Central faces tough task in playoff return
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LOWELLVILLE -- Catholic Central will need to control one of Ohio's elite quarterbacks when it heads north Friday for an opening round Division VII, Region 25 contest at unbeaten Lowellville.
The Rockets, who compete in the Scarlet Division of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference, are led by senior signal caller Vinnie Ballone (6-5, 200). During the regular season, Ballone completed 176 of his 256 passing attempts for 2,892 yards and 46 touchdowns. He has thrown just three interceptions.
During a Week 5 victory over Jackson-Milton, he threw nine scoring passes to tie a state record held by nine other quarterbacks. As a junior, Ballone finished with 2,114 passing yards and threw for 28 scores.
"Lowellville has one of the best quarterbacks from a ranking standpoint in the entire state of Ohio," said Catholic Central coach Eric Meek. "They love to throw the ball.
"They are in a good small school conference up around Youngstown and are just an outstanding football team."
The perfect regular season was Lowellville's first since 2002.
Lowellville collected victories over Columbiana, Campbell Memorial, Greenwich South Central, New Middletown Springfield, Jackson-Milton, Waterloo, Sebring McKinley, McDonald, Mineral Ridge and Berlin Center Western Reserve. The Rockets average 44 points per game while allowing 14.
The Rockets earned the second seed in Region 25 while Central finished 15th. Friday's kick is set for 7 p.m. Lowellville is located in eastern Mahoning County. The playoff contest will be the first ever between the schools.
"Obviously, they throw the ball around and put up a lot of points," Meek said. "They also have a very solid defense. They really get to the ball.
"From a special teams standpoint, they are similar to Toronto. They like to gamble, keep you sweating a little and keep you on your toes. They will try some onside kicks so you have to be really alert because they do a lot of things that make you a little bit nervous.
"We obviously must play much better than we did Saturday night against Toronto. But, give Toronto credit--they have a phenomenal team and I think they have a very good shot to do some damage in the playoffs."
Brady Bunofsky, a 6-3, 200 pound senior, is Ballone's favorite target. He has 56 receptions for 951 yards and 17 touchdowns. Junior Mathew Lucido is next with 35 grabs for 659 yards and nine scores. Senior Anthony Lucente finished the regular season with 32 catches good for 491 yards and 10 six-pointers.
Junior Santino Rivera-Ocasio leads the Lowellville rushing attack with 448 yards. He has found the end zone four times. Ballone has added 397 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns.
Lowellville is making its seventh appearance in the Ohio post-season and sports an overall record of 2-6. Central qualified for the first time since 2018. This is Central's 14th trip to the playoffs and its all-time record is 12-12. The Crusaders earned a state championship in 1993 and finished second in 2005.
After its Week 10 loss to Toronto, Central's record stood at 3-7. It was announced Monday that Toronto had to forfeit the game due to the use of an ineligible player. Thus, the Crusaders now are 4-6.
Offensively, the Crusaders are led by the likes of senior Andrew Dorsey, junior Tyler Ialenti, junior B.J. Fallon and sophomore Tommy Pergi.
Through nine games when seeing time at quarterback, Dorsey had 550 passing yards and 228 yards on the ground. Ialenti, who has seen time at quarterback, running back and tight end, had 250 rushing yards and 154 receiving.
Pergi compiled 365 rushing yards and recorded 23 receptions for 162 yards. Fallon had 184 rushing yards and 197 receiving yards.
Defensively, Pergi has recorded 62 tackles from his safety position. Junior inside linebacker Brayden Rauch also had 62 tackles and sophomore Peyton Rauch, a defensive tackle, 41, to go with three sacks.
Junior defensive end Brendan Grimm was in on 31 tackles and recorded three sacks. Ialenti recorded 39 tackles, Dorsey 27 and Fallon 20.
Junior punter Daniel Bolster is averaging 40.5 yards a boot and has six kicks of 50 yards or longer.
"From a program standpoint -- it's great because we get at least another week around our kids," Meek said when discussing his squad earning a playoff spot. Do I along with the majority of Ohio high school coaches agree with the 16-team format -- No.
"I think there can be some things done. Like in Pennsylvania, you can pick up an extra regular season game if you don't make the playoffs. But it's great for the kids and I'm proud we get to hang around them for another week.
"Our young team certainly can benefit from another week of practice. Obviously the way last Saturday went, we're looking to work on a few things and try to improve this week."
Crusader fans are reminded that tickets for the game must be purchased in advance at www.ohsaa.org/tickets.