Cardinal Newman takes control in 2nd half to beat Central Catholic

SANTA ROSA -- Everything went right for the Central Catholic High football team in the first half of its season opener against Cardinal Newman.

But nothing went right after that.

The Raiders held an 11-point lead at halftime, but Cardinal Newman seized the momentum by taking the second-half kickoff back for a touchdown and scored four more consecutive touchdowns in a 38-20 win at Ed Lloyd Field.

Cardinal running back Jeff Badger, who touched the ball three times in the first half, scored three touchdowns in the second half. He returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and later reached the end zone on a 10-yard run and a 37-yard interception return.

The loss ruined the debut of new Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa, who joined the Modesto school after 10 years at Calaveras. His Raiders were in good shape at the half.

"We played as well as we could in the first half," Canepa said. "Cardinal Newman, that's a really good team.

"And when they took that kickoff back, it was a momentum changer."

The Raiders built a 14-3 lead on two short runs by senior running back T.J. Belton, who rushed for 134 yards. But this Central Catholic team goes to the air as its primary weapon. It threw the ball 37 times, completing 18 passes for 198 yards.

"We've played Central Catholic and they've had that same style," Cardinal Newman coach Paul Cronin said. "Our guys were geared up for a running, trapping, smash-mouth team.

"Then they came out and threw the ball and it put us on our heels. We were never comfortable in the first half."

But in the second half, they came out like gangbusters.

"This is a senior-laden team," Cronin said. "We made a lot of adjustments. And you saw it on that interception."

It was Badger's interception where the game really turned. With his team already up 24-14, he stepped in front of a Dylan Swartz pass and took it back 37 yards for a touchdown and a 31-14 lead with 8:31 left in the game. At that point, there was little the Raiders could do against the Cardinals' tough defense.

"They got the momentum and we never took it back," Belton said.

Badger (135 yards rushing) and Joe Ferguson (111 yards rushing) alternated at running back. Each of them made big plays.

"When it went bad, it went really bad," Canepa said. "We played an outstanding first half. Now we need to build on that and do it for an entire game."

Bee staff writer Will DeBoard can be reached at wdeboard@modbee.com or 578-2300.