Eagles win high-scoring contest, 70-46

Central Catholic may have defeated Ascension Catholic 70-46 Thursday night in Morgan City, but Central Catholic coach Tommy Minton wasn’t entirely happy after the game.
“We should be happier after scoring 70 points than what we are right now,” he said. “We’re disappointed in that we gave up way too many points.”
The opposing Bulldogs, who while trailing by multiple scores throughout the game, continued to fight back against the Eagles.
While the Eagles totaled 404 yards of offense (236 rushing and 168 passing), they had a hard time stopping Ascension Catholic, who totaled 374 yards of offense (293 rushing and 81 passing). The Bulldogs totaled 24 first downs in the win.
A high-scoring first quarter that Central Catholic led 32-12 at the conclusion of was just the beginning as Central Catholic added 38 points in the remaining three quarters and Ascension Catholic, 34.
“They fought hard, man,” Ascension Catholic coach Drey Trosclair said of his squad. “I really am proud of the way our guys fought. We never gave up. We stayed in there until the last second ticked off, and I really am proud of way we played tonight. Not proud of the outcome, but I’m proud of how hard we fought.”
Central Catholic used two big plays in less than a minute to take their first lead as Charlie Solar scooped up a fumble by Ascension Catholic at the Central Catholic 43 and returned it for a touchdown. Bailey Badeaux’s two-point conversion run was good for a quick 8-0 lead with 7:15 remaining.
On the second play after the kickoff, a high snap went past Ascension Catholic quarterback Daniel Mattingly and while he ran and jumped on the ball, he couldn’t secure it and Solar again picked it up and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown around the 6:28 mark of the first quarter. Stefano Guarisco’s two-point run was good for a 16-0 Central Catholic lead.
Ascension Catholic got into a groove on its next drive, using a nine-play, 52-yard drive that it capped off with a Javon Yarbrough 1-yard run with 3:14 remaining. Mattingly’s two-point conversion attempt was no good, but the Bulldogs cut Central Catholic’s lead to 16-6.
Central Catholic would respond immediately as Guarisco fielded the kickoff and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. He converted the two-point run for a 24-6 Central Catholic lead with 2:58 remaining in the opening quarter.
Ascension Catholic responded on its next possession when Mattingly scored from 23 yards out. His two-point run failed and the score stood at 24-12 Central Catholic with 1:09 remaining in the initial quarter.
Mattingly finished the game with 19 carries for 88 yards and a score, while he completed 5 of 13 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Guarisco and Central Catholic answered shortly after Mattingly’s touchdown as Guarisco took the second handoff on the next drive, got to out the outside and ran down the Central Catholic sideline for a 60-yard score. His two-point run was good for a 32-12 Central Catholic lead with 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Guarisco finished the game with 18 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while he caught a 23-yard touchdown pass, too.
While Central Catholic had 32 points in the first quarter, the team had just five offensive plays — a three-and-out on its opening drive and the two-play drive near the end of the quarter. However, the two fumble returns and the kickoff return for the touchdown provided plenty of scoring to make up for the lack of offense.
Trosclair pointed to the fact that how those turnovers gave the Eagles the edge, and without them, the score is even at 46.
“I just told the guys in our little huddle after this we gave up 24 points on offense and special teams combined,” he said. “We lost the game by 24 points.”
Minton said of the advantage of his team’s defensive touchdowns and special teams score, “That’s part of the game. We played special teams, and we scored on defense. That’s part of the game. We play an aggressive defense because we want to score on defense.”
In the second quarter, Central Catholic struck first as quarterback Blake Byrne found wide receiver Greg Leger for a 40-yard touchdown reception with 7:08 remaining in the half. Guarisco’s two-point run was good for a 40-12 Central Catholic advantage.
Leger finished the game as the Eagles’ leading receiver with 3 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Ascension Catholic ate up most of the remaining time in the second quarter with a 15-play, 92-yard drive that was capped by Yarbrough’s 2-yard run. The Bulldogs used their ground game for all but one play of the drive, a 21-yard completion from Mattingly to Jacoby Stewart that gave the squad a first down at the Central Catholic 25.
Besides that, the drive consisted mostly of runs by Kaleb Winchester, Yarbrough and Mattingly.
Mattingly’s two-point run attempt following the score was no good, but the Bulldogs had cut their deficit to 40-18 with 1:30 remaining in the opening half.
In the high scoring game, Central Catholic had plenty of time to reach the end zone again as the Eagles quickly moved 65 yards on a drive capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass from Byrne to Jalen Johnson with 17 second remaining. Guarisco’s two-point run was good for a 48-18 Central Catholic lead with 17 second remaining.
Byrne finished the night 6 of 7 passing for 153 yards with three touchdowns. Johnson had two catches for 37 yards and a score.
Ascension Catholic nearly scored again on its ensuing drive as it returned the kick to their own 39 with 10 seconds remaining and then benefitted from two 15-yard penalties — a pass interference and a personal foul — as well as another 5-yard penalty for the Eagles being offsides to give them a first-and-5 situation at the Central Catholic 25 with 2 seconds left. However, Mattingly’s pass to the end zone was incomplete, and Central Catholic went into the locker room up 48-18.
Ascension Catholic received the ball to begin the second half and the game’s scoring picked up again as the squad moved, beginning at its 23 yard line after a penalty, 77 yards on a drive capped by a Winchester 6-yard run. Mattingly’s two-point run was good and with 8:14 remaining, Central Catholic’s lead now was 48-26.
Central Catholic responded on its next drive with a 1-yard run by Guarisco. The drive’s big play, however, was a 46-yard completion earlier in the drive from Byrne to Leger on a third-down-and-seven-situation at the Central Catholic 40.
Guarisco connected with Badeaux for the two-point conversion pass following Guarisco’s score and with 4:38 remaining, Central Catholic now led 56-28.
After stopping Ascension Catholic on four straight incomplete passes on its next drive at the Ascension Catholic 44, Central Catholic appeared as if it may have put the game away with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Byrne to Guarisco and a Badeaux two-point conversion run for a 64-26 Central Catholic lead with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter.
Not so fast, though, as Winchester returned the kickoff to the Central Catholic 45 and then on the first play from scrimmage, he took a handoff and darted 45 yards for a touchdown. Yarbrough’s two-point run was no good, but Ascension Catholic had cut its lead to 64-32 with 1:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Winchester led the Ascension Catholic ground game with 11 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
“Offensively, we executed pretty well,” Minton said. “I don’t think we punted but once. We got to iron some stuff out on defense definitely.”
Ascension Catholic continued to cut into its lead early in the fourth as after Central Catholic backup quarterback Damarcus Mitchell was intercepted, the Bulldogs cashed in on the turnover with an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped by Yarbrough’s 10-yard run. Winchester’s two-point run was good and Central Catholic’s lead now was 64-40 with 7:31 remaining in the fourth.
Yarbrough had 15 carries for 90 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
While Central Catholic countered with a touchdown on a 10-yard run by Sydney Holder on its next drive for a 70-40 advantage with 3:16 remaining, Winchester received a lateral from a teammate and returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards for a score with 2:40 remaining for a 70-46 advantage.
From there, Central Catholic ran out the clock for the final margin.

