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TORONTO – The Toronto football team capitalize on its opportunities. Catholic Central did not.
Toronto built a 20-point advantage at halftime, and the Red Knights went on to defeat the Crusaders, 33-6, Friday night at Clarke Hinkle Field.
“Our defense played well yet again, and our offense did its part this week,” Toronto (4-0) head coach Jaret Aubiel said.
The boys from the Gem City tallied three touchdowns in the first half en route to building a 20-0 lead at the half. Catholic Central had opportunities to score as well, however, turnovers doomed the Blue-and-Gold throughout the night.
Catholic Central missed out on six chances to score as the visitors threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles, turned the ball over on downs twice inside Toronto territory and failed to recover a kickoff in the third quarter.
“It was the same old story,” first-year Catholic Central (1-3) head coach Greg Bahen said. “At times, we pushed them around. We moved the ball. We got inside the 30 a couple of times, and we turned the ball over. We fumbled the ball, and our quarterback forced a pass. We missed out on some scoring opportunities. He’s young. The kids played hard. They are buying in.”
The boys in the white jerseys received the opening kickoff and drove down to the Red-and-White’s 27, however, Max Rebich intercepted Matt Jones and returned the ball to the Toronto 24.
The Red Knights then marched 76 yards for the game’s first points as Drake Bouscher broke through the Crusader defense on his way to a 16-yard touchdown giving Toronto a 6-0 lead. The extra point was no good keeping the score the same with 7:11 left to play in the first.
The Crusaders once again marched down the field on their second drive, however, another turnover brought the drive to a stop. This time, the Toronto defense forced Jones to fumble, and the hosts recovered at their own 26.
The Red Knights once again took advantage of the Crusader mistake as Rebich hooked up with Colt Joynson on an 80-yard touchdown to give the boys in red a 12-0 lead. This time, DJ Manley kicked the extra point to give Toronto a 13-0 lead 3:27 remaining in the first.
“We came out the way we wanted to,” Aubiel said. “We were aggressive.”
Catholic Central received its third kickoff of the game, and the Crusaders moved the ball out to midfield before being forced to punt.
Catholic Central got the ball back as tipped ball led to an interception giving the Crusaders the ball back to the Crusaders. This time, Catholic Central turned the ball over on downs at the Toronto 42.
Following another big stop by the defense, Toronto went right back to work offensively as they drove 58 yards for the third touchdown of the night. This time, Rebich hooked up with Kenny Jett for a 34-yard score, and Manley booted the PAT to extend Toronto’s advantage out to 20-0 with 2:23 left to play before halftime.
Following the kickoff, the Crusaders drove down to the Red Knight 33, however, Toronto’s defense stiffened, and an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the victors. This time, Toronto took a knee to bring the first half to an end.
Toronto received the kick to start the third quarter, and the home team moved the ball down to the Catholic Central 37, however, the Red Knights were forced to punt.
Catholic Central attempted to field the punt at its own 12, however, a Toronto player made contact with the returner moving the ball out to the Crusader 27. Two plays later, Rahim Mitchell broke through the Red Knight defense on his way to a 74-yard touchdown to make the score 20-6. A bad snap on the extra point prevented the kick from being attempted keeping Catholic Central’s deficit at 14 points with 7:35 still to play in the third.
The Crusaders had some momentum, however, the Red Knights answered right back to regain control of the contest.
This time, Toronto drove 67 yards, and Bouscher plowed his way into the end zone from the 1 to increase Toronto’s advantage back out to 20 points. Then, Manley came out onto the field and split the uprights with his extra point to make the score, 27-6 with 4:48 left in the third.
“Answering right back was huge for us,” Aubiel said. “Our kids responded really well. They have responded all year. We had a great drive.”
The Red Knights were able to get the ball back as the Crusaders were unable to recover the ensuing kickoff. Toronto took over at the Catholic Central 36. The winners drove to the 7, however, Rebich was intercepted on a fourth down keeping the Red Knights off the scoreboard.
