Central Catholic rebounds against St. John’s Prep
Zinter grabs two turnovers to lead defensive effort
LAWRENCE >> One week after getting shut out by Springfield Central, Central Catholic responded with a statement win.
Matthias Latham rushed for a pair of scores while Preston Zinter came through with a fumble recovery and interception as Central Catholic defeated St. John’s Prep 17-7 on Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.
The stalwart defensive performance marked a stark contrast from a week ago when the Raiders (11) saw Springfield Central score 38 points including 22 in the first half. Largely behind the play of Zinter, the Raiders were nearly impenetrable as they limited the Prep to 138 yards of offense.
“We tackled better and competed better than last week,” Central Catholic coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “St. John’s Prep has tremendous receivers but our guys elevated their game to the next level. I am very proud of how our kids responded after last week.”
The Prep (1-1) trailed 14-7 as the game turned to the fourth quarter but found itself with an opportunity to even the score when an 8-yard scramble by quarterback Aidan Driscoll set them up inside the red zone. A bad snap pushed the Prep back 15 yards, however, and consecutive incompletions from Driscoll forced a Prep punt with 8:13 remaining. Central Catholic then put its foot on the gas pedal, going on a 10-play, 79-yard drive, highlighted by a 29yard catch by Zinter that drained over five minutes of clock. The drive culminated in a Mike Ryan 23yard field goal that gave Central a 17-7 lead with just under three minutes remaining.
“We always talk about when things go wrong, how do you respond and our guys responded today,” Adamopoulos said. “We played decent at times last week but we could not get off the field. Tonight we got off the field.”
Central Catholic struck first on the opening drive of the game as a Latham 32 yard run set up a 3-yard touchdown run of his own to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead. The Raiders carried that 7-0 lead into the half but quickly gained separation in the third. After a Zinter interception gave the Raiders possession, Markys Bridgewater rushed twice for a combined 37 yards before Latham trucked in from 15 yards out to give the hosts a 14-0 lead.
The game marked a matchup between two of the state’s premier players as Zinter is committed to Notre Dame while St. John’s Prep defensive back Joenel Aguero holds a commitment to Georgia. Aguero made his presence felt with the Prep trailing 14-0 midway through the third quarter, fielding a punt at own 10-yard line, shedding three tacklers, evading another, and taking off down the near sideline for a 90-yard score that got the the Eagles back within 14-7.
“The Prep is always a tough opponent with great talent so we expected a great challenge,” Zinter said. “We respect them and their big play ability. I knew I had to be a leader in a game like this and show our team that we can perform at a high level.”