Warriors prove hype is right after all
No. 3 Central Valley rolls by No. 2 Trojans
Myles Walker only needed two touches to alter the implications of No. 3-ranked Central Valley’s marquee Class 3A nonconference affair with No. 2 North Catholic Friday night at Mars.
On his first touch, Walker took the game’s opening kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown. And his second — a 65-yard jet sweep touchdown on Central Valley’s first offensive possession provided the Warriors with an early statement-making two-score lead.
The sun had yet to set on the Mars Middle School stadium, but Walker and the Warriors abruptly had garnered total control of a game that matched highly touted teams that were 2-0 already in their respective conference.
“I just saw the holes, hit it and it was wrap from there,” said Walker.
It was a wrap indeed, as Central Valley (4-0) cruised to a 35-14 win against North Catholic (2-1), flexing its muscles with a multi-faceted offensive attack and a stymieing defensive unit that — after forcing six turnovers against Beaver Falls last week — bent but didn’t break against a North Catholic’s air raid that had outscored its two previous opponents by an 82-26 margin.
North Catholic finished with 28 first downs as senior quarterback Zach Rocco passed for 297 yards, but the Trojans managed only two touchdowns.
“I think you said it best right there by bending but not breaking,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said. “I can’t wait until that young man [Rocco] graduates. I feel like we’ve been playing against him forever.
“Using a baseball term — I thought we pitched around him and didn’t give up a home run. It gives us a chance to make a play, and that’s what we wanted to do.”
Walker wasn’t done after his early fireworks, either.
After North Catholic climbed back to reduce the deficit to 14-7, the junior’s next splash play came on a swing pass in the flat from quarterback Ameer Dudley. Walker made one man miss and scampered 20 yards untouched for a touchdown five minutes before halftime.
“He’s dangerous,” said Dudley — smiling. Enough said.
Walker, who ended with the game with 195 all-purpose yards, notched his first varsity interception on North Catholic’s opening possession of the second half.
The Trojans, however, bounced back with a forced-fumble turnover of their own and converted it into points with an 18-yard touchdown connection from Rocco to Jaren Thimons that cut their deficit to seven.
But the Warriors held serve, again, with a methodical scoring drive on the ensuing possession capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Dudley.
Dudley finished 7 for 14 for 98 passing with two interceptions, but made up for it with 10 carries for 103 yards on the ground.
“I thought Ameer had a solid performance with his legs,” said Lyons. “He might not have been as sharp in the air as we wanted him — and he knows that — but I thought he made up for it with his legs. We have enough balance where we don’t need to force it to anybody.” Lyons wasn’t wrong.
Central Valley’s leading rusher Jaylen Guy scored his only touchdown of the night on a 5-yard run with 3:28 remaining — a glaring microcosm of the Warriors offensive symmetry. The Warriors benefit greatly from strength in numbers, and their performance Friday night added credence to the fact that the hype surrounding one of Beaver County’s best teams this season is merited.
“It just shows we have multiple weapons,” Dudley said. “You can’t stop all of us.
“I feel like we’re really hard to beat when we’re all playing at a high level.”
Central Valley finished with 329 yards of total offense — 230 of which came on the ground — and a 6.6 yards-per-play average.
The Warriors forced three turnovers while limiting North Catholic to a 9-for-25 conversion rate on third down.
“They are a very, very, very fast defense,” North Catholic coach Pat O’Shea said. “That’s the most pressure we’ve had over the last three weeks.”
The Warriors next wil face a conference matchup with Keystone Oaks, while North Catholic resumes its conference play against Derry.