Vermilion Catholic able to outlast Central Catholic

MORGAN CITY - Vermilion Catholic outlasted Central Catholic 48-30 in a District 7-1A showdown Thursday at Tiger Stadium in Morgan City.
Vermilion Catholic has won six straight games against Central Catholic dating back to 2011 — five district games and a postseason meeting.
VC scored its first touchdown of the game on a 29-yard reception from VC quarterback Hunter Frith to Devren Constantine. VC was behind 8-7 at the end of the first quarter.
In a game of big plays, a blocked punt by Vermilion Catholic (5-2, 3-1) in the second quarter turned the tide.
After taking a 14-8 lead early in the quarter on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Frith to Devren Constantine, the Screaming Eagles forced a Central Catholic three-and-out.
Thomas Garber’s punt was blocked by Kalix Broussard and Vermilion Catholic recovered it for a score to push the lead to 20-8 with 8:13 remaining in the half. Griffin Dyson recovered the ball for VC in the end zone.
“A couple critical plays really hurt us tonight,” Central Coach Tommy Minton said. “The blocked punt, of course, and they had some big plays on punt and kickoff returns. We knew the kid (Constantine) was good, and we worked on some things there, but they won the special teams’ battle and that was a big difference in the ball game.”
Central Catholic didn’t go away, however, turning to standout running back Stefano Guarisco. The senior, usually an outside runner, started running between the tackles.
“They had a lot of speed on defense, and we needed to limit their offensive possessions, so we started running the ball inside,” Minton said.
Guarisco, one of the state’s top rushers, had another big night, carrying 44 times for 279 yards and three touchdowns. He had 135 yards and two scores in the first half to keep Central Catholic in the game.
Guarisco has carried 188 times for 1,635 yards and 24 touchdowns this season.
The teams traded scores before the half with Central Catholic getting a 64-yard touchdown pass from Blake Byrne to Jalen Johnson with 35 seconds left in the first half.
Vermilion Catholic led 27-24 at halftime.
Frith, the state’s leading passer in all classes, opened the second half with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Derouen just 16 seconds into the third quarter to push the lead to 34-24.
Frith was 10 of 19 passing for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He has completed 117 of 207 passes for 2,177 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions this season.
Three VC receivers had at least three catches or more in the game.
Constantine had three catches for 104 yards. Two of catches were for touchdowns.
Central Catholic went to the wildcat formation with Guarisco taking the snaps and looking for a crease in the Vermilion Catholic defense. The senior broke free for a 94-yard touchdown run with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter, but a block in the back penalty near the end zone took the score off the board. He was credited with a 77-yard run, and he capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring run with 1:51 remaining in the quarter to pull Central Catholic within striking distance at 34-30.
Derouen had two big touchdown runs of 43 and 18 yards in the fourth period to secure the victory for VC.
Central Catholic (6-1, 3-1) opened the fourth quarter with a 10-play drive down to the Vermilion Catholic 34-yard line with 7:29 remaining. Facing a fourth-and-2, Guarisco pounded inside, but Vermilion Catholic’s defense was ready for him, giving the ball back to the Screaming Eagles offense.
Derouen did the damage from there, adding 43 and 18-yard touchdown runs. He carried eight times for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and he had a 53-yard touchdown catch.
Byrne was 7 of 14 passing for 98 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions for Central Catholic.
VC’s Payton Trahan had four catches for 73 yards, and Emile Trahan had 2 for 40 yards.
Kalix Broussard and Alex LeBlanc combined for 44 yards on 11 totes.
Vermilion Catholic outgained Central Catholic 445 (150 yards rushing and 295 yards passing) to 418 (320 yards rushing and 98 yards passing).
Central Catholic will host Hanson Friday, while Vermilion Catholic will host Gueydan.