Modesto’s Central Catholic beats Sierra in battle of state champs
Jared Rice rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns, Luke Navarro hauled in two touchdown passes and returned an interception for a score and Central Catholic went on to crush Sierra 70-10 in battle of defending state champions Friday night at Daniel Teicheira Field in Manteca.
The Raiders, winners of four consecutive state crowns, are the reigning CIF Small School Open Division champion, while the Timeberwolves won last year’s Division IV-AA title.
The Raiders, now 6-2 overall and 5-0 in the Valley Oak League, played without four starters – Montell Bland, Austin Cook, Miles Fry and Dauson Booker – who were nursing injuries.
In addition to his fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing performance, Rice also picked off a pass. Josh Hamilton had two interceptions, returning one 65 yards for a score, while Navarro caught a 20-yard TD from Cole Petlansky for the first score of the contest, then hauled in a 56-yarder to open the second-half scoring. Navarro’s 6-yard interception return in the second quarter put Central Catholic ahead 42-0.
Petlansky was 6 of 12 for 141 yards and two TD passes. Raiders kicker Bryce Wade connected on all seven of his PAT attempts and put six kickoffs out of the end zone.
Rice now has 1,155 yards rushing for the season, marking the second consecutive year that he’s eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau and the eighth time since 2011 that a Central Catholic running back has eclipsed the milestone.
Rice rushed for 1,086 last season while Player of the Year Justin Rice (no relation) set a school record with 2,698. In 2014, Justin Rice rushed for 2,146, while Matt Ringer totaled 2,348 in 2013. In 2012, Ray Lomas led the way with 2,084 while Rey Vega had 1,524, and in 2011 Craig Jones finished with 1,387.
The Raiders will host East Union next week before traveling to take on Oakdale in the season finale.
This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 1:30 AM with the headline "Modesto’s Central Catholic beats Sierra in battle of state champs."