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Article published Saturday, September 16, 2006
Irish knock out Start early with lightning strikes
Defense scores 2 TDs for Central
By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Big plays came in abundance for Central Catholic last night in its City League football opener at Start, as the Fighting Irish posted their 17th straight victory 38-6.
Central (4-0, 1-0 CL) scored on its first play from scrimmage, and never looked back while also producing two defensive touchdowns plus another via special teams versus the Spartans (2-2, 0-1).
?We have to be happy with our point output and the score, but we just have to work on driving the football still,? said Central coach Greg Dempsey, who found room for improvement. ?We can?t rely on the big play so much.
?I wouldn?t say I?m not pleased, but I just know there?s certain facets of the game that we need to get better at. A consistent running game and moving the chains is the No. 1 thing.?
Junior tailback Vyshawn Arnold (14 carries, 92 yards) didn?t need to move any chains early on. He bolted around right end 80 yards for a TD just 15 seconds into the game.
It took the defending CL and Division II state champion Irish three plays on their next drive to score again.
This time reigning CL player of the year Dane Sanzenbacher caught a Tyler Kleeberger pass over the middle at the 30, cut to the right sideline, broke a tackle, and raced to an 81-yard TD 4:43 into the game.
Central Catholic linebacker Paul Jacoby scores on an 18-yard interception return in the first quarter.
( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )
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?Tyler put that one on the money and Ray Calhoun held his block all the way down the sideline,? Sanzenbacher said. ?That always helps.?
After Kleeberger was intercepted in the end zone by Start?s Rashad Cobham to end the next drive, Central struck again with 40.6 seconds left in the first period.
Irish linebacker Paul Jacoby intercepted a pass from Start quarterback Brad Leestma and returned it 18 yards for a TD.
Then, just 12 seconds into the second quarter, Sanzenbacher put the Irish up 28-0 with another highlight-reel play against the stunned Spartans.
The Ohio State-bound wideout fielded an A.J. Whitmore punt at his 32 near the right sideline and started upfield. He quickly cut all the way back across to the left sideline and streaked home for a 68-yard TD.
?I was dead tired by the time I got to the end zone,? said Sanzenbacher, who actually covered about 120 yards on the play. ?I picked up some nice blocks around the corner on that one.?
Start scored five minutes before halftime, capping a 62-yard drive on Leestma?s fourth-and-8 pass to Lionel Jones for a 34-yard TD.
But Leestma was stalked all game long as the Irish defense sacked him seven times for losses totaling 33 yards.
?We didn?t have a good week of practice,? Start coach Pat Gucciardo said of his team, which beat Southview 26-21 last week.
?The kids came in and maybe thought they were better than what they were.
?We had a lot of miscommunication. A couple times when Brad was hanging onto the ball, he was waiting on a route to develop because we messed the route up. A couple other times he threw to the wrong side. It goes back to practice.?
Lineman Eric Herman and linebacker Brad Rogers had two sacks apiece as the Irish defense held Start to 39 rushing yards on 28 attempts. Leestma, who also lost a fumble on the final sack, was 10-of-28 passing for 155 yards.
Central added a TD with 2:35 left in the third quarter when sophomore linebacker David Pickerel intercepted Leestma and returned the ball 19 yards to the end zone.
Ryan Kaminski, who also kicked three extra points, closed Central?s scoring with a 39-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The Irish gained 162 yards on 32 rushes, and Kleeberger was 6-of-12 passing for 97 yards.
