Guarisco runs wild in CCHS' 54-27 win

Stefano Guarisco took off offensively and the Central Catholic Eagles clamped down defensively to lead the Morgan City-based squad’s rally in the first half en route to a 54-27 victory Thursday.
Guarisco rushed for 402 yards on 28 carries and scored five touchdowns as the Eagles rallied from deficits of 13-0 and 19-16 in the first half.
While the Eagles took the lead for good on Guarisco’s 76-yard run with 3:43 left in the first half for a 24-19 advantage, the game wasn’t comfortably in hand until the Eagles added two scores within the last eight minutes to seal the win.
Guarisco had 248 yards rushing at the half and 313 yards less than three minutes into the third quarter after carrying five times for 65 yards on the Eagles opening drive of the third quarter that he capped with a touchdown.
“It’s not on me,” Guarisco said of his performance. “It’s the offensive linemen, the wide receivers. I even saw Blake Byrne, our quarterback, go one time and hit somebody. We weren’t satisfied the way we played the last two weeks going out. We were eager to get back on the field. All of us couldn’t sleep for two weeks now.”
Defensively, after surrendering 217 yards to St. John on the ground in the first half — including 160 in the first quarter — Central Catholic clamped down on defense as they surrendered just 43 yards rushing the remainder of the game. St. John finished the game with 278 yards of total offense (260 rushing and 18 passing).
“We made a few adjustments with some fronts,” Central Catholic coach Tommy Minton said. “I went to some four-man front stuff. We tried a couple things. Tried to slow them down. The big thing (that) slowed them down more than anything was the heat. They got tired, and we were a little fresher than them.”
Early on, things looked bleak for Central Catholic, facing its third straight Wing-T team in as many weeks after facing Covenant Christian in a scrimmage and Catholic High-New Iberia in the jamboree last week.
Central Catholic had trouble stopping St. John on its first two drives as the squad drove 63 yards and 80 yards on its first two series, which were capped off by touchdowns runs by Gavin Landry of 9 yards and 22 yards, respectively, for a 13-0 lead. Landry, also the team’s point-after kicker, converted the first extra point, while his attempt at a two-point conversion run after the second touchdown was no good.
While Guarisco broke a 49-yard touchdown run on his first attempt of the night on the Eagles’ first offensive play from scrimmage, the touchdown was called back due to a personal foul penalty. The Eagles struggled with penalties, including several personal foul calls, as they finished the contest with 12 penalties for 139 yards.
Central Catholic could not reach the end zone again on its first drive after Guarisco’s touchdown was called back.
However, the squad regrouped on its second possession as they moved 58 yards on four plays capped by a Guarisco 7-yard run for a score with 1:20 remaining in the opening quarter. Guarisco’s two-point conversion run was good to cut St. John’s lead to 13-8.
While St. John drove as deep as the Central Catholic 25 on its next drive, the Eagles defense stiffened and didn’t allow the home team to reach the end zone with a fourth-down stop at the Central Catholic 25.
After taking over on offense, the Eagles needed just one play to score as Guarisco took a handoff and raced 75 yards for a score on a play in which he slipped multiple tackles — including one near the line of scrimmage where he appeared stopped — and cut across the field and then to the end zone.
Guarisco’s two-point run was good for a 16-13 Central Catholic advantage with 8:50 remaining in the opening quarter.
St. John needed just one play to respond as following a 69-yard kickoff return by Landry to the Central Catholic 8, Justin Rivet took a handoff and scored on an 8-yard run. Clay Payne’s two-point pass was no good, but St. John now led 19-16 with 8:30 remaining in the first half.
Central Catholic would add one more touchdown in the first half.
After stopping St. John on three plays, the Eagles forced St. John to punt.
Facing a first-and-15 situation at its own 24 yard line, Guarisco struck again as he broke a 76-yard run for a touchdown with 3:43 remaining in the first half. Blake Byrne’s 2-point run was good for a 24-19 Central Catholic lead they would never relinquish.
“The big thing is when things were going wrong, we didn’t’ lay down. … We stuck with it,” Minton said. “We fought through and made some good things happen.”
Guarisco finished the first half with 248 yards and three scores.
On Central Catholic’s first drive of the third quarter, Guarisco carried the ball each time of a five-play, 65-yard drive that he capped with a 6-yard run with 9:46 remaining. Byrne’s two-point pass was no good, but Central Catholic led 30-19.
Central Catholic would strike again late in the third quarter when Byrne connected with Jalen Johnson, who caught a pass behind a receiver and raced down the Eagles sideline for a 73-yard touchdown run with 1:15 remaining. Guarisco’s two-point run was good for a 38-19 advantage.
Byrne finished the game completing 4 of 7 passes for 76 yards with a touchdown.
Johnson led the Eagles’ receivers with two catches for 67 yards and a score.
St. John scored its final points of the night on its ensuing drive as they moved down the field, beginning at the Central Catholic 40, on a drive that was capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Payne to Gavin Primeaux with 11:01 left in the fourth quarter. Payne’s two-point run was good to cut Central Catholic’s advantage to 38-27.
The Eagles would add touchdowns on their final two drives as Guarisco capped an eight-play, 52-yard drive with a 7-yard run with 7:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, while Damarcus Mitchell scored on a 17-yard run with 2:08 remaining.
Byrne connected with Johnson on a two-point pass on the first touchdown, while Sydney Holder, who carried four times for 23 yards on the drive, dove at the goal line for the two-point conversion for the final margin.
Central Catholic (1-0) will return to action Friday when it travels to face Class 2A Opelousas Catholic at 7 p.m.
St. John will travel to Brusly Friday for a 7 p.m. contest.

CCHS St. John
First Downs: 16 13
Rushing Yards: 440 260
Passing Yards: 76 18
Total Yards: 516 278
PA-C-HI: 7-4-0 9-2-0
Pts-avg: 3-42 3-38
Pen-Yds: 12-139 6-35
Fumbles-Lost: 0-0 2-0

Score by Quarters
CCHS: 8 14 16 16
St. John: 13 6 0 8

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
St. John: Gavin Landry 9-yard run. (Landry kick good) 8:55

St. John: Landry 22-yard run. (2 pt. run fail)

CCHS: Stefano Guarisco 7-yard run. (Guarisco run) 1:20

Second Quarter
CCHS: Guarisco 75-yard run. (Guarisco run) 8:50

St. John: Justin Rivet 8-yard run. (Pass failed) 8:30

CCHS: Guarisco 76-yard run. (Blake Byrne 2 pt. run) 3:43

Third Quarter
CCHS: Guarisco 6-yard run. (Pass failed) 9:46

CCHS: Byrne 73-yard pass to Jalen Johnson (Guarisco run) 1:15

Fourth Quarter
St. John: Clay Payne 7-yard pass to Gavin Primeaux (Payne 2 pt. run) 11:01

CCHS: Guarisco 7-yard run. (Byrne pass to Johnson) 7:12

CCHS: Damarcus Mitchell 17-yard run (Sydney Holder run) 2:08

Central Catholic Individual Stats
Rushing
Stefano Guarisco, 28-402 yds., 5 TDs; Sydney Holder, 4-23 yds.; Damarcus Mitchell, 2-18 yds., 1 TD; Chris Singleton, 1- (-3) yds

Passing
Blake Byrne, 4-of-7, 76 yds., 1 TD

Receiving
Jalen Johnson, 2-67 yds., 1 TD; Stefano Guarisco, 1-6 yds; Bailey Badeaux, 1-3 yds.