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Central rolls to easy win over Lawrence

LAWRENCE — On a team with a wealth of wide receivers, it’s not always easy to get your share of the spoils.
So Central Catholic senior quad-captain Mike Mercuri had a right to boast Friday night when he scored the game’s first touchdown, and his first of the season. He took a swing pass to the left, shrugged off one Lawrence tackler and eluded another on his way to a 62-yard score less than three minutes into the game.
Mercuri also caught a spectacular 44-yarder early in the third quarter, sparking a three-touchdown flurry as the No. 2-seed Raiders pulled away from a 14-0 halftime lead to roll past the Lancers, 42-15, in the quarterfinals of the Division 1 playoffs.
The Raiders (7-1) will host Andover (6-2) in the semifinals Friday.
But Mercuri was less excited about his offensive exploits than his defense, which included two of five sacks on Lawrence quarterback Ismael Jenkins.
“I liked the sacks more,” said Mercuri. “I like to hit people.”
Said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “Mike’s a good receiver and a good athlete. We were just talking the other day about how he hadn’t scored a touchdown yet, so this was nice to see.”
Mercuri’s early TD, followed by a 20-yard touchdown run by Bret Edwards that capped a seven-play drive, gave Central an early 14-0 lead. It looked like it would be an easy win.
But Lawrence, which was held without a first down in the first quarter, came alive in the second quarter, collecting six first downs, advancing to the Central 19 on one drive and keeping the Raiders to just 11 yards of offense.
But the game turned around in the third quarter when the Raiders scored on three straight drives, all on touchdowns by Omar Deschamps, two on runs (4 and 38 yards) and one on a 35-yard reception.
“I liked the way the kids responded in the third quarter,” said Adamopoulos. “Lawrence is a tough team and their record is deceiving.”
Showing its depth, Edwards (9 of 16, 197 yards) completed passes to six different receivers and had eight players carry the ball. One of the receivers, David Onyemem, had a spectacular 20-yard reception, and one of the backs, Max Faro, had a 75-yard run to cap the scoring.
On defense, Connor Hagerty joined Mercuri with a pair of sacks and Pat Schena and Mike Horak also played well.
Trailing 42-0 early in the fourth, Lawrence (3-5) scored twice against the Central reserves, first on an 11-yard TD pass from backup QB Ronny Pena and then on a 3-yard run by Angel Abreu, who had 71 of his 86 yards in the final quarter.
“We played well at times but you can’t have a first quarter like that and give them opportunities,” said Lawrence coach Mike Yameen.