Central Catholic rolls into section title game with an impressive win over Antelope
The Central Catholic High football team will be in a familiar position next Saturday — playing for a Sac-Joaquin Section championship.
The top-seeded Raiders dominated fourth-seeded Antelope 35-0 on Friday night at David Patton Field in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal matchup that turned out to be a mismatch.
The game ended with 3 minutes left to play after a Titans player suffered a serious head injury. The player was knocked unconscious, placed on a backboard and taken to the hospital. According to the Titans head coach, Mike Byerly, the player had movement in his extremities and was talking and alert as he was taken to an ambulance.
It was a subdued ending to an impressive performance by Central Catholic, which got three touchdown runs from Aiden Taylor and two touchdown passes from quarterback Tyler Wentworth.
It was a much better performance from the Raiders (11-1), who struggled to hold off ninth-seeded Lodi, 38-34, a week earlier.
“I think we came out with a lot more energy this week,” said Taylor, the Raiders’ outstanding running back and linebacker. “We didn’t want what happened last week to happen this week.”
Central Catholic to face Monterey Trail for title
Central Catholic will play seventh-seeded Monterey Trail of Elk Grove (8-5) next Saturday at 6 p.m. at Sacramento City College.
Monterey Trail, which upset No. 2 Granite Bay in the second round of the playoffs, defeated No. 6 Elk Grove 27-23 in their semifinal Friday night.
Asked what it feels like to be headed to a section title game, senior running back Julian Lopez, who ran for 105 tough yards on Friday, said “It feels great, especially for senior year. For all of us ... we’ve come a long way.”
Playing for a section crown is nothing new for Modesto’s powerhouse football program. Central Catholic has made 22 appearances in section title games, winning 19.
This will be the first time Central Catholic will play for a blue banner since the Division II final in 2018, when the Raiders fell to Del Oro (which later had its title vacated to due an ineligible player).
Raiders coach Roger Canepa expects a physical battle against Monterey Trail next week.
“We’ve got to get better on both sides (of the ball), control the tempo; we’re good on special teams,” Canepa said. “Just keep getting better. Stay healthy.”
Tough end to season for Antelope
The serious injury to its player and the shutout loss put a major damper on the end of the season for the Titans.
The Titans were plagued by turnovers and penalties, and couldn’t match Central Catholic’s strength, size and quickness on the offensive and defensive lines.
Antelope looked sharp on its first possession of the game, driving down to Central Catholic’s 8-yard line. But on first-and-goal the Titans fumbled the ball away.
Antelope was down 14-0 at halftime on two Taylor TD runs, but the Titans marched to the Raiders’ 18-yard line on their opening drive of the third quarter.
But starting quarterback Jasiah Bateman was knocked out of the game with a bad shoulder injury and a touchdown pass by backup Jordyn Saechao was called back due to a penalty. The Titans eventually had to punt.
Taylor’s 1-yard touchdown run on Central Catholic’s ensuing possession put the game out of reach. Wentworth’s two touchdown passes just padded an already insurmountable lead.
Central Catholic’s defense stifled the Titans’ running attack, limiting standout junior running back Curron Borders to 40 yards on 14 carries.
Still, just being in a section semifinal was a major accomplishment for the Titans, who are on their third coach in three seasons.
“I’m really proud of what our kids and our community was able to accomplish this year,” Byerly said. “It was something that our community did not expect from us.
“We were told by family and friends that we’d be fortunate to win a game. So to come this far and to be at this level in the playoffs, we’re really proud of the kids.”
With most of their skill position players and some key linemen returning, Antelope will have a good chance to defend its Capital Valley Conference title next season.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 11:34 PM.
