Crusaders looking to go to 7-0
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STEUBENVILLE -- Fresh off a shutout victory over rival Madonna, Catholic Central will look to keep things going Saturday when it welcomes Pittsburgh Carrick to Harding Stadium.
The opening kick for Central's annual homecoming game is set for 7 p.m. This will be the third meeting between the schools -- the Crusaders winning the previous two encounters.
Eric Meek's club improved to 6-0 thanks to its 20-0 road win over Madonna. The Crusaders again received votes in this week's Ohio AP Division VII poll and are ranked seventh in the Region 25 computer standings.
Malvern leads the region followed by Danville, Berlin Center Western Reserve, Dalton and Toronto. The Red Knights moved up several spots after knocking off previously unbeaten Edison. Lucas is sixth in the standings.
"I thought we played probably our most solid game of the year against Madonna," Meek said earlier this week. Our defense was unbelievable. Our defensive effort was fantastic.
"We were able to control the game with our running attack. We had two long, time-consuming scoring drives and for the most part, the field position was in our favor. I was very pleased with the effort. Our kids got on the bus and were focused. We certainly did not have a letdown."
Central ran the football on 46 of its 50 offensive snaps, compiling 241 of its 249 yards and all three touchdowns on the ground. The Crusaders has scoring drives of 11, 16 and eight plays The Crusader defense held the Blue Dons to just 131 yards of offense.
"Madonna is a good football team and is going to win some games," Meek said. "We told the kids going in we had to keep Madonna's skill in front of us and we had to play very physical on both sides of the ball.
"The kids completely did what we asked them to do and we are very proud of them for doing what we asked."
Senior quarterback Tyler Ialenti scored all three Central touchdowns on runs of 5, 1 and 3 yards. For the season, he has toted the rock 104 times for 529 yards and nine scores. Senior B.J. Fallon has added 420 yards on 58 trips and found the end zone five times. Junior Tommy Pergi has contributed 332 yards on 38 attempts and scored twice.
Through six games, Central is averaging 27 points while allowing just six. The shutout was the second of the season for the Crusaders.
"Our kids have been very business-like when they need to be business like," Meek said about his unbeaten squad. "After we win games, we have a lot of fun in the locker room -- me included.
"It's just a great group to be around. We're looking forward to another solid week of practice and hopefully we can get to 7-0 Saturday night."
Carrick will bring a 0-5 record to town. The Raiders have surrendered 245 points and scored 74. They have fallen to Carlynton, Pittsburgh USO, Uniontown, Pittsburgh Brashear and Brownsville.
Thanks to the 36-30 overtime victory, Brownsville snapped a 34-game losing streak.
Dennis Wolford, a Carrick graduate, is in his first year as coach of the Raiders. Carrick is playing as an independent within the Pittsburgh City League for the fifth straight year.
The Carrick offense is directed by junior quarterback Zion Frye (5-11, 160). He threw for more than 1,500 yards as a sophomore. His favorite targets are juniors Marcus Fields and Ashton Smith along with sophomore Kejuan Johnson. Sophomore Stephon Malloy gets the bulk of the carries in the rushing game.
"We have film and Carrick is a very athletic team," Meek said. "They have outstanding speed. The quarterback has a cannon and he can run.
"We need to work hard and keep improving. We will continue to focus on ourselves and the need to get better. I kind of always break seasons down into groups. You want to play better in September than you did in August. Then you need to really turn it up in October."
To make sure his Crusaders stay focused, Meek said "we will push them real hard in practice this week."
"Hopefully we will have a physical week and work to keep our guys on the right track," he said. "With the speed Carrick has, we can't let anything behind us. We can't have turnovers. We have to take care of the football and take advantage of opportunities. We had no turnovers in the rain against Madonna. We will on our fundamentals and be ready to pick things up Saturday night."
Central will host Bridgeport in Week 8 before closing its regular season with road games at Conotton Valley and Toronto.