Central Catholic defeats Lafayette Christian, 17-7

Central Catholic honored its seniors before Thursday night’s game and head coach Tommy Minton said all of them contributed to the Eagles’ hard-fought 17-7 win against Lafayette Christian Academy.
The Eagles certainly had adversity to face again as quarterback Blake Byrne went out for the remainder of the game in the second quarter with an injury, Minton said.
In his place, the Eagles turned to its wildcat formation and put Stefano Guarisco at quarterback, who accounted for two touchdowns in the win — one each in the second and third quarters.
“We found a way,” Minton said. “The kids found a way. They competed hard, they battled and they found a way.”
Minton lauded his seniors for their contributions in the game.
“It was Senior Night and it was fantastic to see all the seniors contribute to this great win. … All nine seniors contributed to this and it was their night, so it was good to see,” Minton said.
While Central Catholic had 226 yards of total offense (119 rushing and 107 passing), it limited Lafayette Christian to just 94 yards of offense (53 rushing and 41 passing).
Early on, Central Catholic moved the ball into Lafayette Christian Academy territory, but on second down from the Lafayette Christian 28, Byrne was intercepted further down field by Lafayette Christian’s Wyatt Moreau.
While the Eagles’ offense came up empty handed, its special teams’ unit somewhat made up for it as on fourth down, Central Catholic’s Sydney Holder tackled Lafayette Christian punter Bear Lyons in the end zone before he could get off a punt for an early 2-0 Central Catholic lead with 8:19 remaining in the first quarter.
That first series proved costly for the Knights, though, as their leader on offense, quarterback Regan Miller, went down with an injury, Lafayette Christian coach Derek Landry said.
“I’m going to be honest,” Landry said. “I’m going to tell you what I told the kids: 17-7 with a backup quarterback. If (Miller) plays we win this game. I have no doubt in my mind about that at all.”
Miller finished the game 0-for-2 passing and rushed once for minus 1 yards.
Offensively, the Eagles again moved the ball into Lafayette Christian territory on their second drive but couldn’t convert on fourth down as Byrne was sacked for an 8-yard loss.
Finally, late in the first quarter, Lafayette Christian got on track and began a 58-yard scoring drive, that included two 15-yard roughing the passer calls on the Eagles, the last giving the Knights a first down at the Eagles’ 18.
Two plays later, backup quarterback Bryce Badon rushed up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown run. Trevor Pellerin’s extra point gave Lafayette Christian a 7-2 Lafayette Christian lead with 9:56 remaining in the first half.
The Eagles responded on their next drive as on his last play of the game, Byrne hit Jalen Johnson for a 27-yard completion in which Johnson leaped over the defender for the ball.
From there, though, Guarisco took over and carried the ball five straight times for 30 yards. The last carry, a 15-yard run, had a facemask penalty tacked onto it, giving the Eagles a first down at the Lafayette Christian 4.
One play later, Guarisco scored from four yards out. Guarisco completed the two-point conversion on a run for a 10-7 Central Catholic lead with 6:25 remaining in the half.
In the second half, the Eagles stopped Lafayette Christian on its first drive before adding the game’s final points via a Guarisco 1 yard run. Matthew Barbier’s extra point was good for a 17-7 Central Catholic lead with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter.
On the drive, Matthew Barbier made a big catch near the Eagles’ sideline for 21 yards, while he caught another one on fourth down from Guarisco for 17 yards and a first down at the Lafayette Christian 15 yard line.
Later in the game, Barbier nearly converted another fourth-and-long with a catch from Guarisco but was stopped a yard short.
Barbier finished the game with three catches for 52 yards.
Guarsico completed 3 of 6 passes for 52 yards, while he rushed 38 times for 130 yards and two scores. He also caught a pass for 5 yards.
Lafayette Christian had chances late but the Eagles defense stepped up. While Johnson fumbled the ball back to Lafayette Christian at the end of his interception return at the Central Catholic 46, later, teammate Samuel Guarisco picked off Badon deep in Lafayette Christian territory.
Later, when Lafayette Christian got the ball again with 1:19 remaining, Charlie Barron sealed the game for the Eagles with an interception of Badon
Badon finished the game, completing 4 of 13 passes for 41 yards with three interceptions.
Jeremy Joseph led Lafayette Christian’s ground attack with 11 carries for 52 yards — more than half of that coming on a 29-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Hayden Lessard caught two passes for 33 yards to lead the Lafayette Christian receivers.
Byrne completed 4 of 10 passes for 55 yards with an interception for Central Catholic.
Central Catholic will return to action next week when it hosts Metairie Park Country Day.