IHSAA football: Guerin Catholic pounces on Central Catholic's mistakes in top 10 showdown
LAFAYETTE – The long laundry list of mistakes won’t be easy to hide.
Penalties. Turnovers. Lack of attention to detail. Giving up two defensive scores.
That's part of Central Catholic's story from Friday night's 47-10 loss to Class 3A No. 7 Guerin Catholic, which reeled off 47 consecutive points after trailing 3-0 as quarterback Ryan Zimmerman and receiver Will Fremion played pitch-and-catch. Fremion caught three TD passes and finished with eight catches for 199 yards.
Plenty of mistakes
The first drive by the Class 2A fifth-ranked Knights (1-1) was nearly flawless but that’s where it ended.
A crucial penalty wiping out a long kickoff return trailing 14-3 put the Knights in a huge hole, one they never recovered from. That was only a small sample size.
High school football predictions:High school football: Week 2 predictions
A turnover in CC’s territory. A short punt. Two pick-sixes for Guerin Catholic (2-0), which feasted on the mistakes and scored 21 points off turnovers. The good news is the miscues are fixable and it’s only the second week of the season.
“Just keep going,” defensive back Brinn Robbins said. “Adversity hit. We need to bounce back. Start fresh. Start new and just play.”
The mistakes kept coming and the Golden Eagles kept finding the end zone.
“Those are the things that get the scoreboard freakin’ blown up quicker than anything,” CC coach Brian Nay said. “We still have to show up, we still have to be ready to play.
“They had a great plan for us. We didn’t have a great plan for them. That’s 100% on me.”
Robbins shines
The junior was a bright spot for the Knights.
He had a second-half interception, giving Central Catholic some life, but also ignited special teams with a pair of kickoff returns. The first one was called back due to a penalty and his 70-yarder set up the Knights’ only touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“I imagine myself as a little blocker, but I didn’t think I would find myself back there,” Robbins said. “That’s how things worked out.”
Looking for Robbins’ role to increase as the season moves along, taking on more responsibility on offense.
“Brinn’s role on our team will continue to expand as the year goes on,” Nay said. “As soon as he feels extremely comfortable on the defensive side, you’re going to see him on the offensive side and on special teams more. He’s hard to keep off the field.”
Metzger's day
Sophomore Bobby Metzger made his second varsity start at quarterback Friday, one week after leading the Knights past Seeger in the opener. He posted excellent numbers but discovered the Golden Knights are a different level of opponent.
It’s an experience that will benefit Metzger later in the season but it’s probably hard for him to see that now.
Robbins’ third-quarter interception gave the Knights a small glimmer of hope, despite trailing 26-3. But on the ensuing play, Metzger was intercepted by Joe Youngman, who raced 60 yards for the touchdown and all but ended the game.
The second pick-six happened in the fourth quarter when Metzger’s pass bounced off the hands of Owen Munn and into the grasp of Harrison Miller, who rambled 32 yards for the TD.
“It’s over, that’s the long and short of it,” Nay said. “For as excited as we are about Bobby’s development, he’s still a sophomore, he’s still making his second varsity start. Seeger is a good squad, but Guerin is on a different level.”
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc
Guerin Catholic 7 19 14 7 - 47
Central Catholic 3 0 0 7 - 10
First Quarter
CC - Henry 27 FG
GC - Fremion 18 pass from Zimmerman (Guenther kick)
Second Quarter
GC - Fremion 45 pass from Zimmerman (Guenther kick)
GC - Zdobylak 10 run (kick failed)
GC - Zimmerman 2 run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
GC - Youngman 60 interception return (Guenther kick)
GC - Fremion 92 pass from Zimmerman (Guenther kick)
Fourth Quarter
GC - Miller 32 interception return (Guenther kick)
CC - Munn 10 pass from Metzger (Henry kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Guerin Catholic, Zdobylak 12-44, Navarro 6-12, Zimmerman 2-2. Central Catholic, Smith 19-87, Dienhart 1-0, Metzger 2-(minus 4).
PASSING - Guerin Catholic, Zimmerman 15-22-1-300. Central Catholic, Metzger 15-27-2-109.
RECEIVING - Guerin Catholic, Fremion 8-199, Cherry 4-68, L. Moody 1-17, Gibbs 1-9, Miller 1-4, Zdobylak 1-3. Central Catholic, Dienhart 6-41, Munn 3-31, Cain 4-18, Koch 2-17, Page 1-2
Guerin Catholic is 2-0; Central Catholic is 1-1
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Indiana high school football: Guerin Catholic at Central IHSAA Week 2
