RallyNorth.net

Sat, Oct 29, 2016 01:30 PM @ Central Catholic

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Methuen	7	7	0	8	22
Central Catholic	7	13	20	0	40

Central starts slow finishes fast in romp over Methuen

Monday, October, 31 By David Willis

BURLINGTON — For two quarters, upset-minded Methuen used toughness and a few trick plays to stay step for step with Central Catholic, by halftime trailing their defending North champion rivals by just six points.

After the break, however, the Raiders found their groove, and quickly silenced any upset talk.

“The first half was slow and we knew we had to pick it up,” said Raider lineman Carlos Cabrera. “We knew they were a good, tough team. We knew we had to make a few adjustments, and after that we took the win.”

No. 1 seed Central Catholic opened the second half with 27 unanswered points on the way to downing the No. 8 Rangers 40-22 in the Division 1 North first round on Saturday afternoon.

The game was played at Burlington High School due to the damage to the Lawrence Veterans Memorial Stadium turf.

“We needed to pick it up in the second half and we did,” said defensive back David Onyemem. “We weren’t settled in the first half, but once we got into the flow we did what we needed to do. It’s a great first step to getting back to the Super Bowl.”

With the victory, the Raiders advance to the Division 1 North semifinals to face the winner of Haverhill and Everett. That places them just two victories away from their second straight trip to the Division 1 state title game, and third trip in the last four seasons.

“We did what we needed to do to get a good win,” said senior receiver T.J. Vaughan. “We knew they were good, but we realized we were playing too slow. We did our job and got the job done when we needed to.”

Central scored on three of its four first-half possessions, but Methuen was able to keep pace early.

Peter Kwakye tied the game for the Rangers with a TD in the first, then Methuen used a halfback pass to score its second touchdown, as Quinn Donovan threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Ortiz.

The Raiders retook the lead right before halftime — on a Ty Donatio 1-yard run — but the Rangers trailed just 20-14 at the half.

“We had to pay better attention to detail and stop the trick plays,” said Onyemem. “In the second half everyone started to roll.”

QB Bret Edwards opened the second half with a 36-yard touchdown run, then after a 37-yard score by Max Faro, Edwards gave the Raiders firm control when he sprinted for a 58-yard score.

Edwards then finished the scoring in the fourth when he connected on a 24-yard touchdown to Greg Desrosiers, his first career varsity catch.

It was a big day for Edwards, who threw for 246 yards and collected for all of his 91 rushing yards in the second half.

Mathias Villafane was his favorite target, catching touchdown passes of 56 and 48 yards. Running back Faro needed just six carries to collect 105 yards.

Cabrera was his dominant self on the defensive line with a sack and six tackles and Vaughan and Matt Horgan each had an interception.

The Raiders now face a massive test in the second round. The date and site are TBA.

“I think it will be an amazing experience,” said Onyemem. “It will be another test to prove how good we are, and I am excited to play.”

Central Catholic 40, Methuen 22

Methuen (3-5): 7  7  0 8 — 22

Central Catholic (6-1): 7 13 20 0 — 40

Division 1 North First Round

at Burlington

First Quarter

CC — Mathias Villafane 56 pass from Bret Edwards (Zach DeBay kick), 5:08

M — Peter Kwakye 3 run (Seth Pare kick), 2:05

Second Quarter

CC — Villafane 48 pass from Edwards (DeBay kick), 10:52

M — Xavier Ortiz 20 pass from Quinn Donovan (Pare kick), 8:54

CC — Ty Donatio 1 run (kick failed), 4:50

Third Quarter

CC — Edwards 36 run (DeBay kick), 8:39

CC — Max Faro 37 run (kick failed), 6:33

CC — Edwards 58 run (DeBay kick), 3:17

Fourth Quarter

CC — Greg Desrosiers 24 pass from Edwards (DeBay kick), 9:00

M — Matt Martino 21 run (Danny O’Connell rush), 0:06

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: CC — Max Faro 6-105, Ty Donatio 6-24, Joe Howshan 5-20, Bret Edwards 6-91, Cam Boes 2-8, John Kenney 2-5, Shawn Wheeler 1-2, A.J. Caggianelli 1-6, Aidan Gordon 1-(-6); M — Peter Kwakye 10-49, Jordan Perdomo 7-8, David Kelly 2-17, Matt Martino 3-46, Danny O’Connell 1-6

PASSING: CC — Edwards 15-18-0, 246; M — Perdomo 12-30-2, 170, Kelly 1-1-0, 0, Quinn Donovan 1-1-0, 20, O’Connell 0-2-0

RECEIVING: CC — Mathias Villafane 4-114, David Onyemem 3-19, Jow Howshan 1-17, Zach Chase 2-19, T.J. Vaughan 2-33, Michael LeFebre 1-7, Max Faro 1-13, Greg Desrosiers 1-24; M — David Kelly 7-85, Xavier Ortiz 3-27, Sawyer Bilich 2-74, Kwakye 1-4, Perdomo 1-0