Crusaders take 4-0 record north to Fairport
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FAIRPORT -- Something will have to give when Catholic Central travels to Lake County Friday for its first meeting with Fairport Harding.
The Crusaders have won four straight, including last week's 34-7 victory over Ashtabula St. John. The unbeaten start has Central ranked sixth, according to Joe Eitel, in the Division VII, Region 25 computer standings. Unbeaten Malvern currently holds down the top spot.
The Skippers, under second-year coach Domanick Sherwood, began their season with a 47-6 romp over Leetonia. Since then, they have fallen to 3-1 Lisbon 14-6, unbeaten Rittman 40-13 and unbeaten Cuyahoga Heights 24-13. Both Rittman and Cuyahoga Heights are Division VI schools.
Central fans are reminded the opening kick on the grass surface inside R.A. Greig Field is set for 7:30 p.m. Fairport will be welcoming a new class into the school's Hall of Fame during the game.
"It's great to be 4-0," Central coach Eric Meek said earlier this week. "I'm happy for the kids and proud of them. Like I have said before, they are just great kids to work with. Our reality this week is we have to get on the bus, drive more than two hours up to Lake Erie and face a very athletic Fairport team that gave Cuyahoga Heights fits last week.
"I saw Fairport in person against Lisbon and I also have film on them. They are very athletic. Their quarterback is a great athlete who can do some damage. They have three other guys who are very impressive as far as speed goes. Defensively, with the speed they have, they get off blocks and get to the football well."
The quarterback Meek referred to is senior James Gadomski (6-3, 190). He has run for 204 yards and three touchdowns. As a defensive end, he is second on the team in tackles for a loss. He was an all-district wide receiver as a junior.
Senior Maverrick Piotrowski (5-11, 185) leads the Fairport rushing attack with 302 yards on 48 carries. He has found the end zone four times. He also starts as a defensive end.
Upfront, the Skippers have some decent size in the likes of Josh Parsons (6-3, 215), D.J. Dambolena (6-2, 215) and Colin LaFaye Jr. (5-9, 210).
"We're treating this like a business trip," Meek said. "We have mature young men on our team and I think they will be able to handle things from a mental preparation standpoint.
"I am very familiar with Fairport. I coached against them twice when I was in Wellsville and twice during my time at Toronto. Hands down, this definitely is the best Fairport team I have faced."
In the win over St. John, Central did all its offensive damage on the ground. The Crusaders collected 398 rushing yards on 41 attempts. They jumped out to a 34-0 lead at the half. The three-headed monster of junior Tommy Pergi, senior Tyler Ialenti and senior B.J. Fallon accounted for 358 of those yards and five touchdowns.
Ialenti finished with 120 yards and a score. For the season, he leads the team with 321 rushing yards and seven six-pointers. Pergi added 122 and a touchdown. Through four games, he has 279 rushing yards to go with two scores.
Fallon found the end zone three times, rushing for 116 yards on just six tries. He 298 yards for the season and a team-leading 10 touchdowns.
"After watching the film, we did make a couple of mistakes but they are mistakes we can correct," Meek said. "I thought we blocked well and ran well. Defensively, we just played a fantastic game. Our first team defense did a tremendous job and our special teams played well for the fourth straight week. We also were able to get our younger guys some playing time.
"I told our guys we must continue to improve. We need to play a really great game Friday. It's not going to easy. This is a good team we are going to play. Fairport is very athletic with good team speed. That speed makes Fairport a very dangerous team."
Meek said winning the battle upfront will be a key for his Crusaders to finish the first half of the 2023 season unbeaten.
"We need to continue the push with our offensive and defensive lines," he said. "We have to keep their speed in front of us. If we do those two things, I like our chances. If we don't, we may be licking our wounds come Saturday morning.
"A lot of their skilled kids play on the defensive line. So we must come off the ball and sustain our blocks. We need a solid performance in all phases of the game."
Central will start the second half of its season on the road -- visiting cross-river rival Madonna on Sept. 23.