Central Catholic’s Fisher leads way against Hempfield

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 15, 2017 | 10:39 PM

Central Catholic was forced to punt on its first two possessions before its offense scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter in a 42-14 nonconference victory against Hempfield on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.

Hempfield's effort drew praise from its opponent.

“They played good football. They hung in there for a long while,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. “I credit their coaching staff. Their kids played hard. We just are not consistent right now.”

It looked like Hempfield (1-3) was in good position midway through the second quarter when quarterback Blake Remeley, playing in place of injured starter Justin Sliwoski, connected with Nick DiAndreth on a 39-yard touchdown pass. But Central Catholic (3-1), the Tribune-Review's No. 2 team in Class 6A, quickly asserted itself.

Vikings quarterback Troy Fisher's 39-yard run set up a Dontre Jones 3-yard touchdown to break the tie.

After Hempfield went three and out, Corey Thomas made a diving catch of a Fisher pass for a 43-yard touchdown.

“We are not satisfied. We are playing a lot of young kids, eight sophomores, but what I was proud of is that we battled all night long,” Hempfield coach Rich Bowen said. “At the end of the game, it doesn't feel like a 42-14 game. We forced them to punt the ball a lot. We got off the field a lot on third downs. They hit us with some big pass plays, and we know that.”

The Vikings scored again before halftime, running a successful two-minute drill capped by a Fisher 2-yard run for a 28-7 halftime lead.

On Central Catholic's first possession of the third quarter, Fisher hit Gavin Thomson over the middle through triple coverage for 58 yards. Fisher finished 14 of 22 for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

“He's an athlete. We're going to take advantage of him,” coach Totten said of Fisher.

Hempfield found the end zone late in the fourth quarter when DiAndreth caught a 51-yard pass from Remeley, who finished 9 of 16 for 145 yards with two touchdowns and an interception that came at the end of the first half on a Hail Mary.

“There were some good indicators at the end of the game where we still had kids making plays,” Bowen said. “But it is time to start winning some games again. Moral victories we do not want. We just want to keep improving and there are signs of us getting better.”

Bowen added Sliwoski (shoulder) is “week-to-week” but could return next week against Peters Township.

Alec Italiano is a freelance writer.

Tags: Central Catholic, Hempfield Area