TOLEDO – Missed chances and mistakes denied Central Catholic another trip to the regional finals on Friday in the Division II, Region 6 semifinals at Gallagher Stadium. Avon Lake used three first-half field goals from kicker Owen Wiley (28, 44 and 23 yards) and late first-half touchdown to claim a 16-14 victory over the Irish.
The Irish outgained the Shoremen, 275-257.
However, the miscues were too much to overcome for the hosts and second-ranked Irish.
“You have to have your team ready to go better at the beginning,” said Central mentor Greg Dempsey. “That was a bad start and it snowballed on us against a good football team. We had a lot of mistakes that came back to get us tonight. We had to do some things that put us in better situations I think.
“We kept fighting,” added Dempsey. “It looked like the game got away from us a few times. But the kids kept plowing away and plugging away to give us a chance at the end.”
Central ended the game with seven penalties for 85 yards. Two of the most crucial penalties came on Avon Lake’s final possession of the first half.