Guarisco sparks CCHS to comeback victory

Trailing 26-14 in the third quarter with all the momentum in Highland Baptist’s favor, Central Catholic needed a spark.
They got one in Stefano Guarisco.
Guarisco, who Coach Tommy Minton said Wednesday would not play after an injury last week, came in on offense in the second half and rushed for three touchdowns and 120 yards on nine carries to lift the Central Catholic Eagles to a 48-26 victory against the Highland Baptist Bears.
The spark by Guarisco, who Minton said was still not at full strength, seemed to ignite the Central Catholic defense, who turned things up a notch and began to hold down the Highland Baptist offense until the Eagles had put the game away.
“Stefano gave us a spark when he came in, and I got to give (it to) the two freshmen (running backs Chris Singleton and Demarcus Mitchell),” Minton said. “I thought they did a good job in the first half. It wasn’t anything they were doing. They did a good job, but it’s just a matter of the experience and the competitiveness and the spark he (Guarisco) brought to the team, so we went with him.”
While Minton said Guarisco wasn’t at full strength, he certainly showed explosiveness.
Highland Baptist coach Artie Liuzza called Guarisco a “great back” and said the Highland Baptist coaches knew from film study the Eagles wouldn’t give up.
“They’re not going to quit on anything, no matter how far they get down. … Stefano came in there, gave ’em a spark, and I’m really proud of both teams tonight in the effort they both gave,” Liuzza said.
Like a year ago, the Eagles had trouble stopping the Highland Baptist Wing-T attack, particularly, freshman fullback Bronte Griffin, who rushed for 205 yards on 29 carries and one touchdown.
However, after rushing for 40 yards on the Bears’ first drive of the second half, he was limited to 28 yards the remainder of the second half.
Meanwhile, the Bears, as a whole, were limited to 40 yards rushing in the second half after rushing for 146 yards in the first half.
Minton said his team was more physical and played harder in the second half on defense.
“One of the big things we told the kids at halftime (was), ‘go have fun,’” Minton said. “They kind of looked like they were sleepwalking a little bit in the first half on defense. We just want them to run around a little bit and have some fun, and that’s what they did.”
Senior halfback Gary Roberts, who Minton said in the Eagles’ preview helped set things up for Griffin, was limited to eight carries for 7 yards and one score. He caught one pass for a 32-yard touchdown.
While his day certainly was a good one, Guarisco actually was the Eagles’ second leading rusher behind freshman running back Chris Singleton, who finished with 14 carries for 127 yards and a score in his first varsity start.
“He did a really good job. I knew he had some yardage, but watching the tape, watching the way he ran it, I was really, really pleased,” Minton said this morning.
Fellow freshman Demarcus Mitchell also carried twice for 15 yards in the game.
As a team, Central Catholic rushed for 259 yards on 29 carries with four scores.
After the Bears’ Justin Angers recovered a fumble on a bad snap to Central Catholic sophomore quarterback Blake Byrne at the Highland Baptist 7 on the Eagles’ first drive, Highland Baptist needed just five plays to reach the end zone when senior quarterback Logan Jordan found senior Peyton Theriot for what Theriot turned into a 76-yard touchdown reception.
The Bears’ couldn’t get the extra point off after a bad snap, so they led 6-0 with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter.
Jordan completed 6 of 21 passes for 170 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Theriot led Highland Baptist receivers with one catch for 76 yards and a score. Brody Griffin also had four catches for 62 yards.
The Eagles responded on their next drive, a mixture of Singleton’s running and Byrne’s passing, that concluded with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Byrne to sophomore receiver Jalen Johnson with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
Matthew Barbier, who finished 6 for 6 on extra points, converted his first of the night for a 7-6 Central Catholic advantage.
Later in the first half, the Bears retook the lead on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Jordan to Roberts for a 13-7 advantage with 6:05 remaining in the half.
While Central Catholic took the lead at the 1:05 mark on a 2-yard run by Singleton, Highland Baptist quickly responded when Bronte Griffin took the first hand off on the ensuing drive and slipped past the Eagles for a 68-yard run and a 20-14 Highland Baptist advantage with 43 seconds remaining in the half.
In the second half, Highland Baptist extended its lead after Brody Griffin intercepted Byrne and returned it to the Central Catholic 43. Six plays later, Roberts scored from three yards out with 7:49 remaining for a 26-14 advantage.
That’s when Guarisco ignited the Eagles.
On the Eagles’ next drive, the Eagles’ junior running back had a hand in each play of the Eagles’ four-play, 61-yard drive. Three of his touches — two runs and one reception — resulted in first downs and the fourth was a 3-yard touchdown to cut the Eagles' deficit to 26-20 with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles took the lead for good when, on fourth down of Highland Baptist's ensuing possession, a snap to Jordan -- also Highland Baptist’s punter -- went past him and Central Catholic junior Charlie Solar recovered in the end zone for a touchdown and a 28-26 advantage with 5:05 remaining in the third following Barbier's extra point.
The Eagles added a touchdown on their next three offensive possessions as Guarisco scored on runs of 11 and 5 yards, while in between Guarisco's scores, Byrne connected with Samarick Paul for what the sophomore receiver turned into a 49-yard touchdown catch and run.
Byrne completed 9 of 17 passes for 170 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Paul led the Eagles’ receivers with three catches for 62 yards and a score, while Johnson had two catches for 58 yards and a score.
Central Catholic rolled up 429 yards of offense.
Highland Baptist had 356 yards of offense — 170 passing and 186 rushing.
“We’re not hanging our heads on this one,” Liuzza said. “Central Catholic’s a great football team, and we did some really good things against them so we’re going to build on that.”
Central Catholic will return to action next Friday when it faces Vermilion Catholic in Abbeville.