Undermanned English bows to Central Catholic

LYNN – Lynn English hung in the first half against a Central Catholic team that is among the top teams in the state, but the undermanned Bulldogs were unable to hold the Central Catholic offense in the third quarter.English fell, 20-3, to the Raiders (9-1) on a cool Friday night at Manning Field.View Photo Gallery”I think it was a good game,” said Lynn English head coach Peter Holey. “That’s the eighth ranked team in the state. Our kids played their tails off.”After English went three-and-out on their opening possession, the Bulldogs punted from their end zone. The Bulldogs’ punter handled a high snap and narrowly avoided getting tackled for a safety before he was able to get the kick off. The ball was downed at the Bulldogs’ 23-yard line.On third-and-10, Central Catholic quarterback Michael Milano completed a 10-yard pass to Cody Demers. Running back Santino Brancato capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. This provided the Raiders a lead that they would never relinquish.On Central Catholic’s second possession, the Bulldogs’ defense was able to stop a Central Catholic series at the Bulldogs’ 21 when Keenan Benton deflected a pass on fourth-and-10.Early in the second quarter, the Raiders’ defense held English. The Bulldogs were forced to punt after three plays. English faked the punt and Isaiah Davis ran 28 yards to the Raiders’37. Quarterback Lucas Harris had a 19-yard scramble later in the drive to put the ball inside the 5-yard line. English was unable to get past the goal line. They were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal from Chris Lessard to pull within three points.The score would stay at 6-3 at halftime.”English’s defense played tough,” said Central Catholic head coach Chuck Adamopolous. “They took some stuff away from us. We wanted to contain their tailback.”Central Catholic moved 78 yards on their initial possession in the second half. Halfback D’Andre Drummond-Mayire finished the drive with a 4-yard jaunt into the end zone.Later in the third quarter, the Raiders traveled to the Bulldogs’ 20. A holding penalty forced Central Catholic back to the English 30. On the following play, Milano found Thomas Jenoski in the left corner of the end zone. This gave the Raiders a comfortable advantage that allowed them to breathe easy in the fourth quarter.”I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” added Holey.