Pereira’s 10 TD lifts CC over Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — It took one play for Ayden Pereira and the Central Catholic football team to kick off the 2021 season with a bang. Four quarters later, in front of a sold-out house at Berte Field on Friday night, they left in front of more than just a few dropped jaws on the road.

As part of a back-and-forth shootout that saw the No. 4 Raiders (1-0) and Springfield Central combine for over 70 points at halftime, the senior quarterback gave the Golden Eagles a rude welcome to Div. 1 by racking up over 600 total yards on 19-of-27 passing with a likely historic 10 touchdowns for a 67-52 win on opening night. Justice McGrail (7 receptions, 160 yards) caught three of those scores himself, combining with Ty Cannistraro’s (85 yards) two touchdown receptions to mark the main point-producers alongside the third-year starting quarterback.

Once the defense made some critical changes at the half to finally slow down a potent Springfield Central offense with three second-half turnovers, it was enough to help the Raiders score 23 straight points stretching into the fourth quarter to ensure a win as Pereira dazzled.

Boy, was it a night to remember. “I don’t think it’s hit yet to be honest,” Pereira said. “At the end of the day, I couldn’t have done it without everyone. It wasn’t just me. The O-line played great. … It was more the other guys to me, to be honest.”

Springfield Central looked more than up to the task to counter Pereira with its own spectacular quarterback, as William Watson racked up 360 passing yards and three touchdowns to help counter every one of the Raiders’ first-half scores.

After Pereira found McGrail for an 85-yard touchdown up the seam to start the game, the Golden Eagles responded on a 2-yard run from Tykarryon Daniels (3 touchdowns). When McGrail caught a 21-yard TD pass on one heckuva play on the run from Pereira, Daniels retuned a touchdown 80 yards on the kickoff.

Back and forth it went throughout the first half en route to five touchdowns from each group by the break. But while Springfield Central converted every one of its two-point conversions, Central Catholic couldn’t execute. The Raiders trailed 40-31, and head coach Chuck Adamopoulos was furious with the defense.

“We were not happy at halftime,” he said. “Offense was awesome, defense just — wasn’t us.”

That was more than enough to wake them up, as Cannistraro recovered a fumble that Sean Mercuri forced on a vicious hit after the catch. Four plays later, Pereira (162 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns) took off for a 41yard TD run down the sideline for a 40-38 deficit.

The Eagles and Raiders traded touchdowns within the next few minutes to keep Central Catholic down just two points, before Pereira gave Central Catholic the lead on a 56-yard heave to Cannistraro with 1:19 left in the third quarter. And once Preston Zinter forced a strip-sack to give his team the ball back within the red zone early in the ensuing Eagles possession, all momentum was in Central Catholic’s favor.

Pereira found McGrail for a 3-yard TD on fourth down for a 57-46 lead. Cannistraro picked off a deep ball from Watson, and Pereira all but sealed the win by punctuating a short drive with a 29-yard touchdown run.

“It was just a gutsy win,” said Adamopoulos.

“(Defense) got ripped at halftime,” added Pereira. “They bounced back, which I’m proud of them for. … They responded well. I’m proud of the guys, we had a ton of guys that stepped up. It was awesome.”