CCHS defeats Vermilion Catholic, 28-21

ABBEVILLE — Two well-timed penalties and a fumble recovery helped the Central Catholic Eagles hang on to a 28-21 win Friday against District 8-1A rival Vermilion Catholic.
Central Catholic managed just 194 yards of total offense to the Vermilion Catholic Screaming Eagles 307 yards. Vermilion gained 13 first downs to Central Catholic’s nine.
The Eagles also were penalized 11 times for 122 yards to the Screaming Eagles nine flags for 75 yards. But Vermilion Catholic had costly intentional grounding and holding penalties and a lost fumble on its final drive.
Central Catholic recovered three Vermilion Catholic fumbles, while Central Catholic didn’t fumble.
“I thought, defensively, the kids did a great job, every one of them,” Central Catholic coach Tommy Minton said.
Central Catholic’s defense came through on Vermilion’s second offensive play of the game, recovering a fumble and returning it to the Screaming Eagles 6 yard line.
Three plays later, Chris Singleton scored on a 1-yard run with 10:01 left in the first quarter, and Drake Angeron’s point-after attempt gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
Vermilion Catholic’s first big play came with 5:38 left in the second quarter when quarterback J.T. Lege threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Fontenot. Cade Boudreaux’s extra point tied the game at 7.
Then, on Central Catholic’s final drive of the first half and with just 37 seconds left, wide receiver Greg Leger made two big catches. The first was an 18-yard reception, followed by a 22-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Blake Byrne as time expired. A missed extra point gave Central Catholic a 13-7 lead going into halftime.
Vermilion Catholic tried an onside kick to start the second half, but Central Catholic recovered the ball.
However, the Eagles couldn’t do anything, and the Screaming Eagles got the ball back.
Vermilion Catholic then scored on a 23-yard pass to Kris Constantine with 9:03 remaining in the third quarter. Boudreaux’s extra point gave Vermilion Catholic a 14-13 advantage.
A couple of Vermilion Catholic penalties set up a Central Catholic scoring drive, which ended in a 9-yard run by Singleton with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter. Samarick Paul ran the ball for the two-point conversion to put Central Catholic on top, 21-14.
The Screaming Eagles answered right back, returning a kickoff to Central Catholic’s 37.
Vermilion Catholic later scored on third-and-goal on a 7-yard pass to Fontenot. Boudreaux’s extra point tied the game at 21.
Vermilion attempted an onside kick that a Vermilion Catholic player appeared to recover after a Central Catholic player touched the ball before it traveled 10 yards.
However, the referees called a penalty on Vermilion Catholic, saying the Screaming Eagles illegally blocked a Central Catholic player. The penalty resulted in a re-kicking off from Vermilion Catholic’s 25.
Central Catholic got the ball at its own 35, and runs of 19 yards and 12 yards from Singleton and a 10-yard reception by Paul set up a 2-yard Singleton touchdown run with 11:46 to play in the fourth quarter.
With 2:35 left in the game, Vermilion Catholic got the ball at its 35.
Two completions and a pass interference penalty got the Screaming Eagles to the Eagles’ 32.
But the Screaming Eagles hurt themselves with a holding penalty, followed by an intentional grounding penalty. The home team sealed its fate after losing a fumble with 51 seconds left.
Vermilion Catholic coach Ossie Blaize said his team made “some tough catches” in the first half but “dropped easy balls.”
The Screaming Eagles finished 16-of-44 passing for 265 yards, while Central Catholic was 9-of-17 for 74 yards.
“We had chances to make plays, and we just didn’t make plays,” Blaize said.
“We just had too many disconnects,” Blaize said.
Minton said he expected Central Catholic’s defense “to give up a big play or two” as much as Vermilion Catholic throws the ball.
“But I thought we kept turning the page ... and we didn’t carry the last play over, and we kept playing hard,” he said. “And we forced some turnovers.”
Central Catholic also had a couple of “clutch drives” on offense, Minton said.
Singleton led Central Catholic with 121 yards rushing on 37 carries with three touchdowns.
Friday’s district win was big for the Eagles as all wins are at this point in the season, Minton said.
With the win, Central Catholic improves to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in district. The Eagles will play another district game this week at Hanson Memorial.
“We were sitting at 1-3 at one point, and we said we’re finishing the regular season at 7-3,” Minton said. “That’s our goal. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Central Catholic will work to “get better in every area” for the rest of the season, Minton said.
“That’s what football (is) all about,” Minton said.
Vermilion Catholic has had its “heart ripped out two weeks in a row” being one play away from a win, Blaize said.
Vermilion Catholic’s offensive line had two players out with injuries, which meant others have had to step up, Blaize said.
“Hopefully, we get a couple heart transplants over the next couple weeks,” Blaize said.
Vermilion Catholic falls to 2-5 overall and 2-2 in district, but Blaize said he and his team still are focused on getting into the playoffs.