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Central Catholic Raiders Football '21

Fri, Nov 05, 2021 07:00 PM @ Central Catholic
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Weymouth 0 0 0 14 14
Central Catholic 7 14 14 0 35

Central too strong for Weymouth

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Friday, November, 05 By Dave Dyer

 

LAWRENCE — Matthias Latham doesn't mind flying under the radar.

The junior running back has not put up huge numbers for the Central Catholic football team (8-1), but there is no questioning his value as he proved again Friday night in the opening round of the MIAA playoffs.

In addition to playing solid defensively, he rushed for 23 tough yards while scoring two touchdowns, caught a pass for 11 yards and blocked relentlessly for quarterback Ayden Pereira in Central's impressive 35-14 Division 1 playoff victory over Weymouth.

""I try to make the most of my opportunities," said Latham. "Sometimes I don't put up (big) numbers but I always feel like my time will come. As long as we're winning, that's what counts."

With standouts like quarterback Ayden Perreira and receivers Justice McGrail and Preston Zinter leading the way, Latham often goes unnoticed on offense, but Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos recognizes his value.

"He (Latham) gets a lot of credit from us," said Adamopoulos. "He's been a good player all year."

Showing a relentless running style, Latham scored Central's first two touchdowns, on runs of 2 and 8 yards. The first came two plays after a 32-yard pass play to McGrail and the second capped an 88-yard drive after the Raiders stopped Weymouth on the 12-yard-line following a 17-play series that finally stalled.

That second TD seemed to deflate Weymouth because it let the ensuing kickoff roll around so long that the Raiders fell on it at the Wildcats' 8-yard line. Two plays later, Pereira shoveled an 8-yard pass to Kolton Williams for a score, making it 21-0, and the Wildcats never recovered.

Ahead 21-0 at the half, the Raiders stretched their lead to 28-0 midway through the third quarter when Pereira connected with McGrail from 14 yards out and it became 35-0 when Pereira thew a 40-yard strike to Andrew Lefosky.

Weymouth (5-4) scored twice in the fourth quarter, primarily against Central reserves, to account for the final score.

"It was a good solid win," said Adamopoulos. "I really liked the way our defense played and we made some big plays."

Among those playing particularly well on defense were Michael Brown and Jaden Wiggins, both of whom were all over the field.

 

 

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

CC — Matthias Latham 2 run (Michael Ryan kick), 7:27

 

Second Quarter

CC — Latham 8 run (Ryan kick), 7:27

CC — Kolton Williams 8 pass from Ayden Pereira (Ryan kick), 5:19

Third Quarter

CC — Justice McGrail 14 pass from Pereira (Ryan kick), 7:13

CC— Andrew Lefosky 40 pass from Pereira (Ryan kick), 3:20

Fourth Quarter

W — Aiden Henderson 18 pass from Aiden Kennedy (Michael Ritz kick), 8:14

W — Ryan Kennedy 20 pass from Aiden Kennedy (Ryan kick), 1:00

 

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Central Catholic (19-68) — Blake Hebert 1-5, Nathel Achuo 2-16, Ayden Pereira 5-9, Marquis Bridgewater 3-10, Matthias Latham 7-23, Matt Blanchard 1-0, Quinton Delorey 1-5; Weymouth (16-31) — Cam Fernandez 1-3, Aiden Kennedy 7-(-11), Anthony Smith 1-33, Michael Ritz 4-10, Brennan Cassidy 3-(-4)

PASSING: CC — Pereira 16-21-0, 204; W — Aiden Kennedy 6-12-0, 78

RECEIVING: CC — Justice McGrail 3-45, Latham 1-11, Preston Zinter 5-64, Andrew Lefosky 3-54, Kolton Williams 1-8, Ty Cannistarro 3-32; W — Ryan Kennedy 4-58, Quinton Henderson 2-20

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