The Central Catholic Buttons hit the ground running in their season opening 48-14 victory, Thursday evening, at the Kennedy Rockets. The game was a continuous barrage of highlight reel worthy bang-bang plays from the offense and a jaw dropping four takeaways from the gritty Button defense. Thursday’s performance was the first test for the new era Buttons squad led by Coach Mike Santiago and by fourth quarter end, the team had passed with flying colors.

Despite a 34 point margin of victory, Central looked sloppy at the beginning of play. The offense was sputtering with fumbles and the defense was racking up 95 yards worth of penalties. The game only seemed to go down hill more when a punt snap overshot Central’s Alejandro Chavarria. What Chavarria did next would alter the aura of the game completely. Running backwards, Chavarria recovers the ball and punts a 40 yard beam as two Kennedy Rockets tackle him to the ground. At that point, the game was still very much in the air and had the punt been blocked Kennedy very well could’ve taken the air out of the Buttons sails. This play was football in a nutshell; everyone wants to make the big play but rarely do they allow the big play to come to them. The gears of the entire game completely shifted after the impactful punt, and this plainly emphasizes the contributions every player can make to win a football game.

On defense, Central focused on containing the shifty Kennedy running backs. Seth McCrum was the difference maker in the trenches as his constant penetration provided a smooth transition for linebackers John Montelongo, 19’ and Ryan Garcia, 19’ to make plays. It was corner Hilario Gomez, 19’ who would set the tone with an early interception and later on a 60 yard pick six mid way through the first quarter. Middle Linebacker Ryan Garcia also came away with a late game interception and would set up the offense on the 4 yard line. The defense also notched a fumble recovery from Gary Pocrnich, 19’ which would deny Kennedy of scoring a opportunity in the red zone. Kennedy’s two touchdowns came off big plays that were very preventable. Defensive Coordinator, Coach Gomez, explained to the players during halftime that the scores was the Buttons simply beating themselves. Overall, the defense made some game changing plays which contributed to the transition from a slow start to a dominant performance.

Despite the impressive 48 point showing, the Buttons offense did take a little while to get chains moving. Central’s offense went scoreless in the first quarter with multiple turnovers. However, the tides of the game changed early in the second quarter when senior wide receiver Jack Perkins snacthed a 65 yard dime from quarterback Nick Chavez. From there an offense snowball effect ensued as the Buttons would tack on 20 points in the second quarter alone. It was no surprise that Coach Santiago’s pass heavy offense produced big time numbers in the air with 253 passing yards overall and an average of 18 yards per pass. Jack Perkins was all over the place and would lead the team with two touchdown grabs while Jared Torralva and Zach Davidsmeyer both caught tailor made bullets from Chavez. On the ground, Senior QB Jay Yount led the team as he scrambled his way to 56 yards out of the backfield. Yount and Sophomore Gibby Garza both added six points to the score by bursting into the endzone for touchdowns.

Often times an essential key to winning football games is having more big plays than the opponent. In the first quarter the game was still up in the air. As the game ticked on, more and more sparks of success trickled through both the offense and the defense until a fire of dominance commenced. Central tooks the reins and didn’t look back. The phrase “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” truly encapsulates the play of Central. Though it wasn’t too pretty early in the contest, the Buttons clawed and clashed their way towards victory. As the road of a new season winds to week two, Central will look to kick it up another another notch as they taken on the McCollum Cowboys at Harlandale Stadium.

Adan Silva
Adan Silva

Adan Silva