By BEAU WICKER
FULTON — Class A No. 1-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic came into Friday night’s Sectional 34 championship game here against Caston with the most gaudy statistics in the state.
The Knights showed just exactly how they’ve been able to accumulate such impressive numbers by simply overmatching the Comets in a 58-13 victory to win their first sectional title since 2005 and fifth overall.
“They’re really, really good,” Caston coach Chris Ulerick said. “It’s always hard to tell how tough they are on film, but their defensive lineman … I’m looking up at all of them. They can run through double teams. They do pretty much whatever they want. Where we were winning the games this year, they won the game [Friday night] and that was the offensive and defensive lines.
“The kids played hard, they were just outmatched. They’re an extremely talented football team that is probably going to steamroll many more teams other than us. Our kids don’t have anything to feel bad about.”
The Knights (11-0) had a big size advantage across the board against the Comets (8-4). And if that wasn’t enough, quarterback Chris Mills was hitting a bevy of talented receivers in stride in building up a 48-0 halftime advantage.
Mills finished 8 of 17 for 207 yards and four touchdowns. He added a touchdown on the ground on a QB sneak. Other than recovering a fumbled punt return, Caston didn’t stop CC’s offense until Wil Holloway picked off a Mills pass with 2:05 remaining in the first half. But by that time it was 48-0, and Mills sat the entire second half with the big lead.
“We couldn’t hit anything defensively,” Ulerick said. “They ripped off some real big plays and just put us on our heals. It was just hard to match them.”
The Comets did outscore the Knights 13-10 in the second half, with many of the CC starters still out on the field for much of the action.
Early in the fourth quarter QB Blain Hizer found Trevor Hoover for an 80-yard pass. Two plays later, fullback Austin Ault blasted into the end zone from five yards out to get the Comets on the board.
Another highlight included a 40-yard punt return by Austin Yeargean after the ball was muffed by Caston’s returner.
The Comets finished the game with some razzle-dazzle when QB Wil Holloway hit Eric Goller for an 86-yard touchdown pass on a double-reverse flea-flicker play. It was a fitting end for a turnaround season by the Comets, who won more games this season than the previous four combined.
“We wanted to throw the ball more, but they were just so big and fast that we didn’t have time,” Ulerick said. “Our kids certainly have nothing to be ashamed of. We made it farther than a lot of people certainly expected us to do. We won eight ball games. We certainly turned the corner, I hope. We still return a lot of kids off this team.”
The Knights entered the game averaging a state-best 52 points per game while allowing a state-best 1.6 per contest.
The Comets enter the offseason knowing they will graduate eight key seniors but also knowing they’ll have a lot coming back next year.
“We’re still trying to get there,” Ulerick said. “Hopefully our kids see what hard work and effort does in the offseason. We’ve still got a real bright future in front of us the next couple years.”
