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Central cruises to second win

Saturday, March, 20 By Jeff Hamrick

LAWRENCE – The calendar said Saturday was the first day of spring, but the Central Catholic football team has easily sprung into its Fall 2 season.

A week after opening the season with a 25-point win at Lowell, the Raiders returned home and shutout visiting Haverhill 43-0.

While the defense kept the Hillies on their side of the 50 for all but the final play of the first half, Central used short-field opportunities to strike quickly as none of the Raiders first five scoring drives required more than 96 seconds.

“I think our offense is very good,” quarterback Ayden Pereira said. “We’re explosive and all our playmakers have the ability to take it 80 yards to the house on every play. It’s just fun to play in.”

While 80 yards wasn’t needed, the Raiders had three scores of 42 yards or more and had 10 plays that gained at least 13 yards.

Matthias Latham opened Central’s afternoon rushing for 13 and 42 yards on its first two plays from scrimmage and a quick 7-0 lead after Nick Mazzie’s conversion.

“The kid that is really starting to blossom for us is Matthias Latham, a sophomore,” Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos said. “He’s really playing well defensively and offensively. He plays very mature for a sophomore.”

After the first salvo, it was the quarterback who took carry of the scoring.

First up was a 60-yard connection to Mark Ciccarelli that capped a three-play drive. Two possessions later, Pereira needed only one snap before finding Preston Zinter for a 51-yard score.

John Apitz set up the Raiders’ next scoring drive with a 30-yard punt return, which was followed four plays later by Pereira’s 2-yard run. Central’s final possession of the half went another four plays and ended on a 28-yard Mazzie field goal for a 30-0 lead with 1:08 left in the second.

“Our goals are the same, just to win every game,” Pereira said. “We want to play well, and you can’t take a different approach just because it’s a shortened year and we’re not playing for a state championship. Each game has just got to be the same.”

Pereira put the game in running-clock mode with a 5-yarder that capped another four-play drive early in the third.

Backup senior quarterback Ruben Castillo took over the second-string offense and two plays after watching his first snap sail over his head for a 16-yard loss, he hooked up with Ty Cannistraro for an apparent 75-yard scoring play. But what would have been the first varsity touchdown for both players was called back by a block in the back.

Castillo, however, quickly regrouped and did get his first touchdown by scampering 20 yards on the next play for the final score.

Central did, however, suffer a big loss when senior two-way standout Jermaine Wiggins was taken off by stretcher to an ambulance with a severe ankle injury after being tackled on his only reception of the game. Wiggins had committed to the University of Arizona the day before.

“We had a tough injury, but we’ll wait to see what the diagnosis is on that,” Adamopoulos said.

Haverhill, which had its scheduled opener with Lawrence a week earlier canceled, struggled on offense, gaining only 17 yards rushing and 66 yards total. The Hillies ran just one play on Central’s side of the field until the final four plays of the game and never penetrated inside the 45.

“It was a tough opener for spring ball,” Hillie coach Tim O’Connor said. “It was our first game. We were outmatched, but I’m proud of our kids all things considered … Overall, compared to last week’s scrimmage, we’ve made progress. It doesn’t show on the scoreboard, but it is what it is.”