Central's Edwards dominates Lowell in homecoming
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Friday, October, 13
By Kyle Gaudette
LOWELL — Bret Edwards remembers watching from the stands as his older brother, Kyle, played quarterback for Lowell High.
Years later, the younger Edwards has returned to hometown Cawley Stadium twice, and has left with a victory both times — just with the one caveat of being the quarterback for visiting Central Catholic.
During his latest trip home on Friday night, Edwards threw for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 8 of 12 passing as Central, the second ranked team in Eastern Mass., throttled Lowell, 49-7.
For Edwards, it’s always special playing against the kids he grew up with, even though he’s on the opposite sideline. Plus, it makes for some fun conversation with his brother.
“He’ll talk all that smack before the game. But win or lose it’s still fun to play here,” said a smiling Edwards.
“It’s always good coming back here. I mean, it’s my hometown and I get to play against all my friends. I grew up with a lot of those guys, going to school with them and to the gym with them. Win or lose it’s always a good experience.”
The UNH recruit was efficient and the defense dominated for 6-0 Central Catholic.
Lowell, now 4-2, had averaged a whopping 41.4 points per game heading into Friday. Star senior back Anthony Doung, the Red Raiders’ top weapon, was averaging 129.4 yards on the ground.
But, for all intents and purposes, Central’s defense pitched a shutout. It wasn’t until late in the third quarter when Lowell rushed in a score off the backups. As for Duong, well, he was kept in check for just 17 yards on seven carries.
“They’ve been putting up points all year so it was a good test for us tonight,” said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “I like the way our kids responded defensively. I thought they recognized well and I thought they competed well.”
Central helped itself out by causing four turnovers. Joe Howshan had two interceptions, Gregory Desrosiers had a pick and the Raiders also forced a fumble.
Howshan also broke off a 23-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, and Desrosiers led the team with 104 receiving yards and a juggling 21-yard TD reception. Mathias Villafane continued his hot stretch with six catches for 58 yards and a touchdown, and also ran back the second half kickoff 90 yards for another score.
After Villafane’s kickoff return, Anthony Caggianelli broke off a 78-yard TD to make it 49-0 early in the third. The Raiders called off the dogs shortly after.
For Lowell, Friday night ended a two-game stretch that started with last week’s beating from Everett, the No. 1 ranked team in the Eastern Mass.
Central had 14 different rushers Friday night, and eight in one drive. The red-hot offense is now averaging 40.5 points per game.
“We just followed our game plan,” said Edwards. “We just did what we practiced all week. Our game plan was to just do what we do and get better every week, and that’s what we did.”
That game plan will make its way to Andover on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Central Catholic 49, Lowell 7
Central Catholic (6-0): 14 21 14 0 — 49
Lowell (4-2): 0 0 7 0 — 7
First Quarter
CC — Max Faro 5 run (Zach DeBay kick), 8:23
CC — Ty Donatio 2 run (DeBay kick), 4:43
Second Quarter
CC — Joe Howshan 23 run (DeBay kick), 8:14
CC — Mathias Villafane 9 pass from Bret Edwards (DeBay kick), 3:51
CC — Gregory Desrosiers 21 pass from Edwards (DeBay kick), 1:28
Third Quarter
CC — Villafane 90 kickoff return (DeBay kick), 10:49
CC — Anthony Caggianelli 78 run (DeBay kick), 5:59
L — Justin Villanueva 3 run (Mike Menezes kick), 2:49
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: CENTRAL (32-182): Anthony Caggianelli 2-80, Ty Donatio 5-32, Joe Howshan 2-26, Matthew Shaw 3-16, Mark Kassis 3-12, Jared Gillis 2-10, Jared Silverio 1-7, Max Faro 3-6, Aidan Gordon 1-3, Lewy Baez-Troncoso 1-3, Jose Armando Binet 1-3, Deven DeBay 1-0, Michael Finneran 2-(-2), Bret Edwards 5-(-14);
LOWELL (31-145): Curtis Gentles 11-74, Justin Villaneuva 9-54, Anthony Doung 7-17, Thomas Cannon 1-1, Richmond Kwaateng 3-(-1)
PASSING: CENTRAL — Bret Edwards 8-12-0, 162, J.J. Mercuri 0-1-0, 0; LOWELL — Curtis Gentles 6-19-3, 87
RECEIVING: CENTRAL — Gregory Desrosiers 2-104, Villafane 6-58; LOWELL — Brendan Tighe 5-77, Cannon 1-10
Game Statistics:
First Quarter
CC — Max Faro 5 run (Zach DeBay kick), 8:23
CC — Ty Donatio 2 run (DeBay kick), 4:43
Second Quarter
CC — Joe Howshan 23 run (DeBay kick), 8:14
CC —Mathias Villafane 9 pass from Bret Edwards (DeBay kick), 3:51
CC — Gregory Desrosiers 21 pass from Edwards (DeBay kick), 1:28
Third Quarter
CC — Villafane 90 kickoff return (DeBay kick), 10:49
CC — Anthony Caggianelli 78 run (DeBay kick), 5:59
L — Justin Villanueva 3 run (Mike Menezes kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: CENTRAL (32-182): Anthony Caggianelli 2-80, Ty Donatio 5-32, Joe Howshan 2-26, Matthew Shaw 3-16, Mark Kassis 3-12, Jared Gillis 2-10, Jared Silverio 1-7, Max Faro 3-6, Aidan Gordon 1-3, Lewy Baez-Troncoso 1-3, Jose Armando Binet 1-3, Deven DeBay 1-0, Michael Finneran 2-(-2), Bret Edwards 5-(-14); LOWELL (31-145): Curtis Gentles 11-74, Justin Villaneuva 9-54, Anthony Doung 7-17, Thomas Cannon 1-1, Richmond Kwaateng 3-(-1)
PASSING: CC — Bret Edwards 8-12-0, 162, J.J. Mercuri 0-1-0, 0; L — Curtis Gentles 6-19-3, 87
RECEIVING: CC — Gregory Desrosiers 2-104, Villafane 6-58; L — Brendan Tighe 5-77, Cannon 1-10
