VC is too much for CCHS in 48-30 win

Vermilion Catholic outlasted Central Catholic 48-30 in a District 7-1A showdown Thursday at Tiger Stadium in Morgan City.
Vermilion Catholic has won six straight games against Central Catholic dating back to 2011 — five district games and a postseason meeting.
In a game of big plays, a blocked punt by Vermilion Catholic (5-2, 3-1) in the second quarter turned the tide.
After taking a 14-8 lead early in the quarter on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Frith to Devren Constantine, the Screaming Eagles forced a Central Catholic three-and-out.
Thomas Garber’s punt was blocked and Vermilion Catholic recovered for a score to push the lead to 20-8 with 8:13 remaining in the half.
“A couple critical plays really hurt us tonight,” Central Coach Tommy Minton said. “The blocked punt, of course, and they had some big plays on punt and kickoff returns. We knew the kid (Constantine) was good, and we worked on some things there, but they won the special teams’ battle and that was a big difference in the ball game.”
Central Catholic didn’t go away, however, turning to standout running back Stefano Guarisco. The senior, usually an outside runner, started running between the tackles.
“They had a lot of speed on defense, and we needed to limit their offensive possessions, so we started running the ball inside,” Minton said.
Guarisco, one of the state’s top rushers, had another big night, carrying 44 times for 274 yards and three touchdowns.
The teams traded scores before the half with Central Catholic getting a 64-yard touchdown pass from Blake Byrne to Jalen Johnson with 35 seconds left. Vermilion Catholic led 27-24 at halftime.
Frith, the state’s leading passer in all classes, opened the second half with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Derouen just 16 seconds into the third quarter to push the lead to 34-24.
Frith was 10 of 19 passing for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He has completed 117 of 207 passes for 2,177 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions this season.
Central Catholic went to the wildcat formation with Guarisco taking the snaps and looking for a crease in the Vermilion Catholic defense. The senior broke free for a 94-yard touchdown run with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter, but a block in the back penalty near the end zone took the score off the board. He was credited with a 77-yard run, and he capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring run with 1:51 remaining in the quarter to pull Central Catholic within striking distance at 34-30.
Central Catholic (6-1, 3-1) opened the fourth quarter with a 10-play drive down to the Vermilion Catholic 34-yard line with 7:29 remaining. Facing a fourth-and-2, Guarisco pounded inside, but Vermilion Catholic’s defense was ready for him, giving the ball back to the Screaming Eagles offense.
“It’s 34-30 with like five minutes left in the game, and we have a fourth-and-2 and we don’t convert,” Minton said. “If we can keep that drive going, we’re at the plus end of the field, we could eat a lot of clock, but it is what it is and we have to rebound from this. We control our own destiny. We win out, and we’re district co-champions.”
Derouen did the damage from there, adding 43 and 18-yard touchdown runs. He carried eight times for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and he had a 53-yard touchdown catch.
Constantine led Vermilion Catholic's receivers with three catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Byrne was 7 of 14 passing for 98 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions for Central Catholic.
Vermilion Catholic outgained Central Catholic 445 (150 yards rushing and 295 yards passing) to 409 (311 yards rushing and 98 yards passing).
Central Catholic will host Hanson Friday, while Vermilion Catholic will host Gueydan.

VC CC
First downs: 16 19
Rushing yards: 150 311
Passing yards: 295 98
Total yards: 445 409
A-C-HI: 19-10-0 14-7-3
Penalties-yards: 6-45 6-57
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 0-0

Score by Quarters
VC 7 20 7 14
CC 8 16 6 0

Scoring summary
First Quarter
CC: Stefano Guarisco 60-yd. run (run good) 10:31

VC: Devren Constantine 29-yd. pass from Hunter Frith (kick good) 3:15

Second Quarter
VC: Constantine 68-yard pass from Frith (kick good) 10:56

VC: Blocked punt in end zone (kick failed) 8:13

CC: Guarisco 1-yd. run (run good) 1:57

VC: Emile Trahan 25-yard pass from Frith (kick good) 1:27

CC: Jalen Johnson 64-yd. pass from Blake Byrne (run good) 0:35

Third Quarter
VC: Tyler Derouen 53-yd. pass from Frith (kick good) 11:44

CC: Guarisco 1-yd. run (run failed) 1:51

Fourth Quarter
VC: Derouen 43-yd. run (kick good) 6:36

VC: Derouen 18-yd. run (kick good) 1:16

CCHS Stats
Passing
Blake Byrne, 7-14-3, 98 yds., 1 TD

Receiving
Jalen Johnson, 3-76 yds., TD; Tanner Wiggins, 1-0 yds.; Demarcus Mitchell, 2-15 yds.; Stefano Guarisco, 1-7 yds.

Rushing
Stefano Guarisco, 44-274 yds., 3 TDs; Demarcus Mitchell, 5-32 yds.; Blake Byrne, 3-5 yds.