By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Lafayette senior quarterback Jaron Saunders threw three total touchdowns, and Mother Nature ended things a bit early on Friday night at the St. Joseph high school football jamboree at Spratt Stadium.
Central and Lafayette played in the third and final quarter, and the Irish were down to their last 4-5 plays when rain and high winds started to move in, causing the players and crowd to disperse a bit early.
Central and Benton played in the first quarter, and that ended in a 6-6 tie. The Cardinals got the scoring started when senior quarterback Carson Newlon found junior Denver Domann for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Domann finished the night with three catches for 37 yards.
The Indians responded when junior quarterback Stone Wetlaufer found fellow junior Asher Katakis down the sideline on a 44-yard touchdown strike, which tied it at 6-6.
Central went for a winning touchdown on their 18th and final play of the quarter, but an interception at the goal line by Benton's Bryson Brown kept the tie intact.
In the second quarter, Benton and Lafayette went at it, and immediately, the Irish offense went to work.
Senior and second-year starting quarterback Jaron Saunders completed his first two passes - a 32-yarder to Zander Mace, and then an eight-yard touchdown to Carlos Cortez on the very next play.
The Benton defense slowed the Irish down some after that, but later in the quarter, Saunders found Cortez again on a seven-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone, giving the Irish a 12-0 victory in the second quarter.
"It's basically your dress rehearsal before week one," Lafayette coach Ryan Shroyer said. "We play both of these teams in the regular season. So, we weren't going to throw the kitchen sink at 'em, but we were looking forward to this."
Central and Lafayette was the final matchup of the night in the third quarter. The Indians got the ball first, and marched down the field with their running game. Freshman Gabe Fields scored on a one-yard touchdown run to put the Indians ahead 6-0.
In two quarters, Fields finished with 34 yards rushing on seven carries.
Lafayette's offense wasn't quite as speedy against Central, but Saunders still completed 4/6 passes against the Indians, including a 16-yard touchdown strike to freshman Drew Callaway to knot the quarter at 6.
In his two quarters combined, Saunders went 9-of-17 for 153 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Each team was allotted 18 offensive plays in each quarter, and there were no field goals or extra points. Turnovers, and turnovers on downs, resulted in the offense getting a first-down at the opponent's 40-yard line.
There was no running clock, and each offense got to run 18 plays in each quarter, regardless of penalties and turnovers.
"It gives us an opportunity to compete," Central head coach Regi Trotter said, "and get some bragging rights. It's one of those things where all of these kids know each other. They'll talk about this for a long time. They know it's not a huge deal, but you do want to win the city."
Central opens the season at Ruskin next Friday, Benton is home to Lincoln Prep, while Lafayette hosts Carnahan (St. Louis) next Saturday at 1 - a game that will be carried live on KFEQ Radio (680 AM, 95.3 FM).
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