Matthew Quatman of LCC lunges for the endzone against Allen East on Friday night.
Jackleyn Johnson | The Lima News
HARROD – Controlling the line of scrimmage is vital.
In Friday’s Northwest Conference football opener against Allen East, Lima Central Catholic did just that.
Offensively, LCC rushed for 304 yards and passed for another 127. Defensively, the Thunderbirds held Allen East to 160 total yards (28 rushing, 132 passing) en route to a convincing 35-7 victory over the Mustangs at Goodwin Field.
LCC improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in NWC play. Allen East slipped to 2-2 in all games played and 0-1 in conference action.
LCC went into the locker room on Friday with a 14-7 advantage.
In the second half, the T-Birds struck early and often.
In LCC’s first series of the second half, sophomore quarterback Brady Parker connected with Mylon Cowens for a 62-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 21-7.
The T-Birds’ defensive unit stymied the Allen East offense the rest of the way.
“We made a huge play (TD pass to Cowens), coming out in the second half,” LCC coach Scott Palte said. “They (Allen East) had a lot of momentum going in (to halftime). They scored right before the half. I’m really proud of our kids for that second half. I thought we did a really good job of taking control of the game.”
With 58 seconds left to play in the first half, Allen East’s Miles McDorman capped off an 8-play, 65-yard scoring drive with a 5-yard run to the end zone to cut the deficit to 7.
LCC’s ground attack set the tone on Friday.
LCC senior running back Matthew Quatman rushed for 133 yards on 18 carries and had two TDs.
“He’s just a hard-nosed, gritty dude,” Palte said about Quatman. “He’s bouncing off people. He’s quick. He’s agile. He’s just flat-out a mean football player. He just plays hard. He’s hard to tackle. We’re sure glad that he’s on our team.”
Parker was 5 of 8 passing for 127 yards and had two touchdowns. Parker connected with Michael Quatman (2 catches, 36 yards) for a 20-yard scoring strike in the second quarter that gave the T-Birds a 14-0 lead. Parker’s other TD pass was the 62-yard bomb to Cowens (2 catches, 72 yards) to start the second half.
Parker was making his fourth career start under center on Friday.
“He is starting to grasp what is expected of him,” Palte said about Parker. “He’s playing a lot better. He’s under control and he’s finding people. He’s not making the big mistake, which is huge. He’s taking care of the football, and that’s what we ask of him. I’m really proud of him. We didn’t have an interception tonight. So, we’re really proud of his effort.”
Parker also rushed for 67 yards on eight carries and had a 13-yard TD run in the third quarter that extended LCC’s lead to 28-7.
Allen East’s running attack was kept in check on Friday.
Jackson Thompson, who had been starting at quarterback for the first three weeks for the Mustangs, lined up as a running back on Friday. Thompson rushed for 14 yards on 10 carries.
Keagan Jones, who started at quarterback for Allen East on Friday, was 11 of 22 passing for 132 yards with two interceptions.
Palte was especially pleased at how his defense rose to the occasion on Friday.
“We tell our kids all the time, ‘It doesn’t matter what you do between the 20-yard lines. … It’s the points that really matter’,” Palte said. “Once you get down inside that red zone defense, that’s going to decide high school football games. We’ll give up yards, but we want to keep the points off the scoreboard. Our guys did a really good job of doing that tonight.”
Score by quarters
Lima Central Catholic 7 7 14 7 – 35
Allen East 0 7 0 0 – 7
LCC Allen East
304 Rushing Yards 28
127 Passing Yards 132
431 Total Yards 160
5/8/0 Comp./Att./Int. 11/22/2
3/2 Fumbles/Lost 1/1
15 First Downs 10
7/37 Penalties/Yards 2/20
2/30 Punts/Average 5/39
Scoring Summary
LCC – 7-yard run by Matthew Quatman (kick by Matthew Quatman); first, 2:27
LCC – 20-yard pass from Brady Parker to Michael Quatman (kick by Matthew Quatman; second, 8:16
Allen East – 5-yard run by Miles McDorman (kick by Travis Stanley): second, :58
LCC – 62-yard pass from Brady Parker to Mylon Cowens (kick by Matthew Quatman); third, 10:38
LCC – 13-yard run by Brady Parker (kick by Matthew Quatman); third, 5:42
LCC – 5-yard run by Matthew Quatman (kick by Matthew Quatman); fourth, 8:53
Passing – LCC: Brady Parker – 5 of 8 for 127 yards, 2 touchdowns; Allen East: Keagan Jones – 11 of 22 for 132 yards, 2 interceptions
Receiving – LCC: Mylon Cowens – 2 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD; Allen East: Ethan Young – 2 catches, 57 yards
Rushing – LCC: Matthew Quatman – 133 yards on 18 carries, 2 TDs; Allen East: Jackson Thompson – 14 yards on 10 carries
