After two hour bus ride, Central surges past Barnstable

David Willis, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·2 min read

Oct. 31—A one-day delay, a two-hour bus ride and rainy, cold conditions couldn't derail the Central Catholic football team.

Ayden Pereira threw three touchdowns, two to Preston Zinter, and the Raiders closed out the regular season with a 38-21 victory over host Barnstable on Saturday afternoon. The game was pushed back a day due to weather and power outages on Cape Cod.

"The kids were dialed in and we got a good win today," said Central (7-1) coach Chuck Adamopoulos. "It's not easy to take a long trip like that. We like to be there two hours before the game, so it's a long day. and Barnstable (6-2) is a good team with a tough offense. We defended very well."

The Raiders jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter on a Mike Ryan 23-yard field goal and a Matthias Latham 4-yard touchdown run. Pereira added to the advantage with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Lesofsky before Barnstable scored to make it 17-7 at halftime.

"We were driving for another touchdown (before halftime) before we committed a couple penalties and had to punt," said Adamopoulos. "Then they scored right before halftime to make it 17-7, and we had to kick to them after halftime. That was a crucial point in the game, and our guys stepped up."

The Central defense forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the second half and then the offense went to work.

First, Pereira hit Zinter for a 70-yard touchdown pass. Then, after another defensive stop, Pereira and Zinter connected on a 5-yard score. Nathel Achuo added a 26-yard touchdown run to make it 38-7 after three quarters, and the Central backups entered the game in the fourth quarter.

Inside linebackers Sean Mercuri (interception) and Evan LeBlanc led the Central defense, which allowed just one score with the starters in the game.

"I thought we played well on defense today, much better than we did last week," said Adamopoulos. "Our defensive line and linebackers did a much better job up front. I'm very happy with the way we played on both sides of the ball."

Central will now wait for the MIAA to announced its playoff matchups on Monday.

Central Catholic 38, Barnstable 21

Central Catholic (7-1): 10 7 21 0 — 38

Barnstable (6-2): 0 7 0 14 — 21

First Quarter

CC — Mike Ryan 23 field goal

CC — Matthias Latham 4 run (Ryan kick)

Second Quarter

CC — Andrew Lesofsky 22 pass from Ayden Pereira (Ryan kick)

B — Ayden Edwards 6 run (Nolan Fay kick)

Third Quarter

CC — Preston Zinter 70 pass from Pereira (Ryan kick)

CC — Zinter 5 pass from Pereira (Ryan kick)

CC — Nathel Achuo 26 run (Ryan kick)

Fourth Quarter

B — Eugene Jordan 9 run (Fay kick)

B — Edwards 4 run (Fay kick)

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