CCHS routs Centerville, 49-13

Central Catholic entered Thursday’s District 7-1A contest against Centerville with a three-game losing streak in which the squad had started fast with a touchdown on their initial possession in each game, only to eventually fall behind but always putting themselves in a position for a victory at the end of the three contests.
Thursday against Centerville, not only did the Eagles start fast, but they kept up the offensive success for much of the game en route to a 49-13 rout.
Of Central Catholic’s six offensive possessions Thursday, the Eagles (2-3 overall, 1-1 in district) scored on their first five en route to a 49-0 advantage early in the third quarter.
“I thought we executed well and were very, very efficient on offense. … It’s tough. We’re sitting here 2-3, and we’re about four plays away from being 5-0 if you look back,” Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said. “Although we end up doing a lot of things well (in those losses), the kids are being resilient. They’re doing what they got to do, and I thought we played hard, bounced back and played a good ball game tonight.”
Centerville scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a De’andre Kinchen 15-yard run as time expired.
While Centerville moved the ball to the Central Catholic 38 on its first drive of the game, the possession stalled there, and Centerville’s punt went into the end zone for a touchback.
After Centerville had Central Catholic in a 2nd-down-and-12 situation early in its opening drive, Central Catholic quarterback Blake Byrne connected with wide receiver Samarick Paul on a short pass. Paul did the rest, racing for an 82-yard touchdown down with 7:30 remaining in the opening quarter.
Drake Angeron, who was 7-for-7 in extra-point attempts, connected on his first attempt for a 7-0 Central Catholic lead.
Central Catholic’s second drive began at its own 40 after the Tyler O’con recovered a Centerville fumble.
The Eagles needed just three plays to score as after consecutive three-yard runs, Byrne connected with Paul again on a short pass that he took 54 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Central Catholic lead with 3:10 left in the first quarter.
Byrne completed both of his pass attempts Thursday, each to Paul, totaling 136 yards with two scores.
Central Catholic added another touchdown early in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Bailey Badeaux with 9:40 left in the half for a 21-0 advantage, while about a minute later, Central Catholic extended its lead to 28-0 after UL-Lafayette commitment Ja’len Johnson intercepted a pass by Gage Burgess and returned it 36 yards for a score.
Badeaux carried eight times for 71 yards and a touchdown Thursday.
The Eagles added two more first-half touchdowns, a 7-yard run by Byrne with 5:13 remaining in the opening half and a 2-yard run by DeDe Gant with 1:30 left in the second quarter. The second of the two touchdowns was set up by Central Catholic’s recovery of a Centerville fumble at the Bulldogs’ 47.
Central Catholic scored its final touchdown of the evening on its first series of the third quarter. After Davidyione Bias ran for 27 yards on the first play of the drive, he followed with a 36-yard touchdown run for a 49-0 Central Catholic advantage with 7:06 remaining in the third.
Bias led the Eagles Thursday with three carries for 72 yards and a score.
Centerville responded to the Eagles’ final touchdown with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that concluded with a 2-yard run by Matt Lebourgeois with 9 minutes left in the game. Peyton Nash’s extra point was good, and the score stood at 49-7.
Lebourgeois led Centerville with 11 carries for 61 yards and a score.
After forcing Central Catholic to punt on its final possession, Centerville concluded the game with a seven-play, 42-yard drive capped by Kinchen’s 15-yard touchdown with no time left. The extra point failed for the final score.
Kinchen rushed 13 times for 59 yards and a touchdown, while Noah Verret added 15 carries for 54 yards.
Central Catholic limited Centerville to 197 yards, all rushing. More than half of those yards were gained in the second half with the game well in hand.
“Defense did a good job,” Minton said. “With the first defense out there, we pitched a shutout. I think we ended up with three turnovers, and I thought they did a good job.”
Offensively, Central Catholic totaled 358 yards (222 rushing and 136 passing).
The Eagles were without their leading rusher this season, Chris Singleton, who was injured in last week’s 46-42 loss to Lafayette Christian. Minton said Singleton likely would be out two to three weeks to recover.
Central Catholic will return to action Oct. 7 when it travels to face Highland Baptist in New Iberia. Highland Baptist upset Lafayette Christian, 49-48, in other Thursday night action.