Eagles record shut out against Sacred Heart

Central Catholic cashed in on Sacred Heart of Ville Platte turnovers en route to a 14-0 win in the finale of three games at the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette’s jamboree at Teurlings Catholic Friday.
The Eagles scored both of their touchdowns off Sacred Heart miscues as Stefano Guarisco intercepted Sacred Heart’s quarterback’s pass at the Trojans’ 36-yard line, which the Eagles turned into points later in the quarter after Guarisco rushed for a 5-yard touchdown run. Matthew Barbier’s extra point with 1:11 remaining in the first half gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
In the second half, Central Catholic’s Logan Arias recovered a fumble at the Sacred Heart 28-yard line after Sacred Heart had lined up to punt.
Two plays later, Guarisco reached the end zone on a 23-yard run with 8:26 remaining. Barbier’s extra point was good for a 14-0 Central Catholic advantage.
The Eagles nearly scored on a third turnover later in the contest as Guarisco thwarted Sacred Heart’s deepest drive into Central Catholic territory at the 31-yard line when he intercepted a fourth-down pass attempt for an interception at the 10-yard line and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. However, the score was negated via penalty, and Central Catholic got the ball at its own 12-yard line.
Still, the Eagles nearly scored on the ensuing drive as they moved the ball 80 yards on the game’s final drive before letting the clock run out at the Sacred Heart 9-yard line.
Sacred Heart coach Gary Adkins agreed turnovers hurt his squad.
“You can’t turn the ball over. … We just got to get better, and we’re going to get better,” he said. “We just got to keep working.”
As a team, the Eagles totaled 188 yards of total offense — 110 rushing and 78 passing.
Guarisco, who was named the Eagles’ MVP, led the Eagles with 13 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns while catching three passes for 48 yards.
Blake Byrne did well for the Eagles at quarterback, completing 9 of 16 passes for 110 yards.
Samarick Paul also added three catches for 29 yards.
“Offensively, we dropped a few balls,” Minton said. “If we make a couple catches, we get a couple more points. I thought we ran the ball at times pretty well. We’re a work in progress is what we are. As long as we keep the attitude we have right now, we’ll get better.”
Defensively, the Eagles limited the run-heavy Trojans to just 49 yards.
Of the four pass attempts by Sacred Heart, the Eagles picked off two of them, while the other two fell incomplete.
“First string defense didn’t give up a point,” Minton said. “That’s always the goal. We were a little soft off tackle with the fullback at times, though. That did not make me happy, but when it came down to it on third down, we got off the field, got that ball back to our offense.”
Sacred Heart’s Garrick Fontenot was named his team’s MVP.
Central Catholic will open its season Friday at Loreauville, while Sacred Heart will host Basile Friday.