Central Catholic upbeat after losing to national power De La Salle

For three quarters, Central Catholic went toe-to-toe with nationally-ranked De La Salle but in the end, the Spartans had too much firepower and extended their Sac-Joaquin Section win streak to 32 with a 35-7 win over the Raiders at Owen Owens Field on Friday Night.

De La Salle is ranked No. 15 in the nation by MaxPreps.

Central Catholic trailed by 14 points in the third quarter and had the ball in De La Salle territory but were forced to punt, which led two touchdowns in the next three minutes for the Spartans.

“The stage was not too big,” Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa told his team after the game. “You belong. We are not losing again.”

After a punt on the Raiders’ opening possession, sophomore quarterback Dorian Hale threw a perfect pass down the middle to junior wide receiver Grant Daley for a touchdown as De La Salle led 7-0 with a little under nine minutes left in the first quarter.

Central Catholic couldn’t muster anything on offense on its next two drives and De La Salle extended its lead to 14 when junior running back Shamar Garrett scored from 9 yards out with 2:24 left in the first.

Garrett would score on a 51-yard run early in the second and Central Catholic looked in danger of being a blowout victim. However, the Raiders would convert on a huge fourth-down conversion, which set up a 5-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kyle Jackson to senior wide receiver Justin Traina right before halftime to trim the lead to 14.

“You could see everybody’s confidence go up,” Jackson said. “We looked a little sluggish in the beginning. That play by Justin really sparked us.”

In the third quarter, Central Catholic’s defense forced back-to-back punts but its offense couldn’t move the ball down the field.

“I thought we played well,” Canepa said. “It was 21-7 going into the fourth and about everybody in Modesto probably didn’t think that would happen.”

Garrett ran for his third touchdown and Hale and Daley connected for another score for De La Salle’s other two touchdowns.

Despite the loss, Central Catholic coaches, fans, and players were positive after the game.

De La Salle will play the Raiders in Modesto next year.

“It showed we have heart,” Canepa said. “We belong and fought. They had to play to the end. We have a great football program. We have a great backing with all of the people that came down. That’s one thing we do, we play hard.”

Central Catholic will host St. Mary’s in the Holy Bowl next Friday.

“Walking through that line, you could tell that they respected us,” Jackson said of De La Salle. “We didn’t come out successful but at the end of the day, its one game and we still have the rest of the season.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2018 at 10:17 PM.