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Central Catholic Raiders Football '17

Sat, Sep 23, 2017 02:00 PM @ Central Catholic
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Methuen 10 13 7 0 30
Central Catholic 6 13 8 20 47

Central stalls, then sprints past Methuen

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Saturday, September, 23 By David Willis
Staff writer

LAWRENCE — Heading into the fourth quarter, the upset seemed to be within Methuen’s grasp.

When Saul Cespedes sprinted into the end zone with 3:26 to go in the third, he gave his Rangers a two-score advantage, as Methuen drew closer to its first win over Central Catholic since 2010.

Then, however, the Raiders woke up.

“Coach A (Chuck Adamopoulos) didn’t know what to say,” said senior QB Bret Edwards. “Our defense wasn’t performing and our offense wasn’t clicking. So he challenged us to come back and get the win, and we did it.”
Ty Donatio broke a 54-yard touchdown to cut into the deficit, Edwards gave Central the lead with a 62-yard score two plays into the fourth and it was all Raiders from there, taking a 47-30 victory over the upset-minded Rangers.
“We definitely underestimated them,” said senior co-captain Donatio. “We didn’t come out playing good football. We were missing tackles and making mistakes. We had to wake up, and we finally did. It was a big win.”
The win would have been the first for Methuen (1-2) over Central (3-0) since the Cal Carrol-led Rangers scored a 22-24 victory seven years ago. The teams did not play from 2013-15 when Methuen was in the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 2.
“It’s great to come out with the win,” said running back Max Faro, “We came out flat, but great teams need to be able to overcome hardship, and we showed that. Once we started playing our game late, everything changed.”
Methuen’s offense came out flying against Central, the No. 2-ranked team in Massachusetts, scoring on five of its first six possessions.
In the first half alone, Ranger QB Jordan Perdomo connected with Seth Pare on a 20-yard score, kicked a 27-yard field goal and broke a 70-yard touchdown run.
Cespedes then closed out the first half with a 14-yard score, and added as 4-yard TD late in the third to give Methuen a 30-19 lead.
“We thought this game was going to be too easy,” said Donatio. “The senior leaders had to step up, guys like me and Kalvin (Guillermo). We needed to make plays.”
Step up Donatio did. With just over two minutes left in the third, the running back shifted the momentum by breaking a 54-yard score.
Then, after forcing Methuen to punt to start the fourth, Central took the lead when Edwards rolled out, took off and ran 62 yards for a touchdown.
“It was a read play where I read the defensive end,” said Edwards. “I kept it, picked up a nice block and I was gone. From there we were very confident than we had the win.”
One play into the following Methuen possession, Central junior Joe Howshan intercepted a pass and ran it 44 yards for a score. Donatio then added the finishing touches with a 67-yard TD.
“That Howshan pick was a huge momentum shift,” said Donatio. “Then on my last score the hole just opened like the Red Sea and it was all green turf from there. That put it out of reach.”
Donatio ended the game with 158 yards on eight carries (19.8 yards per rush), all but 3 yards coming in the second half. Edwards added 107 yards rushing and 185 yards passing. On the defensive side, Ryan Burns, Cameron Chase, Guillermo and Cameron Boes each had a sack.  
Perdomo led Methuen with 106 rushing yards and 165 yards passing. David Kelly caught six passes for 60 yards and completed a 60-yard pass to Peter Kwakye on a reverse pass.
“This was a big game for us,” said Faro, who caught a touchdown. “Methuen is a huge rivalry, and it was also big for the MVC Division 1 race. We didn’t win the title last year, so we are really gunning for it this season.”

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

M — Seth Pare 20 pass from Jordan Perdomo (Perdomo kick), 7:38

CC — Max Faro 14 pass from Bret Edwards (kick failed), 6:16

M — Perdomo 27 field goal, 2:11

Second Quarter

CC — Faro 4 run (Zach DeBay kick), 5:58

M — Perdomo 70 run (Justin Sheehan kick), 3:57

CC — Anthony Farelli 44 pass from Edwards (rush failed), 3:57

M — Saul Cespedes 14 run (pass failed), 1:45

Third Quarter

M — Cespedes 4 run (Sheehan kick), 3:26

CC — Ty Donatio 54 run (Faro run), 2:39

Fourth Quarter

CC — Edwards 62 run (DeBay kick), 10:15

CC — Joe Howshan 44 interception return (DeBay kick), 9:32

CC — Donatio 67 run (kick failed), 5:57

 


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Central Catholic (27-324) — Ty Donatio 8-158, Bret Edwards 9-107, Max Faro 5-16, Joe Howshan 3-44, Anthony Caggianelli 1-3, Mathias Villafane 1-(-4); Methuen (37-233) — Jordan Perdomo 16-106, Peter Kwakye 11-75, Saul Cespedes 9-49, Xavier Ortiz 1-3

PASSING: Central Catholic — Edwards 9-18-1, 185; Methuen — Perdomo 13-25-1, 165, David Kelly 1-1-0, 60

RECEIVING: Central Catholic — Anthony Farelli 4-106, Villafane 1-38, Jake Delaney 3-27, Faro 1-14; Methuen — Kwakye 4-95, Kelly 6-60, Seth Pare 1-20, Wesley Correa 2-44, Ortiz 1-6

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