BILLERICA — Steven Gentile totaled 308 yards and 4 touchdowns as No. 6 Billerica picked up a press release street win over Central Catholic, 32-27, on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.
Billerica (3-0) held off a livid fourth-quarter comeback from Central Catholic that trimmed a 25-point result in 5 within the closing moments. It’s the primary win for Billerica over CC since 2009.
“Steven (Gentile) has done a fantastic job and has been waiting for this for his entire life,” stated Billerica coach Duane Sigsbury. “Our kids love football. We knew we had a lot of kids coming back this year and we’re very lucky to have the guys we do.”
A 27-yard landing by Cole Dillon put Billerica up 32-7 with 10:31 remaining however the Raiders refused to go quietly. Drew Alsup corralled a 29-yard landing reception after which, after a Mason Bachry interception, Alsup hauled in a second landing reception to trim the deficit to 32-21 with 4:22 remaining.
Bachry then appeared to offer Central a transparent opening when he recovered an ensuing pooch kick at Billerica’s 22-yard line. Dhaethmy Dorival, nonetheless, picked off Jaxon Pereira on the subsequent play to maintain the Raiders at bay.
Central Catholic pressured a punt and bought again inside a rating on a 39-yard landing run by Pereira with 2:22 left. Billerica, nonetheless, recovered the following onside kick and Gentile rushed for a primary all the way down to seal the win.
“We played great defense until we forgot to tackle the quarterback,” Sigsbury stated. “Central is a good football team. We’re just happy to be 3-0. John Sexton is doing a great job with his program playing a lot of young guys. They will be a tough team to beat.”
Billerica’s entrance highlighted by Dillon, Dan Moore, Xavier Mosley, and Tyler Bornstein dominated many of the afternoon, limiting the Raiders to 3 first downs by means of the primary three quarters.
The two sides traded blows to start the sport with Billerica marching 83 yards on its opening drive, capped off by a three-yard landing run by Gentile to go in entrance 7-0. Central answered, occurring a 12-play drive highlighted by a one-yard landing run by Pereira to tie the rating.
After the Raiders preliminary landing drive, the Indians took management and dominated time of possession. Central solely touched the ball two extra instances within the opening half working eight performs for a mixed 30 yards. On the previous of these drives, Dillon jumped in entrance of a Pereiera bubble display for an interception and returned it to the Raiders 28-yard line. Eight performs later, Dorival plunged in from three yards out to place the guests on high, 14-7.
A Gentile five-yard landing rush with 4:46 remaining within the second quarter gave Billerica a 20-7 benefit going into halftime.
