Catholic High of New Iberia overwhelms CCHS, 21-0

Catholic High of New Iberia dominated Central Catholic in a 21-0 victory in the final game of the Kiwanis Clubs of Opelousas and Lafayette’s 2nd Annual Gridiron Football Jamboree at St. Thomas More Friday.
Catholic High, the defending Division III state runner-up, rolled up 182 yards — all on the ground — while its defense limited Central Catholic to minus four yards of total offense (-5 rushing and 1 yard passing).
Seth Pierre gashed the Central Catholic defense for 125 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns, while teammate Jeremy Touchet had four carries for 32 yards.
Quarterback Diallo Landry added a touchdown run.
Defensively, the Panthers limited Central Catholic running back Stefano Guarisco to four carries for minus eight yards while he caught one pass for three yards.
Meanwhile, quarterback Blake Byrne finished just 2 of 7 passing for a yard with two interceptions, both recorded by Ja’Vaughn Narcisse.
The Eagles, who did not record a first down in the contest and crossed midfield just once, lost wide receiver Samarick Paul to injury during the first half.
“Defensively, I just knew that (Guarsico) was gonna score it out of there one of those times,” Catholic High head coach Brent Indest said. “He’s such a great player, but can’t say enough about defensively. We had a busted coverage one time but other than that, that’s about flawless a defensive game we could ask for.”
The Panthers had a size advantage on both the offensive and defensive lines, and Central Catholic said Catholic High was more physical in the trenches.
“When a team controls the line of scrimmage like that, it’s hard to get anything going on either side of the ball,” he said.
After fielding the opening kickoff, Catholic High got to work right away.
With the ball at its own 44-yard line following a Central Catholic penalty, Pierre reeled off a 41-yard run on first down to the Central Catholic 15.
From there, he carried four straight times, capping the drive with a 2-yard run.
Thomas Gardner’s extra point was good for a 7-0 Catholic High lead with 9:48 remaining.
After forcing Central Catholic to punt on its first possession, Catholic High took over again at its 34-yard line.
While Central Catholic’s Dede Gant had a nice breakup of Landry’s pass on first down, the Panthers used the running game the remainder of the drive, moving 66 yards in six plays capped by a 16-yard run by Pierre.
Gardner’s extra point was good for a 14-0 Catholic High lead with 5:10 remaining in the opening period.
The teams exchanged turnovers on its next possessions as Byrne was intercepted by Narcisse and Jadan Stokes fumbled, and the ball was picked up by Central Catholic defensive lineman Harold Ganaway and returned to midfield.
However, Catholic High didn’t budge much on defense, and the Eagles punted after four plays.
Catholic High went into halftime with a 14-0 lead.
“Offensively, we just keep putting the ball on the ground,” Indest said. “We do it in practice. We did it in the scrimmage last week.”
Indest said if his team doesn’t clean that up, in the future, it would cost them some football games.
Central Catholic got the ball to begin the second half, but on the Eagles’ third play, Byrne was intercepted again by Narcisse, who returned the ball to the Central Catholic 38.
From there, Catholic High milked much of the second half with a lengthy drive — all on the ground — capped with a one-yard run by Landry with 3:34 remaining. Gardner’s extra point was good for the final score.
Despite the loss, the competition they faced can only make the squad better.
“It’s the type of competition you have to play to get better, and that’s (the) bottom line,” Minton said. “If you don’t play good teams, you don’t elevate your play, and you gotta play teams like that.”
Central Catholic and Catholic High will open their regular seasons Thursday night as the Eagles will travel to face St. John of Plaquemine, while the Panthers will hit the road to face Vermilion Catholic. Both games are set for 7 p.m. kickoffs.