four Irish pledges remain in the running for a state championship this week. ND Insider recaps how each commit advanced and how five others fell short in their state title run last week.

LB David Adams and DT Kurt Hinish | Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic 63, Wilson 21: Adams, Hinish and the Central Catholic defense helped the Vikings maintain control in a lopsided victory. Adams led the defense with nine tackles and two sacks. Hinish added five tackles and one sack. Central Catholic (14-1) will face St. Joseph’s Prep (13-0) on Saturday in the PIAA Class 6A state championship.

LB Drew White | Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas 46, Venice 8: White and the St. Thomas Aquinas defense held an opponent to less than 10 points for the ninth time this season. White led the defense with nine tackles. St. Thomas Aquinas (11-2) will take on Tampa Plant (13-0) on Friday in the FHSAA Class 7A state championship.

LB Bo Bauer | Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep 28, Berks Catholic 14: Bauer and the Cathedral Prep defense struggled to slow down the Berks Catholic offense, but they managed to hold strong when it came to the red zone. The Ramblers allowed 390 total yards but only ceded 14 points. Cathedral Prep (13-0) will play against Imhotep Charter (13-0) on Thursday in the PIAA Class 4A state championship.

QB Avery Davis | Cedar Hill (Texas) High 41, DeSoto 55: Davis did it all for Cedar Hill — almost quite literally — but it wasn’t enough to beat nationally ranked DeSoto. Davis accounted for 572 of the 574 yards produced by Cedar Hill’s offense. He completed 26 of his 39 passes (67 percent) for 463 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Davis also rushed 24 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. His senior season came to a close with a Cedar Hill (11-3) loss in the UIL Conference 6A Division 2 quarterfinals.

CB Elijah Hicks | La Mirada (Calif.) High 24, Edison 44: Hicks and the La Mirada defense fell behind early by allowing 28 points in the first half. The offense couldn’t recover from a 28-10 halftime deficit. Hicks caught seven passes for 64 yards in the comeback effort. His senior season came to an end with a La Mirada (11-3) loss in the CIF South Section Division 3 championship.

WR Michael Young | Destrehan (La.) High 14, Landry-Walker 50:Young and Destrehan were dominated in the first and final loss of the season in the LHSAA Class 5A semifinals. The Wildcats (12-1) led 14-12 in the second quarter but were shutout for the remainder of the game. Young was limited to only one catch for 15 yards. Destrehan quarterback JR Blood completed only four passes in the game.

DE Justin Ademilola and DT Jayson Ademilola | Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep 28, Paramus Catholic 33: The Ademilola twins and the St. Peter’s Prep defense couldn’t slow down Paramus Catholic’s rushing attack. Three Paramus Catholic players combined for 383 rushing yards. Jayson Ademilola forced a fumble in the third quarter to help keep St. Peter’s Prep (8-4) close in the NJSIAA Non-Public, Group 4 state championship.

Season finished: CB Paulson Adebo, WR Jordan Pouncey, DT Darnell Ewell, DE Jonathon MacCollister, RB CJ Holmes, OL Dillan Gibbons, OL Robert Hainsey, TE Brock Wright, OL Josh Lugg, RB Markese Stepp, TE Cole Kmet, LB Ovie Oghoufo, S Isaiah Robertson, QB Phil Jurkovec.

*Stats reported were provided by players, coaches or the following news organizations: MaxPreps, Dallas Morning News, The Times-Picayune, NJ Advance Media and Reading Eagle.

tjames@ndinsider.com | 574-235-6214 | Twitter: @TJamesNDI