Every year, the Holy Bowl against St. Mary’s serves as a barometer for the Central Catholic High football team.
The traditional game gives the Raiders a good sense of where they’re at early in the season.
After Friday night’s 27-14 loss to the Rams, it’s clear Central Catholic has some work to do.
St. Mary’s big-play offense and bend-but-don’t-break defense stifled the Raiders most of the night, allowing the Rams to take home the Holy Bowl trophy for the third consecutive year. It was the 34th meeting of the traditional powers.
After the game, Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa appeared frustrated by his team’s performance. “Just the little things,” Canepa said. “Man, we missed so many blocking assignments, and (St. Mary’s) did a good job. We called some (bad) plays … not very good.”
St. Mary’s quarterback Timmy Karagounis passed for 231 yards and a touchdown, and Landon McClendon Jr. rushed for two TDs to lead the Rams’ offense.
After Osani Gayles’ 65-yard TD run put the Rams up 27-7, it looked like the game might get out of hand.