CCHS routs Highland Baptist, 64-25

Central Catholic’s offense was on fire as the Eagles ran past Highland Baptist 64-25 in District 7-1A play Friday at Tiger Stadium.
CCHS (6-0, 3-0) scored on all of its first-half possessions and rolled up 517 yards of total offense.
After a big defensive stop on a fourth-and-goal at the 5-yard line in the first quarter, Central Catholic marched downfield, and quarterback Blake Byrne hit Jalen Johnson, who made a leaping catch for a 24-yard touchdown with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter. Stefano Guarisco’s two-point conversion run gave Central Catholic an 8-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Guarisco got his big night going, carrying nine consecutive times for 57 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:31 remaining in the second quarter.
After a good Highland Baptist punt pinned Central Catholic at its 11-yard line, Guarisco made one cut and outran the Bears’ defense 89-yards for a score. Bailey Badeaux’s two-point run was good to push the Eagles’ lead to 24-0 with 3:39 left in the half.
“It was a good physical performance,” Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said. “We played really well upfront on both sides of the ball. We were able to mix the run and the pass. We’ve been building and building, trying to get better each week, and hopefully we can keep that balance going forward.”
Guarisco, one of the state‘s top rushers, carried 21 times for 293 yards and four touchdowns. He has carried 144 times 1,356 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. The senior is averaging 226 yards per game.
“Stefano had another big night, but I think he would (be) the first to point out how well the offensive line is playing,” Minton said. “He had some huge holes to run through tonight.”
Guarisco shared the field with another outstanding running back, Highland Baptist’s Brontre Griffin. Griffin came into the game leading the state in rushing with 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns.
He also had a big night, rushing for 280 yards on 25 carries and four touchdowns.
“He got some mop-up yardage at the end, but I thought our first unit did a good job of gang tackling him,” Minton said. “Our defense played really well tonight.”
Griffin played all four quarters despite Central Catholic pulling its starters in the third quarter.
Byrne closed the first half with two touchdown passes. He hit Greg Leger in stride and the junior raced 60 yards for a score, while Guarisco grabbed an 8-yarder with no time left on the clock to give Central Catholic a commanding 40-12 lead at halftime.
Byrne was 9-of-11 passing for 197 yards and three touchdowns. The senior has completed 30 of 49 passes for 611 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
Guarisco added two more touchdown runs to open the third quarter, extending the lead to 56-12 and sending Central Catholic starters on both sides of the ball to the bench with 5:44 remaining. Griffin added two touchdown runs against the younger Eagles.
Badeaux closed out the Central Catholic scoring, taking a kickoff return 65 yards for a touchdown with 11:07 left in the game.
Central Catholic (6-0, 3-0 District 7-1A) will return to action Thursday when it hosts district foe Vermilion Catholic (4-2, 2-1) Thursday. Vermilion Catholic lost to unbeaten Ascension Episcopal Friday 40-39.

CCHS HBCS
First downs: 15 12
Rushing yards: 320 331
Passing yards: 197 34
Total yards: 517 365
A-C-HI: 11-8-0 3-2-0
Penalties-yards: 4-45 1-15
Fumbles-lost: 3-1 2-0

Score by Quarters
HBCS 0 12 0 13
CCHS 8 32 16 8

Scoring summary
First Quarter
CCHS: Jalen Johnson 24-yd. pass from Blake Bryne (run good) 1:27

Second Quarter
CCHS: Stefano Guarisco 1-yd. run (run good) 5:31

CCHS: Guarisco 89-yd. run (run good) 3:39

HBCS: Bronte Griffin 35-yd. run (kick failed) 1:37

CCHS: Greg Leger 60-yd. pass from Blake Byrne (run good) 1:19

HBCS: Griffin 63-yd. run (kick failed) 1:08

CCHS: Guarisco 8-yd. run (run good) 0:00

Third Quarter
CCHS: Guarisco 12-yd. run (run good) 9:37

CCHS: Guarisco 40-yd. run (run good) 5:44

Fourth Quarter
HBCS: Griffin 5-yd. run (kick failed) 11:57

CCHS: Bailey Badeaux 65-yd. kickoff return (run good) 11:07

HBCS: Griffin 33-yd. run (kick good) 3:47

CCHS Individual Stats
Passing
Blake Byrne 8-11-0, 197 yds., 3 TDs

Receiving
Greg Leger, 3-94 yds., TD; Jalen Johnson, 1-24 yds., TD; Stefano Guarisco, 4-79 yds., TD.

Rushing
Stefano Guarisco, 21-293 yds., 4 TDs; Blake Byrne, 3-11 yds.; Demarcus Mitchell 1-9 yds.; Chris Singleton, 1-7 yds.