Crusaders look to go 9-0 for first time since ‘71
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BOWERSTON -- Question -- what's the best thing about being 8-0?
Answer -- the chance to go 9-0.
Erick Meek and his 8-0 Catholic Central Crusaders will have the opportunity to go 9-0 when they travel to Bowerston Friday to test the Conotton Valley Rockets.
The opening kick for the ninth ever meeting between the schools is set for 7 p.m. Central holds a 5-3 lead in the series but CV has won the last three contests, including a 28-7 victory in 2022.
Central became the first team in program history since 2013 to earn an 8-0 start with a 35-0 senior night shut out over Bridgeport. The shutout was the third straight for CCHS and its fourth of the season.
"We are very proud of the kids and our assistant coaches," Meek said when discussing the Bridgeport game. "Defensively we played fantastic. Our running game was very good. And I thought our passing game was solid. We do know we can throw the football if our opponents are going to dare us to throw. Our rushing attack was just phenomenal."
Central racked up 309 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Senior tailback BJ Fallon finished with 115 yards on 13 carries and found the end zone three times. Fallon had scoring runs of 3, 4 and 22 yards. He also hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tyler Ialenti.
Junior Tommy Pergi also surpassed the century mark, going for 111 yards on 10 totes and racing 30 yards for a six-pointer. Ialenti finished with 101 total yards, rushing for 67 and throwing for 34 more.
Ialenti has 631 rushing yards for the season to lead CCHS. Fallon is next with 579 and Pergi has contributed 533.
"Our offensive line and tight ends played well in the Bridgeport game and our backs ran hard," Meek said. I was very, very pleased with the effort. We controlled the clock again and I always like to do that. When you control the clock, you keep the other offense off the field. We were in no hurry to get a play off."
The Crusader offensive line is anchored by senior center Kody Carver. Seniors Brendan Grimm and Brayden Rauch start at guards with junior Peyton Rauch and Dom Mascio at tackles. The tight ends are juniors Camden Bradley, Noah Hough and senior Jacob Lesnefsky.
Central is 10th in this week's Division VII, Region 25 computer standings but Joe Eitel, the Ohio playoff guru, says the Crusaders have clinched a playoff spot
"That's great but there still are a lot of things at stake here,' Meek said. "When you continue to win, the pressure gets higher. I told the kids if we can win Friday night at Conotton Valley, it will be the time since 1971 that a Central team has started off 9-0.
"That is an accomplishment in itself. We want to get that ninth win and play better football than we did a week ago, and we played pretty good a week ago."
The 1971 Crusaders went 10-0 and claimed both the AP and UPI Class AA poll championships. That season, Central accumulated the most computer points of any team in the state. That was the final season before the Ohio High School Athletic Association implement the postseason playoff system.
"We are taking things one day at a time," Meek said. "I am very pleased with our effort so far. Of course, I'm not satisfied, I want us to keep winning and I want to spend as much time as we can with our seniors. They are just outstanding young men."
Conotton Valley stands at 4-4 and is 16th in the Region 25 standings. The Rockets own victories over Tuscarawas Central Catholic, Strasburg (Central also defeated the Tigers), Bridgeport, and Frontier. The Rockets have fallen to Malvern, Newcomerstown, Caldwell and Toronto. Those four teams sport a combined record of 25-7.
The Red Knights rolled to a 48-0 victory over Conotton Valley in Week 8 play. Toronto totaled 348 yards offense, while its defense held the Rockets to 136 and picked off three passes.
Senior Noah Smith leads the CV offense with 637 rushing yards and five touchdowns. His brother, junior Luke Smith has added 339 yards. Junior Zack Putnam directs the CV attack. He has completed 87 of his 170 passes for 1,234 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has thrown 11 interceptions.
"Noah Smith was not at the Toronto game," Meek said. "He is their top rusher and had a good game against us last year. I told our kids to focus on the Frontier game when he was in there. With him not playing, Conotton Valley had to go with a Plan B offensive attack. That's not what we are expecting to see Friday night.
"The quarterback is accurate. I think when they are healthy, they want to run the football. I'm anticipating their offense to feature the Smith brothers and the quarterback. They lost some linemen from a year ago but they have some size and play physical football."
For his Crusaders to be successful, Meek said Central has "to stop their running attack."
"We need to keep playing physical defense, continue to run the ball well and win the turnover margin," he added. "We also have to be effective when we do throw.
"If we win this game, we will be 9-0 and there aren't many teams in Ohio that will achieve that milestone. We want to be one of them after Friday night."