RallyNorth.net

See highlights and interviews from Central Catholic's dramatic win on Thanksgiving Day over Andover.

LAWRENCE — Still holding the football after making the play of his life — in a game that will live forever in Central Catholic football lore — it took a moment for Matt McDermott to truly realize what had just occurred.

LAWRENCE — Don’t be fooled by those 42 points Central Catholic put on the scoreboard last night. Good as the offense played, led by quarterback Matt McDermott (11 carries, 196 yards, 2 TDs), it was the defense that stood out in a 42-14 whipping of Billerica. Yes, Billerica was missing star quarterback Nick LaSpada, but the Raiders (5-5) were so aggressive on defense that even LaSpada might not have made too much of a difference. Right from the get-go, the Raider defense was in synch. It stopped the Indians on three downs to start the game, leading to a John Bilsky blocked punt that gave the Raiders the ball on the Billerica 3-yard line and a quick 7-0 lead courtesy of a 3-yard McDermott run. Another three and out for Billerica, led to a 70-yard drive capped by a 20-yard scoring run by senior Devon Lattrell, making it 14-0. One play from scrimmage later, Dan Kfoury made it 21-0 with a 20-yard interception return. “I was excited to get that,” said Kfoury. “The last few weeks I’ve had some opportunities, but haven’t been able to get any (interceptions). We were ready for anything and the defense played well for three quarters. I think we’ll carry it over.” Billerica (7-3) did rally for 14 points to make it, 21-14 at halftime, but the Raider defense dominated in the second half. In those last two quarters, Billerica managed just 20 yards of total offense and gave up another defensive TD when Brad Marggraff returned another interception for a touchdown, this time from 92 yards. That interception was made possible by a shoestring tackle by Lattrell on Matt Clifford following a 75-yard kickoff return. From his outside linebacking spot, Lattrell was a pest all evening and the interior line of Ryan Barry, Ben Tavitian and Patrick Hammond were huge in both stopping the run and pressureing sophomore fill-in quarterback Jordan Bolarinho. In addition to his interception, Kfoury chipped in with two tackles for loss. “I thought our defense really came through in the second half after we fumbled twice (early in the third quarter),” said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “The strength of our defense has been our line and it played well again. We needed this and hopefully we can carry it over to Thanksgiving (against Andover). “I was disappointed we didn’t play against  LaSpada — he’s one of my favorite players. We weren’t sure what to expect without him.”

METHUEN — Embracing their 21-0 lead, Central Catholic took its own sweet time returning from the halftime intermission. An angry bunch of Methuen Rangers took exception to it and let the Raiders know it.

CHELMSFORD —Chelmsford, ranked seventh in Eastern Massachusetts, forced four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions turned into touchdown returns, in a 33-17 win over Central Catholic.

LAWRENCE — Denied his 100th win for three straight weeks, Chuck Adamopoulos “was starting to feel a little bit like (Red Sox righty) Tim Wakefield."

BOSTON — Central Catholic's football transition on the fly continues, with similarly painful results.

The question is will all these freshmen and sophomores seeing significant time on both sides of the ball mature quickly enough for the heart of the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 race.

BOSTON — Central Catholic's football transition on the fly continues, with similarly painful results.

The question is will all these freshmen and sophomores seeing significant time on both sides of the ball mature quickly enough for the heart of the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 race.

TEWKSBURY — Last Saturday's matinee head-scratcher here at Doucette Field looks a bit more fathomable here yesterday.

For the second straight week, Tewksbury High had an Merrimack Valley Division 1 power in full back-pedal as the Redmen rolled Central Catholic,21-6.

LAWRENCE — In another year against another team, Chuck Adamopoulos might have knocked over a water cooler en route to the winning team bus.

His Central Catholic team, which improved to 2-1 with a 22-14 win over Dracut last night, made enough mistakes to lose. Particularly when it came to putting the game away, which didn't finally happen until after the last minute onside kick bounced twice before going out of bounds.