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Central mauls Andover en route to MVC title

Friday, October, 20 By By Bill Burt
Staff writer

ANDOVER — The Central Catholic came to Andover High's Lovely Field with an undefeated record and high hopes as the temperatures get lower this fall.

Nothing changed after the Red Raiders, now 7-0, left here obliterating Andover, 49-13, en route to at least a tie of the 2017 Merrimack Valley Conference title.

A win over Lawrence High on Thanksgiving Day clinches the title outright.

"That's always our first goal," said Central captain and top offensive and defensive lineman, Kalvin Guillermo. "We have goals at the beginning and that's where it starts. We had a pretty good year last year, but we didn't win the league title. We wanted it bad."

Central mowed through the Andover defense for much of the game, both running and passing, particularly through the first three quarters.

After the teams traded touchdowns (Central's Bret Edwards 5-yard pass to Mathias Villafane followed by a 27-yard pass from Andover's Nick Dellatto to Cedric Gillette) to open the game, Central took over.

Just three plays later Maximillion Faro romped 59 yards for a 14-6 lead. Then, after an Andover punt, Gregory Desrosiers returned it 79 yards to put Central ahead, 21-6.

Edwards, who might be the most gifted quarterback in the state, was given lots of free time in the pocket last night and made it 28-6 with a 17-yard bullet to Villafane.

"We take pride in protecting Bret," said Guillermo. "We love run blocking and we love pass protecting. The thing with pass protection you need to have good communication and we are always talking. We know if we give Bret time, he will complete the pass."

In fact, Edwards best pass of the game came in the third quarter when he gunned a ball 33 yards to — who else? — Villafane, who reached high in the air before falling in the end zone for a 35-6 lead.

The 6-foot-3 Edwards, bound for the University of New Hampshire on a footbal scholarship, completed 9 of 13 passes for 123 yards and three TDs.

Central added two more rushing TDs — Ty Donatio (5 yards) and Joseph Howshan (2) — to finish the scoring.

Andover's best drive of the night came in the final minutes, with junior Tommy Duncan rushing for 64 yards, including an 11-yard TD run in the last minute.

Andover senior wide receiver Cedric Gillette fought off double and sometimes triple coverage for good chunks of the game, hauling in four passes for 127 yards.

"This means a lot, a league title," said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos. "Andover has a few really good athletes. We played tough and I'm very happy with the way we played. We were very physical tonight."

The irony is that when the playoff pairings are announced on Sunday night, Andover might end up playing Central again.