![CMC players celebrate skipper Jack McMahon's goal who is making a strong return from injury. Picture by Enzo Tomasiello CMC players celebrate skipper Jack McMahon's goal who is making a strong return from injury. Picture by Enzo Tomasiello](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/210363923/a170b00f-feb4-4128-aff1-35fd41d12b00.jpg/r0_0_4589_3059_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Catherine McAuley College will enter the School Sports Victoria Premier Football finals with plenty of confidence and an undefeated record.
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CMC will host a semi-final in a fortnight's time after concluding the pool stage with an 81-point win over old rivals Bendigo Senior Secondary College at the QEO on Wednesday afternoon.
The win means they finish atop their group, which included BSSC, SEDA College, and St Joseph's College Echuca, with a 3-0 record.
The 14.12 (96) to 2.3 (15) triumph was a domination from the beginning.
While BSSC tried hard, the talent gulf was evident early as CMC raced to a 28-point quarter-time lead.
Tall forward Daniel Noden was excellent all afternoon, and he got the ball rolling with the opening two majors.
Led by a midfield with high-class Bendigo Pioneers-listed talent, including Jack McMahon, Charlie King, and Gus Hay, CMC gained clearance and stoppage ascendancy from the get-go.
![Catherine McAuley College's Daniel Noden. Picture by Enzo Tomasiello Catherine McAuley College's Daniel Noden. Picture by Enzo Tomasiello](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/210363923/98d74fb7-69d9-4443-ba57-59d255a64f85.jpg/r0_0_3696_4249_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
They were particularly strong from their forward stoppages, and good work on the inside from Oscar Cail and Joe Artavilla led to Declan Stevenson profiting for the third goal.
BSSC slightly evened up the contest early in the second stanza but failed to register anything on the scoreboard.
The best moment of the afternoon came early in this quarter when CMC skipper Jack McMahon - who was playing his first school footy game of the season and only second match all up this year due to a shoulder injury - slotted truly from a set shot only to have his mates mob him in celebration.
BSSC's back-half turnovers proved costly, and they struggled to gain territory as the ball lived at CMC's end.
![CMC's Patrick Blake takes a screamer on the outer QEO wing. Picture by Enzo Tomasiello CMC's Patrick Blake takes a screamer on the outer QEO wing. Picture by Enzo Tomasiello](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/210363923/c5c032d1-43ea-4471-a1ba-419ca66159bd.jpg/r0_0_2494_3741_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Highlights throughout the term included a brilliant spin and hit up to Noden by one of CMC's best, Logan Kilcullen, and a massive high-flying mark from Patrick Blake.
CMC took an unassailable 47-point lead into the main break.
But BSSC didn't give in and would have pegged the margin back if it wasn't for key defender Deakin Andrews' intercepting capabilities.
BSSC finally hit the scoreboard through Bendigo Pioneer and Eaglehawk senior player Jack O'Shannessy, who found room where there was none and snapped through the big sticks.
An odd moment came when a Noden set shot drifted across the face for what everyone thought was a behind, except the goal umpire and eventual marker Gus Hay, who snapped a goal while everyone else stopped.
A nice intercept mark and pass from Hugh Behrens afforded Kilcullen a shot on the three-quarter-time siren, and he goaled to put the final nail in the coffin with a ten-goal break opening up by the final change.
McMahon got some reward for a top-notch second half with another goal in the last term, while Hay concluded a fantastic personal day with CMC's final major of the afternoon.
O'Shannessy dribbled through a second late on, and his side could have had one or two more but for CMC defender Harvey White's strong last five minutes.
BSSC ends their school footy campaign with a 0-3 record.