The Guerin Catholic football team exploded for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to shake off Lafayette Central Catholic 28-14 Friday night at the Eagles Nest. Not only did Guerin win the traveling trophy for which the two schools play every year, but it also improved to 2-0 for the season.
The best thing that Lafayette Central Catholic could probably do was to just completely forget about what happened in their season opener at home last week against neighboring Lafayette Jeff in a 54-0 drubbing at the hands of the visiting Bronchos.
LCC head coach Dan Coller was hoping to avoid the first 0-2 start to a season for LCC since 2004, when they dropped three of four when Ryan Gallogly was coach, something Kevin O’Shea never did in his nine seasons at the helm of the Knights before heading to North Central this season.
The visiting Knights had the first possession of the game, but only managed to punt the ball. It was a prime opportunity for Guerin Catholic, as punt returner Thomas Kaser returned Jack Hudson’s punt 46-yards to the Central Catholic eight-yard line, getting the Golden Eagles set up for a quick score.
Three plays later, Kaser would finish off the short, eight-yard drive with a touchdown run from one-yard out to give Guerin Catholic an early 7-0 lead.
Trading a total of four punts, Guerin’s Luke Keller throwing an interception and each team turning the ball over on downs once, most of the second quarter looked like a couple of teams that were figuring each other out, but couldn’t produce anything out of it.
The host Golden Eagles went into halftime with a slim 7-0 lead, but know they had to get something going again on offense, as they would receive the second half kickoff.
Keller and the Golden Eagles would sputter on their first drive of the third, punting after three plays, but Roc Ricker’s punt would bounce all the way down to the Central Catholic four-yard line. That put the Knights in a hole they couldn’t dig out of, punting right back.
Guerin managed just nine yards on the ensuing series, turning the ball over on downs at LCC’s 22.
Central Catholic was then able to put together a drive that would get them back in the game and instill confidence on both sides of the ball.
The Knights marched 78 yards while eating up almost seven minutes of the third period and topped off the drive with a two-yard Carlos Velasquez touchdown run on a QB keeper to tie the game 7-7.
Being off the field almost half of the 3rd didn’t faze the Guerin offense, as they got right back to work, putting together a scoring drive of their own. This time, it was Bernie McGuinness reeling in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Keller to start the fourth quarter with a bang, putting Guerin back in front, 14-7.
Jordan Turpin returned the kickoff 36 yards to the Guerin 43, giving the Knights great field position. Velasquez would go back to their attack. The drive would result in evening up the score once again, as the southpaw signal caller Velasquez found Jack Hudson for a seven-yard TD pass in the back left corner of the end zone for a 14-14 tie.
At this point in the football game, something had to give and tide was about to turn. And luckily, it turned in the host Golden Eagles’ favor.
A deflected Kaser field goal attempt and an LCC punt later, Guerin would start to grind out the remainder of the clock.
With the game tied early in the fourth, both teams had finally got something going on both sides of the ball.
“I think we’ll look back at some of the first half series and be pretty disappointed in our focus and intensity. I think all our guys were confident that they could do some things, but we weren’t doing it. A lot of that credit goes to that team in white. Obviously that’s a much storied and very proud traditional program and they’re always gonna keep coming after you,” Guerin Catholic head coach Tom Dilley on the history of Central Catholic football.
The Golden Eagles would continue their pursuit of victory, putting another score on the board and would take the lead for good on a Dylan Crossen three-yard touchdown run with 4:35 left for a 21-14 score.
Penalties would be costly for the visitors on their next drive, as they would start at their 35, but wind up turning the ball over at the 18.
That made it easy for Guerin Catholic. After Thomas Kaser had worn out the Central Catholic defense all night long and it was time for another teammate to reach paydirt.
Luke Keller did just that from one-yard out with 1:03 on the clock, icing the win 28-14, sending Lafayette Central Catholic to an 0-2 record for the first time in 13 seasons.
“The second half, I think we calmed down at times and got more of a rhythm going; and that may have been even with our play calls,” Dilley on how his team came around in the second half.
After turning out a 141-yard performance in a 13-11 Week 1 win at Martinsville, Kaser has turned himself into quite a feature back, doing a lot of his rushing between the tackles.
“For the most part, that’s a big part of our identity and he does it with a little different style than we’ve done it before. He played a really big game and I know that he’d be the first to tell you that gives a lot of credit to his offensive line,” Dilley said of Kaser’s success and game approach.
Kaser finished the game with 30 carries for 216 yards, while also booting all four extra points. The senior tailback now has 52 carries and 357 yards (6.8 average) after just two games.
Guerin Catholic (2-0) hits the road next week as they take on Heritage Christian (2-0), which blew out Noblesville Home School 63-16. Lafayette Central Catholic (0-2) will also be on the road, facing the Tipton Blue Devils (2-0), who dominated at Elwood 55-6.
The Guerin Catholic football seniors show off the Bishop’s Cannon, which the Golden Eagles won Friday night after beating Lafayette Central Catholic 28-14 at the Eagles Nest. Guerin scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to secure the win. (Richie Hall)