OVER THE TOP — Catholic Central's Rahim Mitchell goes up and over Carrick defender Mike Davis to make a catch near the goal line during Saturday's senior night game at Harding Stadium. Mitchell made the catch and the Crusaders went on to win, 26-18, to finish the regular season 7-3.

STEUBENVILLE — It came down to the final play of the game, but Catholic Central got the cherished senior night victory it needed.

Matthew Sprochi batted down a last-ditch pass into the end zone as the clock hit zeroes, allowing the Crusaders to fend off a fourth quarter rally by visiting Pittsburgh Carrick for a 26-18 victory on senior night Saturday at Harding Stadium.

The win snaps a two-game skid and gives Central a 7-3 finish to the regular season. That was good enough for a fourth-place finish in the Division VII, Region 27 standings.

“Give Carrick credit, they played hard and their speed was impressive,” Catholic Central head coach Eric Meek said. “I had only seem them on film against Wheeling Central and maybe that’s why they didn’t look as fast, but they did some good things and were a challenge.

“I’m really proud of our defense, our defense did some really good things. I was concerned about their offense coming in … our defense played well, it got us a couple big turnovers and our offense executed when we needed to.

“We needed a tough, hard-fought win like that going into the playoffs after losing two-straight. It was hard-fought all the way through. We’re happy to get a win and to be back here next week, hopefully we can keep playing beyond that.”

Though the Crusaders led 14-0 at halftime and 20-6 going to the fourth quarter, there were some tense moments late.

Carrick QB Zion Frye, who had all 10 of his completions and all 137 of yards in the fourth quarter to spark the Raiders’ rally, appeared to have fired a 30-yard touchdown to a wide open Marcus Fields with with 48 seconds left which would have set up a two-point try to tie the game, but an ineligible man down field penalty negated the score.

Another heave towards the end zone was off target, then Peyton Rauch sacked Frye to set up the final-play Hail Mary heave. Rauch, one of the 10 seniors being celebrated, finished with 3.5 sacks in the game to go over 20 on the season. He also forced and recovered a fumble earlier in the game.

Frye had been 0-7 in the first three quarters before completing nine-straight and firing two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but the Crusader defense made the big plays late when it needed them.

As thrilling as the finish was, the start was quite slow.

Neither team scored in the opening quarter, and the Central offense was in negative yardage on its first two possessions.

The Crusader offense got going in the second quarter, though, racking up 155 of its 269 yards in the quarter.

A drive that started in the first quarter after a Kyran Busic interception went deep into the Carrick end, but a fourth-down pass at the goal line was deemed incomplete to end the first scoring threat of the game.

However, Rauch punched the ball out and pounced on it two plays later, then, on the next snap, Tommy Pergi broke free for a 41-yard TD run to open the scoring.

Central then put another long drive together at the end of the first half, and this time turned it into points as Jimmy Hernon powered just across the goal line for a 1-yard scoring run with 12 seconds to go before halftime, making it 14-0. A 27-yard Rahim Mitchell catch at the 2 set up the score.

The Raiders (3-6) got on the board with a 39-yard Amari Eleam punt return touchdown early in the third quarter, making it 14-6, but Central responded before the end of the quarter as another nice scoring drive ended in a second 1-yard plunge by Hernon in the final minute of the quarter.

Carrick got within a score again with a 15-yard Frye to Kejuan Johnson passing connection to make it 20-12, but again Central answered to go up two scores when Hernon broke tackles and got free for a 40-yard scoring run on the next drive.

Carrick, though, wasn’t done as Frye fired a 5-yard pass to Stephon Malloy, who fumbled trying to cross the goal line but was able to recover it in the end zone to make it 26-18, then the Raiders forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing Central drive to get the ball back, setting up the late dramatics.

Central finished with 223 yards on the ground on 50 carries, Hernon and Pergi each finishing with 101. Hernon’s 101 yards were exactly the total he needed to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the season.

The OHSAA released the final computer ratings Saturday night and Central’s fourth-place finish in Region 27 will match up against No. 13 seed River next Saturday night at Harding Stadium in the opening round of the playoffs. The Pilots finished their regular season 4-6.

Should Central win that game, they would also be at home in the second round by virtue of finishing in the top-four, which was clinched by the win over Carrick.

Catholic Central 26, Pittsburgh Carrick 18

PC 0-0-6-12 – 18

CC 0-14-6-6 – 26

SCORING PLAYS

First Quarter

None

Second Quarter

CC: Pergi 41 run (Hernon run) 3:51

CC: Hernon 1 run (kick failed) :12

Third Quarter

PC: Eleam 39 punt return (pass failed) 8:02

CC: Hernon 1 run (run failed) :49

Fourth Quarter

PC: Johnson 15 pass from Frye (pass failed) 9:58

CC: Hernon 40 run (kick failed) 6:55

PC: Malloy 5 pass from Frye (pass failed) 4:02

RUSHING: Pittsburgh Carrick 20-34 (Frye 11-(-2); Malloy 9-36); Catholic Central 50-223-4TD (Hernon 25-101-3TD; Sprochi 5-21; Pergi 20-101-TD)

PASSING: Pittsburgh Carrick 10-21-137-2TD-INT (all by Frye); Catholic Central 5-11-46 (all by Sprochi)

RECEIVING: Pittsburgh Carrick 10-137-2TD (Malloy 3-42-TD; Arner 1-42; Eleam 1-10; Johnson 3-39-TD; Fields 2-7); Catholic Central 5-46 (Pergi 2-9; McInnis 1-3; Mitchell 2-34)

FIRST DOWNS: Pittsburgh Carrick 8; Catholic Central 15

PENALTIES-YARDS: Pittsburgh Carrick 10-87; Catholic Central 3-25

FUMBLES-LOST: Pittsburgh Carrick 2-1; Catholic Central 2-1