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New offense fits Central quarterback to a T

Friday, September, 12 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

LAWRENCE — Shain Jowett had the Wing-T drill down to a tee.

Snap, spin and deliver the handoff, two seasons full of it at the helm of "Ground" Chuck Adamopoulos’ Central Catholic offense.

The senior obviously paid his dues in full. When the 2008 Raiders strode to the line of scrimmage in their opener, it was with a whole new, revamped playbook in hand.

Gone is the Delaware meat-grinder. The Raiders are sleek and speedy, powered by Jowett, joining the new "spread offense" wave currently sweeping through our football nation.

Oh yeah, Central is also 1-0, overcoming a slew of mistakes and a pesky bunch from Lawrence High, 28-14, at Veterans Memorial Stadium last night.

"It’s not the spread," cautioned Adamopoulos, "It’s the wing-T in the shotgun.

"We just realized Shain was our top offensive skill player coming back, and we wanted to do all we could to get him the football."

Jowett delivered with his feet, chewing up a career-best 131 yards on 16 carries and with his arm, clicking on seven completions in 11 attempts, good for 89 more.

"I like the offense, it’s a lot of fun," said Jowett who, like a coach’s son (dad Bob is the offensive coordinator), immediately went out of his way to credit his linemen.

"It’s a blast. We still have like six really good backs and you saw the receivers making those plays out there, but I like to have it when I can."

Jowett had to be that good. The Raiders committed 11 penalties, repeatedly stalling drives and giving away 91 costly yards. They also turned it over twice.

"I think we set the school record for holding calls," said Adamopoulos, who also unleashed his streamlined senior son Zak at tight end.

An all-league center last year, Adamopoulos showed great hands on four grabs for 45 yards, including one huge third-down chain mover in the fourth.

Central had enough to post one touchdown in each quarter.

Andy Scott broke the ice with a 10-yard burst and Jowett rumbled in from one-yard out in the second. A 32-yard Jowett dash set up Zack Latrell’s one-yarder in the third. The junior fullback (8 carries, 82 yards, 13 tackles at LB) then pounded in the insurance score, ultimately breaking Lawrence’s back to make it 28-14 with 3:14 left.

Depleted Lawrence fought honorably, despite losing its fourth linebacker in two weeks to injury when Harvey Blanco went down with a calf bruise in the first.

Senior Ramon Heredia, limping considerably the entire second half, ran for one score and hit Demetri Brown on a 10-yard slant for the other Lawrence TD.

Junior halfback Devin Montanez gave Central fits all night in the short passing game, with five grabs for 52 yards.

Coach Mike Yameen’s first duties will be triage, assessing the carnage and then trying to re-load for Newburyport on Friday night.

"(Starting corner and captain) Pedro Rodriguez is done for the year," said Yameen. "(Linebacker Edwin) Vieira is done for the year. I’m waiting on (linebacker) Francisco Pena and (linebacker) Donea Robinson, who had his MRI today. And now I’ve got Harvey out."

The good news is that once the Lancers get through the Port clash, Yameen’s crew gets a bye week to recuperate before opening Cape Ann Large play.

Central travels to St. John’s Prep Saturday.