Central Catholic cuts down Archbishop Wood
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Central Catholic quarterback Perry Hills hands the ball off to Damian Jones-Moore against Archbishop Wood at the Gateway Kickoff Classic Sunday in Monroeville. Jones-Moore rushed for 189 yards and two scores.
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The difference between the No. 1 Class AAAA team in the state and the No. 1 AAA team in the state isn't one letter. It's two words.
Wide left.
Archbishop Wood kicker Nick Visco missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt wide left late in the game and Central Catholic hung on for a 20-17 victory Sunday afternoon at the Gateway Kickoff Classic at Gateway High School's Pete Antimarino Stadium.
A national television audience on ESPN2 witnessed quite the battle between Pennsylvania's top Class AAA team (Archbishop Wood) and the No. 1 AAAA team (Central Catholic). Archbishop Wood, a team with six Division I college recruits, played Central Catholic pretty much even. Central Catholic coach Terry Totten was certainly impressed.
"I'm not happy with the defense, but I have to tell you. I've been doing this 30-some years and I said to someone that was one of the best offenses I've seen in a while," he said.
Archbishop Wood, located in Warminster, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, had Central Catholic on the ropes late in the game, before Mother Nature threw a jab and stopped Wood's momentum.
With Archbishop Wood trailing, 20-17, quarterback Joe Monaghan hit tight end Benji Abercrombie with a 57-yard pass that gave Archbishop Wood momentum and the ball at the Central Catholic 13. Then the officials stepped in and stopped the contest because of lightning in the Monroeville area. Both teams went to their locker rooms and the game was delayed 34 minutes.
Archbishop Wood's offense was never heard from again.
After the delay, running back Brandon Peoples lost 1 yard and Monaghan gained 1 yard on a keeper. On third down, Monaghan was sacked for a 10-yard loss by a blitzing Gavin Sandidge.
Enter Visco, who made a 35-yard field-goal attempt earlier in the game. But this kick was a tad off.
"All my guys said they thought the field goal was good," Archbishop Wood coach Steve Devlin said. "But it shouldn't have come down to that. You have first-and-10 on the 13, you have to be able to punch it in."
The weather delay might have been a blessing for Central Catholic.
"I was hoping we could still go," Devlin said of the delay. "You're playing and you have momentum ... but whatever. We both went in and got rested. The bottom line is they won."
Two of the main reasons Central Catholic won were running back Damion Jones-Moore and receiver-defensive back Anthony Nixon. Jones-Moore, a 5-foot-7 senior, rushed for 189 yards on 15 carries and scored on two long runs. Nixon, a Maryland recruit, caught four passes for 69 yards, made a terrific play to score a touchdown and also played well in the secondary.
First Published September 5, 2011 12:00 am
