Lima Central Catholic’s Gabe Cira tries to get away from Tinaye Ngorima of St. Andrew’s during Friday night’s game at Spartan Stadium.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — It was a long road trip for Lima Central Catholic’s opponent Friday night.
St. Andrew’s College traveled all the way from Ontario, Canada to take on the Thunderbirds at Spartan Stadium.
And Lima Central Catholic did not roll out the welcome mat.
LCC jumped out quickly on St. Andrew’s and pulled away for a convincing 36-9 victory over the Saints.
LCC improves to 6-3 on the season. St. Andrew’s slips to 3-2.
“It was an experience,” LCC head coach Scott Palte said. “They’ve got some good kids, and some good size. I would like to see what they would look like if they were practicing American football every day, like we have. … They’re playing two sets of rules. So, that has to be hard to prepare for.
“I’m really proud of our kids. They came out, set the tone early and were physical.”
St. Andrew’s is a college-preparatory high school located in Ontario, Canada. The Saints’ schedule consists of both Canadian and U.S. teams.
Coming into Friday’s contest, Lima Central Catholic was sixth in Division VII, Region 26 in the latest Ohio High School Athletic Association’s computer ratings. The top 16 schools from each region at the end of the regular season will qualify for the postseason playoffs.
In the first half of Friday’s football matchup, Lima Central Catholic jumped out early, and then pulled out to a commanding 29-0 lead on St. Andrew’s by the halftime break.
Lima Central Catholic set the tone, early on.
After a three-and-out by St. Andrew’s to start the game, Lima Central Catholic wasted little time, as it marched 55 yards on four plays to get on the scoreboard.
Gabe Cira ran it in from nine yards out for the touchdown. The extra point by Michael Taflinger made it 7-0 T-Birds with 8:56 left in the opening quarter.
The T-Birds found the end zone, once again, early in the second quarter.
LCC capped off a 6-play, 48-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard run by Cira. The two-point conversion was successful for the T-Birds as they pushed their lead to 15-0 with 11:23 left to play in the first half.
On its next possession, LCC struck once again.
The T-Birds mounted a 5-play, 84-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Carson Parker ran it in from two yards out to extend the LCC lead to 22-0 with 5:53 left in the half.
LCC added one more score before the break.
Parker connected with Billy Bourk (four catches, 42 yards) for a 10-yard TD pass with 49 seconds left in the half.
In the first half, LCC’s offensive unit rolled up 303 total yards.
Parker was 8 of 14 passing for 163 yards and a TD. He also rushed for 91 yards on eight carries in the first half. For the game, Parker was 11 for 22 passing for 195 yards. He rushed for 111 yards on 11 carries.
LCC ended the night with 435 total offensive yards.
Gabe Cira hauled in four passes for 125 yards. He rushed for 37 yards on five carries and had two TD runs in the first half. Cira ended the night with 102 rushing yards on 11 touches.
St. Andrew’s recorded just 91 yards of offense in the first half. The Saints ended the game with 194 total yards.
With 4:18 left in the third quarter, Cira capped off a 12-play, 96-yard scoring drive with a 10-yard TD run. With the PAT, LCC led 36-0.
St. Andrew’s managed to force a safety in the fourth quarter, to finally get on the scoreboard.
Then, the Saints finally found the end zone.
With 5:01 left to play in the game, quarterback Anthony Lio connected with Ashton Watson for a 15-yard TD pass.
For the game, LCC recorded 19 first downs. St. Andrew’s moved the first-down chains 12 times.
“We did a great job on defense in the first half, holding them to zero points,” Palte said. “They have a big (offensive) line, good weapons and good speed. … So, we’re really proud of our kids.”
Mark Altstaetter wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
