Crusaders could do no wrong in victory over Caldwell 35-2
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STEUBENVILLE -- Jeffrey Dawson crossed the goal line three times, and the defense pitched a shutout, as Catholic Central capped the first half of its 2019 season with a 35-2 victory over Caldwell on Saturday inside Harding Stadium.
With the victory, the Crusaders improve to 3-2 while the Redskins fall to 1-4. The first meeting between the schools started nearly 90 minutes late due to a weather delay. It also was marred by 24 penalties for more than 230 yards. Caldwell drew seven flags for personal fouls.
After its defense stopped Caldwell on its first possession, the Central offense took over at its own 24. The nearly five-minute drive was capped when Dawson burst through a huge hole and sprinted 34 yards for a score. Quarterback Ryan Gorman had two big runs of his own on the march.
Dawson's second score came at the 8:05 mark of the second quarter. With the Redskins marching, Central's Jayden Keeder picked off a Braxton Dudley pass at the Caldwell 48. As he was being stopped, the senior alertly pitched the pigskin to Anthony LeFever, who raced the final 35 yards.
With 4:02 left before the intermission, Dawson went over from 6 yards out. This Central scoring march was aided by two personal foul calls against the visitors. A 3-yard Dawson touched late in the second quarter put Central up 28-0 at the half. A fumbled snap on a Caldwell punt gave the Crusaders excellent field possession.
"It was a good win for us," Central coach Anthony Agresta said. "Those weather delays are difficult. We told our kids the first 30 minutes on the field coming out of the delay were going to be important.
"Both teams were sitting around and waiting -- we tried to get our guys some fruit and liquids while they were waiting. You can't practice or prepare yourselves for that. We stressed the importance of the first 30 minutes, and I think we won those 30 minutes."
Caldwell had a couple of scoring opportunities in the opening half that were either stymied by Central's defense or self-inflicted wounds due to penalties.
"Early on, they showed us some stuff inside with their running game that we had not seen on film," Agresta said. "They are a well-coached team with some talented running backs.
"Eventually, we were able to make some adjustments. It wasn't perfect, but we got the job done. When we had them in third and long, we played some very good defense and that helped us tonight."
Central's final touchdown came on a 32-yard jaunt by Keeder on the first drive of the second half. That score kicked in the OHSAA mercy rule and a running clock.
Caldwell's only points came in the fourth quarter on a safety.
Dawson finished with 94 yards on 11 carries. As a team, Central rushed for 186 yards on 21 attempts (an average of 8.8 yards a trip).
"As I have said before, our young offensive line is getting better every week," Agresta said. "Caldwell did some things up front on the first four or five plays of the game that we didn't do a good job with.
"We made some adjustments on the sidelines then we were able to do what we needed to do with our running game. Of course, we'd be happier with two more wins, but we'll take three at this point, and we'll keep working to improve going forward."
Caden Moore led the Redskins with 75 rushing yards. Dudley added 53.
UP NEXT
Central: Will be on the road this week, traveling to Lucas Friday for a date with the 4-1 Cubs.
"Our three wins have come against three completely different teams," Agresta said. "Lucas is a very good team. We have to prove to ourselves that we can beat a good team on the road, so we are looking forward to the challenge."
Catholic Central 35, Caldwell 2
Caldwell 0-0-0-2 -- 2
Central 7-21-7-0 -- 35
CENTRAL: Dawson 34 run (Kissinger kick)
CENTRAL: LeFever 35 run off pitch from Keeder (Kissinger kick)
CENTRAL: Dawson 6 run (Kissinger kick)
CENTRAL: Dawson 3 run (Kissinger kick)
CENTRAL: Keeder 32 run (Kissinger kick)
CALDWELL: Safety, Central punter stepped out of end zone
RUSHING: Caldwell 36-146 (Dudley 16-53; Moore 14-75; Sayre 5-33; VanFossen 1 - (-15); Central 21-186-4 (Dawson 11-94-3; Keeder 3-33-1; Gorman 3-38; Lamantia 4-21).
PASSING: Caldwell 9-15-36-2 Ints (all by Dudley); Central 2-4-3-Int (all by Gorman).
RECEIVING: Caldwell 9-36 (Parks 2-6; Piskula 4-13; Hill 3-17); Central 2-3 (Sprochi 2-3).
FIRST DOWNS: Caldwell 13; Central 9.
PENALTIES-YARDS: Caldwell 14-146; Central 10-86.
PUNTS: Caldwell 4-29; Central 0-0.
FUMBLES-LOST: Caldwell 0-0; Central 2-1.