CCHS ACHS
First Downs: 16 24
Rushing Yards: 236 293
Passing Yards: 168 81
Total Yards: 404 374
PA-C-HI: 9-7-1 13-5-0
Penalties-Yards: 6-50 3-10
Punts-Avg: 1-22 1-26

Score By Quarters
CCHS 32 16 14 8 -- 70
ACHS 12 6 14 14 -- 46

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
CCHS: Charlie Solar 43-yard fumble return. (Bailey Badeaux run) 7:15.

CCHS: Solar 34-yard fumble return. (Stefano Guarisco run) approximately 6:28.

ACHS: Javon Yarbrough 1-yard run. (Run failed) 3:14.

CCHS: Guarisco 75-yard kickoff return. (Guarisco run) 2:58.

ACHS: Daniel Mattingly 23-yard run. (Run failed) 1:09.

CCHS: Guarisco 60-yard run. (Guarisco run) 0:25.

Second Quarter
CCHS: Blake Byrne 40-yard pass to Greg Leger. (Guarisco run) 7:08.

ACHS: Yarbrough 2-yard run. (Run failed) 1:30.

CCHS: Byrne 23-yard pass to Jalen Johnson (Guarisco run) 0:17.

Third Quarter
ACHS: Kaleb Winchester 6-yard run. (Mattingly run) 8:14.

CCHS: Guarisco 1-yard run. (Guarisco pass to Badeaux) 4:38.

CCHS: Byrne 23-yard pass to Guarisco. (Badeaux run) 2:05.

ACHS: Winchester 45-yard run. (Run failed) 1:25.

Fourth Quarter
ACHS: Yarbrough 10-yard run. (Winchester 2 pt. run good) 7:31.

CCHS: Sydney Holder 10-yard run. (Run failed) 3:16.

ACHS: Winchester 67-yard kickoff return. (Run failed) 2:40.

CCHS Individual Stats
Rushing
Stefano Guarisco, 18-143 yds., 2 TDs; Sydney Holder, 7-43 yds., TD; Damarcus Mitchell, 3-31 yds.; Chris Singleton, 2-11 yds.; Blake Byrne, 5-8 yds.

Passing
Blake Byrne, 6-of-7 for 153 yd., 3 TDs; Damarcus Mitchell, 1-of-2 with 1 Int. and 15 yds.

Receiving
Greg Leger, 3-101 yds., TD; Jalen Johnson, 2-37 yds., TD; Stefano Guarisco, 1-23 yds., TD; Damarcus Mitchell, 1-7 yds.