RallyNorth.net

Central Catholic Raiders Football '17

Fri, Nov 03, 2017 07:00 PM @ Central Catholic
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Methuen 0 7 6 8 21
Central Catholic 7 24 7 7 45

Central surges past Methuen, into North final

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Friday, November, 03 By David Willis
Staff writer

 LAWRENCE — When the two teams met in the regular season, Central Catholic need three fourth quarter scores to rally past an upset-minded Methuen squad.

With a trip to the Division 1 North final on the line on Friday, the Raiders would need no such comeback.

Central needed just six plays to score three second quarter touchdowns, and the top-seeded Raiders never let up on the way to a 45-21 over No. 4 Methuen in the Division 1 North semifinals.

“We’re so ecstatic about the win,” said co-captain Ty Donatio. “We had high expectations coming into this game. We all knew what we had to do. We got the momentum early and we had enough to finish the win.”

The victory sends Central (9-0) to the Division 1 North final, where it will face No. 3 Everett (8-0), which rolled over No. 2 Lexington 42-14 in the other semifinal.
“Going against Everett is going to be huge,” said co-captain Kalvin Guillermo. “We’re taking it one step at a time, but we can’t wait to play. And we are going to be ready.”
It will be a revenge game for the Raiders, who fell to Everett 43-18 in the 2016 Division 1 North final. The Crimson Tide went on to win the Division 1 title.
“We have one goal this season, and it’s to get to the state championship,” said Central QB Bret Edwards. “So we are going to do everything we can to win.”
Methuen’s defense appeared up to the task early, as Bryce Smith made stops at the goal line on third and fourth down to force a Central turnover on downs.
But that Ranger momentum would be fleeting, as the Raiders would score on their next five possessions. Donatio and backfield mate Max Faro each scored twice, and Zach DeBay booted a 27-yard field goal to make it 31-0 with 2:58 left in the first half.
“We wanted to come out fast,” said Guillermo. “We wanted to come out and start drives right away and finish them. Last time we played Methuen they took control early. So we came together and really got our offense going early.”  
When it wasn’t the offense, the Central defense was also delivering.
Donatio notched 10 of his team-high 14 tackles in the first half, including a sack and another massive hit on Methuen QB Jordan Perdomo that set an early tone, and recovered a fumble. Jackson Clark (10 tackles for the game) was also all over the field, while Nate Driscoll and Guillermo each added a sack in the first half alone.
“Out three lineman were awesome,” said Donatio. “The pressure we were able to get on Perdomo made a huge difference. And out defensive backs were great in coverage.”
Joe Howshan (team-high 156 rushing yards) then made his mark in the second half. The junior intercepted a pass to set up an Edwards touchdown pass to Cameron Boes. Then, a possession later, broke an 82 yard touchdown to ice the win. Central brought in its backups early in the fourth.
“We feel great about the win,” said Donatio. “Obviously we have had high hopes since the start of the season. We want to get back at them for what happened last year. Everyone has been waiting for this matchup since the preseason.”

Game Statistics:

Division 1 North Semifinals

 

First Quarter

CC — Max Faro 9 run (Zach DeBay kick), 1:31

Second Quarter

CC — Ty Donatio 1 run (DeBay kick), 10:54

CC — Faro 17 run (DeBay kick), 9:06

CC — Donatio 58 run (DeBay kick), 6:55

CC — DeBay 27 field goal, 2:58

M — Xavier Ortiz 51 pass from Jordan Perdomo (Justin Sheehan kick), 0:56

Third Quarter

CC — Cameron Boes 18 pass from Bret Edwards (DeBay kick), 2:58

M — Saul Cespedes 6 run (rush failed), 0:01

Fourth Quarter

CC — Joe Howshan 82 rush (DeBay kick), 7:36

M — Peter Kwakye 41 pass from Perdomo (Cespedes rush), 3:36

 


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Central Catholic (34-389) — Ty Donatio 8-110, Joe Howshan 7-156, Max Faro 12-65, Mathias Villafane 2-39, Bret Edwards 1-9, Anthony Farelli 1-5, Anthony Caggianelli 2-5, Jake Delaney 1-0; Methuen (40-221) — Saul Cespedes 16-89, Peter Kwakye 12-69, Jordan Perdomo 8-51, Connor Bryant 1-3, Abineal Gonzalez 2-12, Xavier Ortiz 1-(-3)

PASSING: Central — Edwards 6-15-0, 77, Michael LeFebre 1-1-0, 21; Methuen — Perdomo 7-26-1, 141

RECEIVING: Central — Farelli 3-49, Cameron Boes 1-18, Greg Desrosiers 1-12, LeFebre 1-16, Villafane 1-3; Methuen — Ortiz 1-51, Kwakye 3-47, Wesley Correa 1-20, David Kelly 2-23

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