by Elyria, Ohio – The battle of the Fighting Irish took place Friday night from Elyria Ely Stadium. Central Catholic’s key to the game was to get the run game going offensively and control it on the defensive end. Winning the turnover battle was key for both squads.
For Ursuline, they wanted to stick with who they are. They wanted to maintain an up-tempo offense by moving the ball quickly and getting first downs quickly as well.
Central Catholic pulled out the victory late in the game 7-6. They had played multiple 1-point games during the regular season as well. The defense of the Fighting Irish led the way. They forced 3 turnovers throughout the game and did not allow Ursuline to find the end zone.
Ursuline started the game with the up-tempo offense that they wanted to have. They marched down the field deep into Central Catholic territory. A defensive stand led to Ursuline settling for a field goal. Anthony Tabak came on and put a 31-yard field goal right through the uprights to give Ursuline the early lead.
The Ursuline defense came ready to play as well. They forced a quick Central Catholic punt to get the ball back. On the punt return, DC Farrell had a 48-yard return that set the Fighting Irish up at the Central Catholic 14 yard line. The Ursuline offense was not able to find the end zone with a short field.
They called on Anthony Tabak once again to drive home a field goal. This time it was from 25 yards out.
At the end of the first, the Ursuline Fighting Irish held a 6-0 lead over the Central Catholic Fighting Irish.
On Central Catholic’s first play of the 2nd quarter, Sharard Vaughn III took a wildcat run up the middle. He carried a slew of defenders with him en route to a 17-yard gain. However, at the end of the run, Ursuline stripped the football away and recovered the fumble.
Ursuline was looking to extend their lead early in the 2nd quarter. That would not be the case as on the first play of their drive, D’haron Flowers picked off a pass from DC Ferrell to give Central Catholic possession right back.
The remainder of the half would be a defensive stalemate that only saw one drive from either side threaten to score.
Heading into the break, Ursuline maintained their slim 6-0 lead.
The third quarter was a defensive battle through and through. The first four drives of the quarter, two for each team, there were four turnovers!
Ursuline’s defense intercepted a pass on the first drive of the quarter, then forced and recovered a fumble on Central Catholic’s next drive. For Central Catholic, they forced two fumbles and recovered both. Both fumbles occurred deep in Central Catholic’s territory.
The last two drives of the quarter both ended with punts. One for each team, respectively.
On the first drive of the final frame, Central Catholic was driving and looking to take the lead. They marched 52 yards down the field in 10 plays to the Ursuline 6 yard line. This set them up with a 4th and short. Sending their offense back on the field, Central Catholic needed to find the end zone.
However, Ursuline had other ideas. A pass play was stopped at the 5 yard line for just a 1-yard gain. Ursuline had produced the biggest stop of the game when they needed it most.
On their ensuing drive, they took off a chunk of the clock. They went 42 yards down the field in 12 plays, but their drive ended with a punt. With just under 4 minutes to go in the game, Central Catholic was set up for a final drive at their own 35.
Central Catholic once again marched down the field deep into Ursuline territory. They were methodical with their drive as they used both the run and pass game evenly. The final play was the most important of the drive. Sophomore quarterback Ali Beydoun found Junior wide receiver Preston Fryzel in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown. Following the PAT, Central Catholic held a 7-6 lead with 33 seconds left to go.
A 20-yard kickoff return set the Ursuline Fighting Irish up at their own 39 looking for a score with just one timeout left. The first play of the drive saw a 23-yard pass from Senior quarterback DC Ferrell to Senior wide receiver Tairan Davis. A few plays later, a 10-yard pass to Junior wide receiver Devonte Taylor set up the chance for a win.
Anthony Tabak came out one last time with the game on the line. A 45-yard field goal was the only thing that stood between Ursuline and a trip to the state championship game. The snap went down, and the kick went up. However, the kick missed wide left as triple zeroes hit the clock.
With the kick missed, Central Catholic came out on top 7-6 and punched their ticket to a third straight State Championship game.
Following the game, Central Catholic wide receiver Preston Fryzel had this to say about his game winning grab, “I didn’t want this to be the last game, so I’m thankful our coaches trusted me to go out there and make a play. And I did.”
Next week, the Central Catholic Fighting Irish will play Bishop Waterson for a chance at the Division 3 State Championship. The game will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Friday, December 6th at 3 PM EST.
One of your best recaps Brandon!