Football Renews Rivalry with St. Francis de Sales on Friday in Glass Bowl
The Central Catholic football team will square off against St. Francis de Sales (6-2, 4-1 CHSL) on Friday, October 18. The opening kick against the Knights is slated for 7 p.m. at the Glass Bowl Stadium on the campus of the University of Toledo.
Tickets for Friday’s showdown must be purchased online at bit.ly/48e04CE. Please note, parking is provided in Areas 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 on UToledo’s campus. Parking in other areas requires a parking permit or payment. For those fans unable to attend the contest, it can be heard on “The Ticket” l 100.7 FM with the “Voice of the Irish” Bill Clark & Jim Oswald, starting at 6:30 p.m. or streamed online HERE.
The Fighting Irish (7-1, 4-1 CHSL) will look to secure their 23rd-consecutive win in the series and successfully hold onto the Irish-Knight Trophy. CCHS has not lost to its crosstown rival since 2003.
Central Catholic, which is ranked No. 2 in this week’s Associated Press Division III state poll, is coming off a narrow 7-6 victory vs. St. Mary’s Preparatory School in Gallagher Stadium in its regular-season home finale.
Senior QB Isaiah Fox connected with junior WR Sharard Vaughn III on a 4-yard TD reception with 59 seconds left in regulation to give the Scarlet & Gray its 1st points of the game.
Following a 15-yard penalty, junior PK Blake Moody successfully booted the extra point for the eventual game-winning tally, extending Central Catholic’s home-winning streak to 23 games.
The last-minute score was setup after an interception by senior LB/TE Dominic Spinazze II, as OLSM was trying to run out the clock.
The Eaglets (4-3, 1-3 CHSL) had 1 final possession to win the game, but CCHS registered consecutive sacks from senior LB Michael Besteda and sophomore LB Antonio Elizondo, as well as a game-sealing interception from senior DB Dantoni Callaway to close out the home triumph.
Individually, senior RB Tyler Morgan finished with 78 yards rushing on 23 carries, while Fox completed 11-of-21 passes (52.4%) for 124 yards and 1 TD. Junior WR Preston Fryzel and Vaughn were Fox’s favorite targets, tallying a squad-best 4 catches each.
Overall this fall, Morgan has accumulated a squad-best 869 yards rushing on 144N carries (6.0 ypg) and 11 TDs. Through the air, Fox has completed 74-of-104 passes (71.2%) for 1,148 yards and 10 TDs. Fryzel has hauled in a team-high 27 receptions for 453 yards and 4 scores, followed by the trio of senior Levelle Stokes III, Davis and Vaughn with 19 catches each.
St. Francis de Sales enters Friday’s action on the heels of a 28-21 win vs. Divine Child on the road.
A season ago, Central Catholic blanked SFDS, 69-0, at home. The Fighting Irish scored 8 touchdowns in the 1st half to establish control versus the Knights. A total of 7 different CCHS players found the end zone, sparked by 3 TDs from 2023 1st-team All-Ohio RB Marquan Braswell in the 1st period. Morgan also posted 2 rushing scores in the dominating home triumph, while junior RB Anthony Sylvester, Mason Johnson, and junior WR Jerome Davis V had 1 TD run each as the Scarlet & Gray racked up 406 total yards.
CCHS will close out its regular season against Mona Shores on Friday, October 25. The opening kick against the Sailors is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sailor Stadium. Mona Shore is a member of the Ottawa-Kent Conference, and it has won a pair of state titles on the gridiron in 2019 and 2020. The Fighting Irish will square off against the Sailors for the 1st time.
