Terry Douglass, Central Nebraska Today
GRAND ISLAND — Grand Island Central Catholic improved to 5-0 on the season, cruising to a 42-0 victory over Centura at Memorial Stadium.
The Class C-2 No. 7-rated (Omaha World-Herald) Crusaders raced to a 35-0 halftime lead and never looked back, posting their fourth shutout of the season. The win marks GICC’s best start since opening 6-0 in 2012 and puts the program on pace for its strongest regular-season finish since 2014 when it finished 7-2.
Senior quarterback Grayson Sack led the charge, completing 5 of 8 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Mason Vasquez for a 23-yard score, Graham Stava for a 20-yard TD, and found Connor Haney on a 76-yard strike. Sack also added a 5-yard touchdown run.
Sophomore Jackson Gangwish showcased the Crusaders’ depth at quarterback, engineering a late second-quarter scoring drive capped by a 5-yard TD pass to Stava with 14 seconds left in the half. Gangwish finished 4 of 5 through the air for 45 yards and added a 62-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Stava caught four passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns, while Haney hauled in two receptions for 115 yards and a score.
GICC’s defense was equally impressive, limiting Centura (2-3) to just 121 total yards on 50 plays. The Centurions managed only 27 rushing yards on 37 attempts, hampered by two bad snaps that cost them 33 yards. The Crusaders helped preserve their shutout with a fourth-down stop at their own 13-yard line midway through the second quarter.
Central Catholic has outscored opponents 205-7 through five games, with the only points allowed coming on a kickoff return.
Quarterback Wyatt Dvorak completed 6 of 12 passes for 79 yards and rushed 16 times for 26 yards to lead Centura.
GICC 42, Centura 0
Centura (2-3)……………….0 0 0 0—0
GICC (5-0)…………………21 14 0 7—42
First Quarter
GICC—Mason Vasquez 23 pass from Grayson Sack (Garrett Watson kick), 8:26.
GICC—Sack 5 run (Watson kick), 3:29.
GICC—Graham Stava 20 pass from Sack (Watson kick), :55.
Second Quarter
GICC—Connor Haney 76 pass from Sack (Watson kick), 4:38.
GICC—Stava 8 pass from Jackson Gangwish (Watson kick), :14.
Fourth Quarter
GICC—Gangwish 62 run (Watson kick), 5:38.
C GICC
First downs……….11 13
Rushes-Yards….37-27 22-151
Passing Yards……94 213
Att-Comp-Int……7-13-0 9-13-0
Total Offense…..50-121 35-364
Return Yards………0 40
Kickoff Returns….5-46 1-0
Fumbles-Lost…….3-1 1-1
Punts-Avg………4-33.0 0-0.0
Penalties-Yards…1-10 6-80
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Centura, W.Dvorak 16-26, Grabowski 15-24, C.Hostetler 1-3, Janda 1-5, Whitefoot 1-2. GICC, Schneider 4-23, Sack 7-50, Alberts 4-16, Gangwish 2-61, Henke 2-3.
Passing—Centura, W.Dvoark 6-12-0 79, L.Dvorak 1-1-0 15. GICC, Sack 5-8-0 168, Gangwish 4-5-0 45.
Receiving—Centura, Fries 3-69, S.Hostetler 1-3, Ramirez 2-7, Hadenfeldt 1-155. GICC, Vasquez 2-26, Haney 2-115, Stava 4-68, Schneider 1-4.