The Crusaders got the ball back and had new life, however, the Red Knights forced another fumble two plays later and they took over at the Catholic Central 35. Toronto ended up taking advantage of this turnover as Bouscher scored his third touchdown of the night – with this one coming on a 3-yard run to make it a 33-6 ballgame. The extra point was wide keeping the score the same.
“Our defense needs to play better,” Bahen said. “That was disappointing. I thought we would play better on defense. Our defensive back was a freshmen, and he was right there on a couple of those plays. We didn’t make the plays, and they did.
“Toronto is well coached. Jaret is family. He does a good job with them. We are going to have better days ahead. We have not played our best football yet. Our best days are ahead.”
Joynson intercepted a pass on Catholic Central’s next offensive possession, however, Toronto was unable to capitalize on the turnover as it punted the ball back to the Crusaders. Catholic Central was unable to move the ball on its next drive, and it was forced to punt.
The Red Knights took over at their own 31, drove down to the Crusaders 13 before ultimately taking a couple of knees and running out the clock.
“It was a great atmosphere for a high school football game,” Aubiel said. “The fans came out and supported us.”
Offensively for the Red Knights, Rebich completed 21-of-28 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions. Bouscher recorded 100 yards of total offense as he ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, while catching one pass for two yards. Joynson hauled on six receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown, Jett tallied five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown and Brady Close collected four receptions for 59 yards. Finally, Mathew Radvansky added five catches for 33 yards.
“Our running game complemented our passing game,” Aubiel said. “We needed to see that. I am proud of all of the kids.”
For the Crusaders, Jones completed eight passes for 44 yards while throwing two interceptions. He also ran eight times for 42 yards. Mitchell collected 120 yards and a touchdown on eight carries to lead the way on the ground for his team. Michael Fabbro finished the game with four receptions for 38 yards to lead the way in that category.
Catholic Central is scheduled to play Jefferson County rival Buckeye Local at 7 p.m. Friday night on the road down at World War II Memorial Stadium. The game will be the first ever meeting on the gridiron between the Crusaders and the Panthers.
Toronto is slated to play Oak Glen on Homecoming at 7 p.m. Friday night at home. The Red Knights shut out the Golden Bears, 26-0, last season on the road.
“We are going to enjoy this win tonight, and we are going to start to get ready for Oak Glen tomorrow,” Aubiel said.
Toronto 33, Catholic Central 6
Catholic Central 0 0 6 0 – 6
Toronto 13 7 7 6 – 33
Scoring
First Quarter
TORONTO: Bouscher 16 run (kick fail), 7:11
TORONTO: Joynson 80 pass from Rebich (Manley kick), 3:27
Second Quarter
TORONTO: Jett 34 pass from Rebich (Manley kick), 2:23
Third Quarter
CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Mitchell 74 run (bad snap), 7:35
TORONTO: Bouscher 1 run (Manley kick), 4:48
Fourth Quarter
TORONTO: Bouscher 3 run (kick fail), 11:22
Statistics
RUSHING: Catholic Central 24-187 TD (Jones 8-42, Thorn 3-13, Holzworth 5-12, Mitchell 8-120 TD); Toronto 28-116 3TDs (Rebich 3-(-12), Bouscher 18-98 3TDs, Wiseman 6-30, Jett 1-0)
PASSING: Catholic Central 8-17-44-0-1 (Jones 8-16-44-0-1, Thorn 0-1-0-0-0); Toronto 21-28-319-2-2 (Rebich 21-28-319-2-2)
RECEIVING: Catholic Central 8-44 (Thorn 3-7, Fabbro 4-38, Mitchell 1-(-1)); Toronto 21-319 2TDs (Joynson 6-147 TD, Close 4-59, Jett 5-71 TD, Bouscher 1-2, Radvansky 5-33)
FIRST DOWNS: Catholic Central 8, Toronto 20
PENALTIES-YARDS: Catholic Central 8-62, Toronto 6-55
PUNTS-AVERAGE: Catholic Central 2-31, Toronto 2-32.5