By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – The Guerin Catholic football team got three things out of its 42-0 win over Culver Academies Friday at the Eagles’ Nest.
First, the Class 3A No. 9 Golden Eagles gave their seniors a nice victory on Senior Night. Second, the team rebounded after a Week 8 loss to East Central. Third, Guerin Catholic got a confidence boost heading into next week’s sectional.
“All the seniors played meaningful roles and did some good things tonight, and that’s really a positive thing,” said GC coach Tom Dilley. “But it also gets some really good experience, as well as some positive learning experiences going into the playoffs.”
The Golden Eagles blasted through the first quarter, leading 21-0 by the end of the period. Malcolm Houze set Guerin up with a 41-yard pass to Will Fremion, getting the Golden Eagles down to the Culver 8. Two plays later, Justin Zdobylak ran the ball in from the four-yard line for Guerin Catholic’s first touchdown.
Midway through the period, Houze threw a short pass to Alex Gibbs, and that turned into a 57-yard touchdown. The Golden Eagles quickly got the ball back, and Anthony Ferrucci was soon in the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown run.
“Our whole thing is, this is the start of the next season, a one-week season every week,” said Ferrucci. “So, I think just getting the mojo back after the tough loss to East Central is good going into the post-season.”
“You always want to start fast,” said Dilley. “I thought our defense did a nice job of getting a couple early stops and giving our offense some good field position and I thought we capitalized.”
Houze took over in the later stages of the second quarter, as he was responsible for two touchdowns. He punched in the ball from the one-yard line with 3:56 left, then in the period’s final minute, tossed a 43-yard TD throw to Ferrucci.
“I feel like we’re doing okay,” said Houze. “We’ve had a tough schedule, so our record doesn’t show how good we are.”
Evan Guenthner made extra-point kicks after four of those touchdowns, with Noah Sandlin making one. The Golden Eagles held a 35-0 halftime lead, so there was a running clock in the second half. Guerin Catholic got one more score: Zdobylak rushed the ball 56 yards to the end zone with 4:20 left in the third quarter. Guenthner made that kick, putting him 5-for-5 on the night.
The Golden Eagles are 5-4 for the regular season, and will play a Sectional 28 first round game next Friday at Oak Hill.
GUERIN CATHOLIC 42, CULVER ACADEMIES 0
Score by Quarters
Culver Academies 0 0 0 0 – 0
Guerin Catholic 21 14 7 0 – 42
Team Stats CA GC
First Downs 7 13
By Rush 3 9
By Pass 3 4
By Penalty 1 0
Rushes-Yards 24-17 26-182
Yards Passing 80 159
Comp-Att-Int-TD 10-29-2-0 5-12-0-2
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 3-14 2-28
Punts-Average 6-30.8 2-40.5
Guerin Catholic Scoring
First Quarter
8:24 – Justin Zdobylak 4-yard run (Evan Guenthner kick)
5:14 – Alex Gibbs 57-yard pass from Malcolm Houze (Evan Guenthner kick)
3:58 – Anthony Ferrucci 14-yard run (Noah Sandlin kick)
Second Quarter
3:56 – Houze 1-yard run (Guenthner kick)
0:35 – Ferrucci 43-yard pass from Houze (Guenthner kick)
Third Quarter
4:20 – Zdobylak 56-yard run (Guenthner kick)
Guerin Catholic individual stats
Rushing: Zdobylak 10-111, Ferrucci 4-36, Cooper Navarro 4-33, Gibbs 1-17, Houze 1-1, Ely Burns 6-minus 16.
Passing: Houze 5-11-159, Klee 0-1-0.
Receiving: Will Fremion 2-55, Ferrucci 2-47, Gibbs 1-57.