Eagles rout Gueydan 54-13

Headed for a District 7-1A prep football showdown with undefeated Ascension Episcopal on Nov. 6, Central Catholic had some business to take care of first.
They took care of business Friday with a 54-13 pounding of Gueydan that wasn’t, as the saying goes, really that close.
You can describe the Eagles’ victory as businesslike.
“The kids came out and did what they were supposed to do,” Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said. “A lot of times you can play (an) opponent that’s down a little bit and you play down to their level. We didn’t do that.
“Our starters went out and took control and did what they had to do.”
And they did it quickly. The game was a game for a shade less than nine minutes.
The Eagles scored 30 points in the last 3:10 of the first quarter.
By the 3:11 mark, Central Catholic was ahead only 8-0. Running back Stefano Guarisco’s 13-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion run were set up by D.D. Gant’s block of a Gueydan punt on the game’s first series.
Then the lightning began to strike, beginning with a 38-yard scoring run by Guarisco and his two-point run.
Sixteen seconds later, on the first play after the kickoff, Central Catholic’s Damarcus Mitchell intercepted a Randy Lepretre pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Guarisco’s run made it 24-0.
The Eagles’ defense stacked up Gueydan on the following series, after which Bailey Badeaux tore off a 65-yard run with 1:06 left in the quarter.
T.J. Ruffin, who looks the part of a two-way interior lineman, got a chance to carry the ball on the two-point conversion. It was good.
“He’s been a big blocker for us on that,” Minton said, “and we gave him a little touch for all he’s done blocking.”
On the first play after Gueydan got the ball back, a bad snap sailed over Lepretre’s head and was recovered by Central Catholic’s Blake Hidalgo at the Bear 5-yard line. Guarisco scored his third touchdown from there. The conversion failed, but the Eagles were up 38-0.
As good as the offense was, the defense may have been better.
In the first quarter, Central Catholic held the Bears to minus-24 yards rushing and 0-for-2 passing with the interception. Gueydan fumbled the ball away once and punted four times, one of which was the Gant block.
As the game went on, Central Catholic’s Greg Leger hauled in a 49-yard touchdown pass from Blake Byrne.
Chris Singleton rushed for 63 yards.
Guarisco, who entered the game needing only 85 yards to hit 2,000 for the season, had to settle for 79 with just more than one-quarter of play.
Guarisco has been the workhorse and the show horse for Central Catholic on the way to an 8-1 record this year. But he’s not the only Eagle weapon.
“I think we got plenty of guys that can do things,” Minton said. “We let a lot of guys play tonight. In a ballgame of the nature of next week’s, we’ve got a lot of guys we can depend on to make plays for us. I feel comfortable going into week 10 and into the playoffs.”
Ascension Episcopal is atop the district with a 9-0 record overall and 6-0 in District 7-1A. The district leader beat Lafayette Christian Academy 35-7 Friday.
Central Catholic is 8-1 and 5-1. A 48-30 loss at Vermilion Catholic is the only mark on the Eagle record. Vermilion Catholic is 7-2 and 5-1 after losses to Ascension Episcopal, 40-39, and Kaplan, 32-15.

CCHS GHS
First Downs: 11 4
Rushing Yards: 306 54
Passing Yards: 52 47
Total yards: 358 101
Passing totals: 5-2-0 6-2-1
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 3-1
Penalties-yards: 4-25 5-30

Score By Quarters:
CCHS 38 8 8 0
GHS 0 0 7 6

CCHS Individual Stats
Rushing
Stefano Guarisco, 6-79 yds., 3 TDs; Bailey Badeaux, 2-86 yds., 1 TD; Chris Singleton, 6-63 yds.; Sydney Holder, 4-38 yds.; Damarcus Mitchell, 2-18 yds., 1 TD; Mitchell Mancuso, 2-8 yds.

Passing
Blake Byrne, 2-5-0, 52 yds., 1 TD

Receiving:
Greg Leger, 1-49 yds., 1 TD; Jalen Johnson, 1-3 yds.