BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Contributing Writer
When the playoff pairings are released next week there’s a good possibility that the North Central football program will be eliminated from the postseason.
Don’t tell North Central head football coach Jacob Carruth however that the 2022 season wasn’t successful.
“I think you can say that especially on defense, that we are head and shoulders over where we were last year,” said Carruth, after the Hurricanes lost to Catholic High-Pointe Coupee 44-0 Friday night.
North Central was winless last season as Carruth searched for essentials such as footballs. This year due to increased interest in football, Carruth needed more helmets.
“Knowing where we were and where we had been when we started last season, I would be lying if I said this season hasn’t been successful,” said Carruth.
“We won three games and three of those were in a row. That’s something that hadn’t been done in 30 years,” added Carruth.
On Friday night Catholic High-PC established a 28-0 advantage and added two more touchdowns during the second half.
“Catholic High is certainly a good team and a good program that is ahead of us in development. I thought the score doesn’t show we played and how competitive we were,” Carruth said.
Carruth said added that a couple of plays might have closed the difference against Catholic Pointe-Coupee, but he wasn’t complaining about his team’s effort.
The Hornets (8-1, 3-1) are a playoff team. North Central (3-6, 0-4) ends the season at Sacred Heart this Friday.
North Central quarterback Craig Malveaux passed for 39 yards, but he was also intercepted four times.
The Hurricanes rushed for 80 yards. Malveaux gained 37 on 11 carries. Ian Campo (7 carries 27 yards) and Devion Lavergne (2-17) also added rushing yardage.
North Central was penalized 11 times for 111 yards.
CHPC scored the first touchdown on the first possession when Parker Jewell returned an interception with less than a minute into the game.
Jewell scored the second TD on an eight-yard run as the Hornets made it 14-0.
The Hornets added two late touchdowns during the final two minutes as Connor Achee ran for 25 yards and Adam Beatty entered the end zone from a yard out.
Beatty (20 carries 112 yards) and Jewell (8-85) separately scored second half touchdowns on runs of 22 and three yards, while Carter Walker recovered a North Central fumble in the end zone with 8:27 left in the third period.
