CCHS to meet Centerville Thursday in district play

Central Catholic High School will travel to face Centerville Thursday in a key District 7-1A contest.
With a win, Central Catholic (4-4 overall, 3-1 in district) will play for a share of the district title next week in its season finale against Vermilion Catholic after Vermilion Catholic edged Lafayette Christian Academy 10-9 last week.
However, the Eagles must first tackle an explosive Centerville team that is averaging 44.3 points a game.
The game, originally scheduled for Friday, was moved up a day due to expected inclement weather Friday.
As for the Bulldogs, the squad runs a wing-t offense that has produced 2,954 yards of offense, including 2,851 yards rushing.
The Bulldogs ground game is led by senior Matthew Lebourgeois, who has rushed 92 times for 1,082 yards and 15 touchdowns. He averages 11.8 yards a carry. Other top ball carriers are junior Jaylon Cooks, who has carried 81 times for 581 yards and five touchdowns; senior Noah Verret, 53 carries for 455 yards and seven touchdowns; and freshman Morty Frederick, who has 53 carries for 431 yards and four scores.
“They’re executing well on offense, and our defense is going to have to show up and play a great ball game,” Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said.
A week ago in a 63-14 victory against Highland Baptist, Centerville totaled 676 yards of offense, including 656 rushing.
Lebourgeois rushed 24 times for 341 yards and three scores, while Verret added 18 carries for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
Centerville and Central Catholic met earlier this season in Central Catholic’s jamboree in which the Eagles rallied for a 20-12 victory.
“When you look at this ball game, there’s a lot of familiarity there,” Minton said. “No. 1, me and Coach (Mark) Millet know each other really, really well. We worked together at Patterson for five years. He does a great job. He’s a fundament coach. He loves the game of football, and he teaches it in its purest form. A physical, physical football is what he puts out there.
“I know his schemes,” Minton added. “He knows my schemes, so you’re going to do a little tinkering to try to fool the other guy, but for the most part, you’re going to see hard-nosed football on each side. I think turnovers play a big part in that. Penalties play a big part in that. The team that can commit the least turnovers and commit the least number of penalties is going to have an advantage because of the familiarity between the two teams.”
A week ago, Central Catholic held off Hanson Memorial for a 16-12 win.
Like Centerville, the Eagles are led by their ground game this season. Senior running back Chris Singleton has 152 carries for 1,112 yards and 15 touchdowns, while sophomore quarterback Davidyione Bias has 110 carries for 548 yards and five touchdowns.
Sophomore quarterback Taylor Blanchard has completed 31 of 61 passes for 447 yards with two touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Junior DeDe Gant is the Eagles’ leading receiver with 18 receptions for 295 yards and a touchdown, while Brooks Thomas has caught 10 passes for 138 yards and two scores.
Thursday’s game also has some significance for Minton, who is one win away from joining an elite group with 200 career coaching victories.
“I tell everybody the first thing it means is I’m getting old,” Minton laughed. “I’ve been doing this a long time, but I’ve been extremely blessed throughout my coaching career. I’ve been surrounded by a lot of lot of good football coaches that I’ve got to work with, and I’ve gotten to coach a lot of good athletes”
Minton said that the 200 wins would be more “a reflection” of the quality players and coaches he has teamed with to make it happen.
“I enjoy what I’m doing, and I’ve been able to do it for a long amount of time, and hopefully I can do it for quite a few more years because I’m still having a lot of fun,” Minton said.
While he recognized the significance of the win mark, Minton said he was hopeful he could reach the mark and move on from it because the true focus needs to be on Thursday’s game and what’s at stake with a win.
“If we can win that football game, we play week 10 for a share of the district championship, and to me, these seniors deserve that opportunity and that’s the most important thing,” he said.
Thursday’s game will be broadcast by KQKI 105.9 FM.