CCHS Eagles’ defense makes plays in scrimmage

Longtime Coach Tommy Minton may be at a new school, but he still has the same intensity.
The first-year Central Catholic coach was in his element Thursday as Ellender came to town for a scrimmage. Minton, the former Patterson High coach, was working his players and the referees like it was a week 10 contest.
The format was 15 plays with the first teamers and 10 plays with the backups.
Ellender’s offense had a couple nice pass plays early to move down the field, but Central Catholic’s defense rose to the occasion with big sacks. On the first series, Eagles senior defensive end Matthew Vorenkamp sacked Patriots quarterback Curtis Anderson. On the second series, senior cornerback Logan Arias also had a sack.
On offense, Central Catholic sophomore quarterback Blake Byrne competed passes to senior wide receiver Matthew Barbier and junior running back Stefano Guarisco.
Minton also brought his trademark screen game to Central Catholic.
Byrne and Guarisco hooked up on several nice screen passes.
“I thought we threw the ball,” Minton said. “And we had some good gains with our screen game.”
Guarisco also ran the ball well and Byrne found sophomore wide receiver Jalen Johnson, who made a beautiful catch on a tipped ball deep down the sideline. Byrne finished the drive with a short touchdown pass to Barbier.
“Our execution was better than last week, and I think we made a big step improvement wise,” Minton said. “I thought we threw the ball well in spots and at times we ran the ball well. That was a big, physical football team, and it’s good to see our guys go out there and compete.”
Ellender freshman running back Reginald Williams had a big day on the ground but most of his yardage came against Central Catholic’s younger players. He did, however, have one long run against the Eagles’ first team. Williams’ run set up the Patriots at the goal line. Ellender scored on a short run on the next play.
Central Catholic linebacker Cooper Leblanc recovered a fumble to end Ellender’s next series.
The Eagles’ defense began to take over with Vorenkamp, junior linebacker Tanner Wiggins and senior defensive end Sage Thibodaux all making key stops. Thibodaux and Vorenkamp also had sacks during the defense series.
“Our tackling, which was a point of emphasis this week, was much better,” Minton said. “The defense played well. We have some experience returning there, and the coaching staff on (that) side of the ball is doing a great job.”
After the controlled scrimmage, there was a live quarter.
Byrne competed passes to sophomore wide receiver Samarick Paul and Guarisco.
Byrne and Guarisco hooked up again on a short touchdown pass at 7:18.
The CCHS defense remained hot with Wiggins, senior linebacker Garret Leblanc and freshman outside linebacker Demarcus Mitchell all getting to the quarterback. The Eagles’ defense ended the scrimmage with a sack and fumble recovery.
Central Catholic will return to action Aug. 29 when it faces Sacred Heart in the inaugural Kiwanis Select Jamboree at Teurlings Catholic High School in Lafayette.