Central Catholic overpowers Hanson
For the second straight week, Central Catholic put the first loss on an undefeated opponent Thursday, striking hard and quickly in a 60-14 prep football win over district foe Hanson Memorial.
Central Catholic, 7-1 and 4-0 in District 7 1A, scored four times on plays of 35 yards or more. The Eagles led 19-0 after a quarter and 47-6 at halftime.
Standout running back Damondrick Blackburn, averaging 199 rushing yards per game, ran for 206 yards Thursday on 22 carries. He scored four touchdowns.
Even when Blackburn wasn't carrying the ball, he drew enough attention from the Hanson defense to open passing lanes for quarterback Caleb O'Con.
O'Con was 6-for-9 passing for 166 yards and three touchdowns, one each to Vernon Singleton (16 yards), Dominic Case (35 yards) and Tylon Hollins (73 yards). Singleton finished with three catches for 54 yards and Hollins with two for 77 yards.
Freshman Cash Baker had a 65-yard touchdown run late in the game.
Defensively, Central Catholic limited Hanson to just nine snaps in the first quarter while building a 19-0 lead on the touchdown passes to Singleton and Case and a 1-yard run by Blackburn.
Hanson, 7-0 before Thursday's game, also checked its own progress by committing five first-half turnovers. Central Catholic's Greg Hamer had a hand in two of those, intercepting an Ethan Judice pass and recovering a bad Hanson punt snap in the end zone for a touchdown.
Linebacker Andrew Cavalier continues to lead the Central Catholic defense with an average of seven tackles per game.
Judice was on both ends of touchdown passes for Hanson, catching a 31-yarder from sophomore Trey Frost and throwing a 6-yard score to Dylan Inzina.
Judice was 4-for-8 passing for 34 yards, and Frost finished 3-for-7 for 71 yards.
Rushing, Eugene Foulcard had nine carries for 32 yards, and Loren Wells had 36 yards on seven trips.
For the third straight week, Central Catholic will play an unbeaten team Oct. 28. The Eagles will go to Abbeville to play District 7-1A rival Vermilion Catholic, 8-0.
Hanson, 7-1 and 4-0 in district, will play Beau Chene at Arnaudville.