RallyNorth.net

Central Catholic can’t keep pace with McAfee, surging Everett

Saturday, November, 05 By David Willis
Staff writer

BURLINGTON — For a few moments, Central Catholic looked to be on the verge of a major rally.

Trailing by 23 points, Central QB Bret Edwards found David Onyemem for a 50-yard touchdown pass, then the Raiders recovered an onside kick and marched to the Everett 13-yard line.

But a comeback was not in the cards for Central.
“The end of the first half really hurt us,” said Raiders coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “The kids showed some guts and we had a chance to really cut into the lead. We got down there, but then their trick play took the wind out of us.”
Central Catholic turned the ball over on downs, and a play later Crimson Tide QB Jordan McAfee completed  a hook-and-latter 50-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the half.
The top-seeded Raiders could not manage a miracle in the second half, and fell to No. 3 Everett 43-18 on Saturday night in the Division 1 North semifinals at their adopted home of Burlington High School.
“We lost to an excellent football team,” said Adamopoulos. “They are a great team. We dug a hole for ourselves with an early turnover, but they are a heck of a team. I feel like we are a better team than we showed today, but they are a great team.”
Central Catholic now heads into a conclusion game, while the win sends Everett to the Division 1 North final against No. 7 seed Andover. The game is expected to be played on Saturday in Everett.
That sets up a battle between two of the front-runners for Massachusetts Player of the Year between McAfee and brilliant Andover QB  E.J. Perry IV.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to see what happens,” said McAfee. “I’m looking forward to it (facing Perry IV). Central is a tough team and we knew nothing would be easy against them.”
The Raiders simply had no answer for McAfee.
The University of Connecticut football commit needed to complete just five passes — as four went for touchdowns and he finished the day with 212 passing yards. He only played two possessions in the second half.
“There is a reason he’s going to play football at UConn,” said Adamopoulos. “He’s excellent and has a lot of weapons to get the ball to.”
Everett started fast, as McAfee threw a touchdown pass just 1:54 into play. After Central fumbled the following kick, the Crimson Tide booted a field goal to go up 10-0.
McAfee added two more passing touchdowns to make it 23-0 near the end of the second quarter. Central grabbed back some momentum with its touchdown, but Everett stole it right back with the hook-and-latter score and a fumble return TD to start the second half
Central added two late scores — an Edwards touchdown pass to Joe Howshan and a John Kenney run — but the game was out of reach.
“Everett is tough, physical and even their skill players are big,” said Adamopoulos. “We just lost to a very, very good Everett team.”