LAWRENCE — A few inches one way or the other, and Central Catholic had a shot at a classic comeback.
Raiders quarterback Caden Smith took off running and scored a 14-yard touchdown with 0:29 left in the game that, after the extra point, cut what was once a three-score St. John’s Prep lead to just seven points.
Central kicker Drew O’Keefe then booted a nearly perfect onside kick that bounced twice and looked like it could come free for a Raider to grab it.
But St. John’s Prep — the No. 1-ranked team in the state — was able to corral the kick, and run out the clock to earn a 31-24 win over its rival.
“The kids played tough tonight,” said Central head coach John Sexton. “We’re going to be OK in the long run. It hurts to lose to an archrival by one touchdown, but we saw things that we can build off of. Caden is getting more comfortable. We played hard, and this team is going to be alright.”
This was the second straight massive test for the Raiders, who fell to Springfield Central — the No. 4 team in the state — 42-20 a week ago.
“We didn’t play four quarters last week,” said Sexton. “We played closer to two-and-a-half quarters. Tonight we played four quarters. St. John’s is a very talented group. They’re a very well-coached, skilled and proud group. We played hard tonight. We made a lot of mistakes that we have to correct. But we played hard.”
Central Catholic came out flying with a game-opening 85-yard drive that Caden Chase capped with a 44-yard touchdown run.
But St. John’s Prep quickly took charge. Freshman quarterback Chris Vargas of Lawrence connected on his first three passes of the game, the third a 9-yard touchdown to tight end Josh Haarmann. The Eagles then added two more touchdowns and a field goal and appeared to be in control, leading 24-7 at halftime.
The Raiders, though, weren’t going away quietly.
O’Keefe cut the lead to 24-10 with a 21-yard field field goal, then Central forced a turnover on downs, with Jomar Berrios and Drew Alsup in on the fourth down stop.
The Raiders then received an offensive spark in bizarre fashion, as Smith — who finished 11 for 15 for 265 yards passing — had his pass batted back in his direction, caught it and took it for a 36-yard gain. That set up a Jefferson Morales’ 3-yard touchdown to make it 24-17 with 4:21 left in the game.
Vargas made it a two-score game again 1:12 later, connecting on a 40-yard TD pass to Merrick Barlow.
But back came Central one more time, as Smith hit O’Keefe for a 20-yard gain, setting up his own 14-yard score. The Prep, though, recovered the kick to clinch the win.
“Central is such a great program that plays so hard,” said Prep head coach Brian St. Pierre. “There’s a lot of history in this rivalry. and the proximity plays a big part, too. We don’t have many rivals that are so close to us. They’re used to playing in big games against great teams. They came out in the second half and it was ‘Game on.’ We just made a few more plays.”
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St. John’s Prep 31, Central Catholic 24
FIRST QUARTER
CC — Caden Chase 44 run (Drew O’Keefe kick), 8:52
SJP — Josh Haarmann 9 pass from Chris Vargas (LJ Laws kick), 6:43
SECOND QUARTER
SJP — Laws 32 field goal, 6:57
SJP — Jordan Toribio 36 run (Laws kick), 3:32
SJP — Toribio 3 run (Laws kick), 0:50
THIRD QUARTER
CC — O’Keefe 21 field goa, 2:20
FOURTH QUARTER
CC — Jefferson Morales 3 run (O’Keefe kick), 4:21
SJP — Merrick Barlow 40 pass from Vargas (Laws kick), 3:09
CC — Caden Smith 14 run (O’Keefe kick), 0:29
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Central — Caden Chase 10-75, Jefferson Morales 5-23, Amari Mills 3-3, Caden Smith 10-26; St. John’s — Jordan Toribio 7-66, Jeffrey Quigley 11-39, Andrew McManmon 2-23, Chris Vargas 1-3, Edwin Castro 3-4, Gael Garcia 1-5
PASSING: Central — Smith 11-15-0, 265; St. John’s — Vargas 8-14-0, 133
RECEIVING: Central — Connor Grella 3-91, Drew Alsup 5-93, Smith 1-36, Jack Steen 1-25, Drew O’Keefe 1-20; St. John’s — Riley Selvais 5-62, Merrick Barlow 2-64, Josh Haarmann 1-7