Football Narrowly Escapes vs. St. Mary's Preparatory School at Home, 7-6

The Central Catholic football team secured a narrow 7-6 victory against St. Mary's Preparatory School on Friday in Gallagher Stadium.  With the hard-fought win, the Fighting Irish improve to 7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Catholic High School League.

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 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 conference matchup, but CCHS responded with 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 a team-high 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.

CCHS, which is ranked No. 3 in this week’s Associated Press Division III state poll, will return to the field against arch-rival St. Francis de Sales next 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.

A season ago, Central Catholic blanked SFDS, 69-0, in Gallagher Stadium.  The Fighting Irish scored 8 touchdowns in the 1st half to establish control versus the Knights, helping them secure their 24th-consecutive victory in the series.  More importantly, CCHS registered its 22nd-straight win in the series and successfully hold onto the coveted Irish-Knight Trophy.  Central Catholic has not lost to its rival since 2003.  A total of 7 different Central Catholic players found the end zone vs. the Knights, 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 CCHS racked up 406 total yards.