Christian Brothers College runs wild in win over visiting Warren Central
By Nate Latsch
TOWN & COUNTRY, Mo. — If the Christian Brothers College High School football team needed a wake-up call for its game against visiting Warren Central (Ind.) on Friday night, it got it early.
The visiting Warriors drove down the field and scored on their first possession and punched in the 2-point conversion to take an early lead on the Cadets.
CBC answered with three touchdown drives in the first quarter and five scoring drives in the first half before Warren Central would score again. The Cadets rolled to an impressive 52-25 win for their sixth straight victory.
“We always talk about response, and I know that’s a coach’s cliche, but we felt like we could probably try to run the ball hard against them too and we did a good job,” CBC football coach Scott Pingel said. “I thought overall we knew it was going to be tough yardage and it was and I thought our guys did a good job.”
The Cadets ran for 420 yards and four touchdowns on 42 carries and added 197 yards and three scores in the passing game for 617 yards of total offense.
Jeremiah McClellan and Dakotah Mayo each scored two touchdowns. McClellan rushed for 100 yards and a TD on three carries and caught four passes for 42 yards and a score. Mayo caught two passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns and also had a kickoff return score that was called back on a penalty. Jason Wiley threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Dylan Van ran for 127 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Ralph Dixon ran for 90 yards and a touchdown. Jeremiyah Love ran for 85 yards and a TD.
The reigning Missouri Class 6 champions and the top-ranked team in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 rankings, CBC (7-1) hadn’t trailed in a game since losing at East St. Louis in Week 2.
So when Warren Central (4-5) scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Keith Jackson to De’Marion Harris with 10 minutes 37 seconds left in the first quarter, the Cadets knew they
“We weren’t taking this team lightly at all,” said McClellan, a standout junior wide receiver. “We knew it was a dogfight and we had to come out here and win every play to the best of our ability.”
McClellan answered the Harris touchdown with a clutch fourth-down play. He lined up at quarterback, took the snap, saw an opening to his left thanks to left tackle Bryce Parson and zoomed past the Warriors defense for a 71-yard touchdown run.
Love, who received his Under Armour All-American Game jersey earlier in the day, scored on a 1-yard run on CBC’s next possession. Mayo closed out the first-quarter scoring when he took a short pass from Wiley near the sideline, broke two tackles and scored on a 59-yard catch and run to give the Cadets a 21-8 lead.
CBC led 31-8 late in the second quarter after a 39-yard field goal from Simon Kacich and a 63-yard touchdown pass from Wiley to Mayo. Warren Central made it 31-11 late in the first half with a 32-yard field goal from Elijah Slibeck.
The Cadets extended their lead to 38-11 early in the third quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Wiley to McClellan, but Warren Central responded with two touchdowns.
Harris scored on a 7-yard run for his second touchdown of the night and then Western Michigan commit Joseph Walker made a leaping catch over two defenders and walked, backwards, into the end zone for a 32-yard score.
CBC’s led 38-25 going into the fourth quarter, but that was as close as Warren Central would get. Dixon scored on a 71-yard touchdown run early in the fourth and Van added a 23-yarder late.
CBC, which hosts Edwardsville (Ill.) Friday to close out the regular season, is now averaging 48.9 points per game and allowing 27. The Cadets averaged 47.4 and allowed 16.7 during their 13-1 championship season a year ago, but they look poised to make another playoff run with an experienced group.
“This win right here was amazing,” McClellan said. “This team right here is definitely a playoff-caliber-type team, so this is getting us ready for what’s coming.”
Warren Central at Christian Brothers College football
Nate Latsch photo
