By Skylar Blackburn
Contributing Writer
NOBLESVILLE – The story of this Sept. 11 non-conference game between Class A top-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic and host Guerin Catholic that ended up 58-3 in favor of the visitors was not the vast score difference, nor the amount of points the Knights were able to put on the scoreboard.
Instead, the story is the amount of points that the Golden Eagles scored on CC. Central Catholic had not surrendered any points leading up to this game, and the Knights now have outscored their four opponents 227-3.
If second-year coach Kevin O’Shea’s boys are not the favorites to win the 1A title this year, I ask you who is?
A common complaint against Central Catholic is that the Knights have no problem in running up the score. There certainly was evidence of that in the first half as, leading 38-0, 6’4” senior quarterback Chris Mills (15 of 20 for 273 yards and three touchdowns) threw for a pair of TD passes of 30+ yards to lead the Knights into the half up 51-0.
But O’Shea called off the dogs after intermission, with the second team spoiling a heretofore shutout season in giving up a 32-yard field goal late in the game by Shelby Evans.
Central Catholic scored 24 points in the first quarter and 27 more in the second, the only slip-up a missed extra point following that seventh first-half touchdown.
Sophomore running back Dan Anthrop started the onslaught with TD runs of 10 and 66 yards before Marc Withers reeled in a 22-yard scoring strike from Mills. Junior Niall Noonan added a 30-yard field goal to make it 24-0 heading to the second quarter.
Noonan hauled in a 10-yard pass from Mills to further dent the board in the second 12 minutes, with a pair of Jake Milakis scoring runs (2, 1) sandwiching a 36-yard TD pass from Mills to Withers to round out the first-half scoring.
Central Catholic must be considered the small-school favorite, and there’s clearly an emphasis on defense. This was evident in the multiple blitzes that got to Guerin junior QB Andrew Godfrey before he could turn around and pitch the ball to his running backs.
“The idea all along was to shut everyone out for the year,” senior linebacker Alex Anderson, who made nine tackles and recovered a fumble, told the Lafayette Journal Courier. “But three points … oh well, it’s three points.
“We want to be a defensive team this year, knock people in the mouth, and they give us the ball three-and-out.”
Next up for Central Catholic is a Sept. 18 date at Hoosier Heartland Conference foe Carroll (Flora) (2-1 overall, 1-0 in league play), which had a Saturday game at Fremont this weekend. Things certainly don’t get any easier for Guerin Catholic, which travels next Friday to face 2A No. 5 Indianapolis Ritter (3-1), a 57-29 Week 4 winner over 2A top-ranked Speedway.
Laf. Central Catholic 24 27 7 0 – 58
Guerin Catholic 0 0 0 3 – 3
CC – Anthrop 10 run (Noonan kick)
CC – Anthrop 66 run (Noonan kick)
CC – Withers 22 pass from Mills (Noonan kick)
CC – Noonan 30 FG
CC – Noonan 10 pass from Mills (Noonan kick)
CC – Milakis 2 run (Noonan kick)
CC – Withers 36 pass from Mills (Noonan kick)
CC – Milakis 1 run (kick failed kick)
CC – Schrader 7 run (Noonan kick)
GC – Shelby 32 FG
CC GC
First Downs 22 9
Rushes-Yards 19-177 35-56
Passing Yards 304 78
Comp-Att-Int 18-25-0 10-20-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 5-59 1-17
Punts-Avg 1-22 6-30.5
Rushing
Central Catholic: Anthrop 3-82, Schrader 2-48, Christopher 7-25, Naville 3-13, Milakis 3-5
Guerin Catholic: Pecoraro 12-30, Godfrey 4-10, Adams 4-9, Jhaas 14-4, Birge 2-2, Pense 2-1
Passing
Central Catholic: Mills 15-20-0 273, Churchill 2-4-0 21, Anthrop 1-1-0 10
Guerin Catholic: Godfrey 10-19-0 78, Pecoraro 0-1-0 0
Receiving
Central Catholic: Anthrop 3-83, Withers 3-75, Mackey 4-51, Christopher 2-33, Almond 1-16, Noonan 2-15, Burks 1-1, Skees 1-1
Guerin Catholic: Jhass 4-31, Elbrecht 1-12, Kenney 1-11, Janssen 1-10, Pence 1-8, Pecoraro 1-7, Stephanak 1-(-1)
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