Roger Canepa’s historic night, Alcutt’s career high highlight Central Catholic D-1 playoff win
Central Catholic High head coach Roger Canepa is now the Sac-Joaquin Section’s all time winningest coach, but the record did not come without some suspense.
In the Division I section quarterfinals at home against seven-seed Edison-Stockton (9-3), the No. 2 Raiders (9-2) were not comfortable until the second half when they outscored the Vikings 13-6 en route to a 34-20 victory.
There were times when they could have folded. Though the Raiders never trailed, Edison kept the game close the entire way. Quarterback TP Wentworth found Brooklyn Cheek for a 13-yard touchdown, but Edison answered with a passing touchdown of its own.
Wentworth put the Raiders ahead 14-7 on the ensuing possession but the Vikings answered with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to tie the game once again in the opening frame.
From that point on, the Raiders outscored Edison 20-6 and sealed the game with an interception from Seth Van Dyk.
“This team played well,” Canepa said. “We found a way to win tonight. It wasn’t pretty but we dominated the line of scrimmage with old school football.”
Canepa sets section record
As Wentworth held a sign above Canepa’s head, the veteran coach could not help but smile.
The sign simply read ‘283’ for the number of wins Canepa has in his career after Friday night’s victory. It is also the newest Sac-Joaquin Section record as Canepa’s 283rd victory puts him atop the section.
“I’m so happy for him. I love the guy to death and I’m proud of him,” Wentworth said. “He came from a small town, Sonora, and made everything he’s earned. I’m grateful to be a part of this group and this special night.”
Canepa passed his good friend and former Escalon High coach Mark Loureiro, the section’s previous leader. After the Raiders’ final Valley Oak League win over Sierra, Canepa tied Loureiro with 282, leaving the record-breaking win for the playoffs. Canepa had stints as head coach at Sonora and Calaveras before taking over at Central Catholic in 2008.
“That just means you’re old and you’ve been coaching a while,” Canepa joked. “You don’t win all them games unless you have great coaches, great players, people that work hard and alumni.
Alcutt’s big night
When the Raiders needed to score in the second half, Canepa threw all of the fancy stuff out the window and went to what he knows best — the run game.
In a pair of drives in the third and fourth quarters, running back Joey Alcutt carried the ball 18 times. On the Raiders’ first possession of the third quarter, the junior completed a scoring drive that started on the Central Catholic 15 yard line. On 10 carries, he went 85 yards, capping the drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, he went 81 yards on eight rushes and finished the drive with a 21-yard score.
“It feels great being the starting running back at Central Catholic,” Alcutt said. “But I want to say thank you to my o-line. They really did their thing today.”
Alcutt has been the Raiders’ workhorse all season. Entering Friday’s game, he led the team with 851 yards and 10 touchdowns on 86 carries. With 39 carries, 325 yards and three touchdowns, Alcutt played the best game of his varsity career in his playoff debut.
“Joey grew up tonight,” Canepa said. “That’s the most carries he’s had, we just kind of rode him. He’s that kind of guy, he ran hard. Tonight was his coming out party.”
Back in the semifinals
The Raiders have reached the semifinals in both of their seasons in the Division I bracket.
Last season as the No. 3 seed they traveled to Folsom to take on the Bulldogs, losing 62-27. They are hoping this year to use that experience to advance to the D-I section title game.
The Raiders spent the season working for the second seed in hopes of advancing to the semifinals and playing that contest at home. They got what they worked for and will welcome an Oak Ridge team that features 2,000-plus yard passer Joaquin Graves-Mercado, a pair of 700-plus yard rushers in Jasen Womack and Erick Orme Jr. and receivers Jadon Anderson and Kaleb Edwards, who combine for 1,348 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“We’ll be here next week,” Canepa said with a smile. “Oak Ridge is a great opponent. The 2 plays the 3, so the CIF got it right, but we’re home. It’s way better to play at home, so we’ll be ready for next week. Hopefully we get a big crowd like tonight.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 7:23 AM.
