Central faces key test on homecoming
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STEUBENVILLE -- Catholic Central can give its Division VII, Region 25 playoff hopes a major shot in the arm Saturday when it welcomes Windham to Harding Stadium.
The Bombers, who hail from Portage County, will bring a 3-0 mark to town and are ranked 10th in the region by Joe Eitel. Central, which improved to 2-2 with last week's 24-13 victory over Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans, is 17th in the region standings.
Windham, which competes in the Northeastern Athletic Conference, owns victories over Lisbon (27-13), Jackson-Milton (20-14) and Ashtabula St. John (41-0). The current combined record of Windham's victims is 1-10. The Bombers' game with East Palestine was canceled due to COVID issues with the Bulldogs.
The kick for the first meeting between the schools is set for 7 p.m. Saturday's game takes on a little added significant since the Crusaders will celebrate homecoming.
"No doubt about it, they like to run the football," Central coach Anthony Agresta said of the Bombers. "They have a Wing T style of offense and they have really good team speed. It looks like they focus on getting the ball to the edge. Then, when teams get edge conscious, they start running their big fullback.
"Windham is a good football team. But, I also believe we will be the best football team they have played to date."
Junior Wyatt Hanshaw, directs the Windham offensive attack. In 2020, when the Bombers went 2-4, he threw for 327 yards and four scores.
During the preseason, Jake Eye, who is in his third season as Windham's coach, said the strength of his squad will be in the skilled positions.
"We have some outstanding skilled backs and receivers that possess a lot of speed and athleticism." he said.
Some of those skilled athletes include seniors Mikylen Jones, Bert Jones, who stands 6-foot-4, along with juniors Chase Eye, and James Hood. Junior Trent Brown also sees time in the backfield or in a slot position.
Senior Camdyn Hoskin anchors the Windham offensive line.
"They have decent size," Agresta said. "They are not going to overwhelm us with size like Edison did but they are not a small football team by any stretch of the imagination.
"To be in this game, we really need to play assignment football. Our kids have been aggressive defensively and sometimes there is a tendency for kids to make a play and not be gap sound. We absolutely must be gap sound this week."
In last week's victory over Bishop Rosecrans, the Crusaders jumped out to an early 10-0 lead then watched the Bishops rally to go up 13-10. Central used two long second half drives to seal the deal.
Junior quarterback Andrew Dorsey ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns while junior running Dashon Seditz also had a scoring run. Senior David Kissinger booted a 25-yard field goal.
For the season, Central's offense is averaging 222 yards (138 coming on the ground) an outing and 18 points.
Dorsey leads the Crusader ground game with 261 yards while Seditz has 175 stripes.
In the passing department, Dorsey has thrown for 268 yards (he's completing 57 percent of his attempts) and two scores. Freshman Tommy Pergi has eight grabs for 103 yards while sophomore Tyler Ialenti has six receptions. Junior Nico Petrella is next with four catches.
The Crusader defense is allowing 16.7 points a game.
Against Rosecrans, the defense recorded three interceptions. Senior Primo Toriscelli, Pergi and Dorsey all delivered picks.
"We are in Week 5 -- right in the middle of our season," Agresta said. "It's nice to have a game with significance and I believe we have a game that is significant Saturday. I am excited about it, the kids are excited and we are looking forward to the challenge.
"We have the opportunity to go to 3-2 and a chance to move up in the playoff rankings. It's homecoming week and I know the kids love homecoming so we really have to stay focused, have a great week of practice and avoid distractions."