TRAC Co-Leaders Central Catholic & Whitmer Set to Clash on Friday at Whitmer Memorial Stadium
The Central Catholic football team will travel to rival Whitmer (5-2, 4-0 TRAC) on Friday, Oct. 7 with first place at stake in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference. The opening kick against the Panthers will be 7 pm at Whitmer Memorial Stadium.
CCHS (6-1, 4-0 TRAC) and Whitmer are currently tied for the top spot in the TRAC standings, 2 games ahead of Fremont Ross (5-2, 2-2 TRAC), Clay (5-2, 2-2 TRAC), St. John’s Jesuit (2-5, 2-2 TRAC) and Findlay (3-4, 2-2 TRAC).
The Fighting Irish and Panthers have dominated the TRAC since the conference’s inception in 2011, combining to capture all 11 league titles. Central Catholic is the 4-time reigning conference champion and has won 8 league titles overall (2013-16, ‘18-21), while the Panthers captured the other three (2011-12, ‘17). This fall is the final year of the TRAC.
The Scarlet & Gray enters Friday’s first-place showdown on the heels of a convincing 45-7 win vs. Clay on Homecoming in Gallagher Stadium. The Fighting Irish posted a decisive 441-161 advantage in total yards against the upstart Eagles, including a whopping 276-10 edge on the ground, to help them extend their TRAC winning streak to 29-consecutive contests.
Senior RB Chris Edmonds set the tone offensively for Central Catholic vs. Clay, finishing with a game-high 100 yards rushing on only 11 carries and 2 TDs. The 2021 1st-team All-TRAC performer has now topped the century mark in 6th-straight games.
Junior RB Marquan Braswell and senior QB Ty’Waun Clark also had solid performances running the ball against the Eagles, tallying 68 and 60 yards, respectively. Braswell was credited with 1 TD on the ground, while Clark found the endzone on 2 occasions in the emphatic home triumph.
Defensively, the Fighting Irish limited the high-powered Eagles to their lowest scoring effort this fall.
Central Catholic, which is ranked No. 8 in the most recent Division II state poll, will be looking for its 4th-straight victory vs. Whitmer and 8th overall in the last 9 matchups. A season ago, CCHS registered a 28-7 victory vs. the Panthers at home.
Whitmer enters this week’s game following a dominating 55-6 victory vs. Lima Senior.
Tickets for Friday’s game can be purchased online at https://bit.ly/3RsVXdf. Please note, no tickets will be available to purchase at the gate. In addition, students MUST have their ID to enter the Whitmer Memorial Stadium.
For those fans unable to attend Friday’s contest, the game can be heard LIVE on “The Ticket” l 100.7 FM with the “Voice of the Irish” Bill Clark & Jim Oswald, starting at 6:30 pm or streamed online HERE.
Central Catholic will return to the gridiron against Fremont Ross on Friday, Oct. 14 for “Senior Night” at 7 pm in Gallagher Stadium.
