Irish take step closer to playoffs

St. John's defenders, including Jamahl Jones, Jake Wheeler (not seen) and Cam Brickman take down Central running back Amir Edwards. THE BLADE/SEAN WORK Enlarge | Photo Reprints

Few football games will produce two halves of such stark contrast as last night's Central Catholic versus St. John's Jesuit clash at the Glass Bowl.

But, whether it was the first 24 minutes that were littered with six turnovers and 11 penalties, or the final 24, which remarkably had none of either, the Fighting Irish were better in both cases.

Central (6-2, 4-1) got four touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer, its usual workhorse ground attack from junior running back Amir Edwards (38 carries, 161 yards), and some stout defense in taking a 35-14 Three Rivers Athletic Conference victory over the Titans (6-2, 3-2).

"The offensive line stepped their game up and gave me just enough time for me to do what I can do," Kizer said, "and it showed that we have a couple other weapons other than Amir.

"But it goes back to the offensive line. Without the time, I wouldn't have been able to do anything."

The loss took St. John's (6-2, 3-2) out of TRAC contention and further hindered the Titans' already precarious chances of earning a Division I state playoff berth. Central's win kept the Irish in solid shape in the D-II postseason picture and in line for a possible Oct. 28 showdown at Whitmer for a TRAC title share along with the third-ranked Panthers (8-0, 5-0).

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"DeShone really grew up and made some big plays, and the offensive line gave great protection," Irish coach Greg Dempsey said. "This was almost an elimination game, for the league title and potentially for the playoffs. That's just a great win because there was so much on the line."

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Things went sour early for St. John's. The first of two interceptions thrown by Titans quarterback Brogan Roback (8-of-20, 156 passing yards) came on the game's first play from scrimmage and led to the first Irish TD.

Just when it appeared St. John's might escape damage, Kizer (9-of-14 passing, 111 yards) hit fellow sophomore Derich Weiland on a 20-yard TD strike over the middle on a fourth-and-goal play 3:02 into the opening quarter.

Titan Liam Allen then lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return, and Central recovered at the St. John's 11. But the Irish returned the favor on an Edwards fumble two plays later.

The Titans lost another fumble off a snap to end their next possession, setting up Kizer's 20-yard scoring pass to Edwards down the left sideline on a third-and-15 play, giving the Irish a 12-0 lead 9:59 before halftime.

Roback's second interception (made by Ian Butler) also led to a Central TD, this one a 26-yard Kizer pass to Logan Lorenzen for a 19-0 lead with 5:09 left in the half.

St. John's woes continued 18 seconds later when Roback was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving Central a safety and a 21-0 edge.

"We talked about it all week and in pregame," Titans coach Doug Pearson said. "What you can't do in a big game like this is turn the ball over and have any silly mistakes. In the first half we spotted them a 21-point lead. You can't do that against anybody, let alone a team like this in a rivalry game."

The Titans briefly turned the tables by turning a Central turnover into points.

Jake Wheeler intercepted Kizer and returned the ball to the Irish 4. Kent Kern's two-yard TD plunge 2:25 before halftime made it 21-7.

But Central opened the third quarter by driving 73 yards on six plays to score on Kizer's final TD pass of the game, this one a scrambling 24-yarder to Jake Garcia 2:35 into the period.

The Titans answered with their own seven-play, 76-yard march capped by Roback's 38-yard scoring strike to Jordan King with 6:22 left in the third.

But a later 62-yard Titan march was halted at the Central 16, and the Irish iced things with an impressive power march. Twelve straight runs by Edwards netted all 84 yards, taking 7:04 off the clock. His one-yard TD plunge capped things with 1:43 remaining

"We had to come out and hit 'em in the mouth early and take over the game," Edwards said. "This was a big win. It showed everybody that we're still contenders. We just had to keep our heads up and keep fighting.

"If they're giving us the ball, we've got to take advantage of it. This was big. We're contenders now. We've got to keep it up."

Central topped the Titans 341-237 in total offense.

Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com or 419-724-6461.