Manchester Central football takes care of business against Bishop Guertin

NASHUA - On paper, the Manchester Central High School football team looked like a team in midseason form Saturday night.

On film, to Little Green coach Ryan Ray, it might look like something else.

Behind a big game from quarterback Alex Hawkom, Central piled up over four hundred yards of offense and held Bishop Guertin in check for most of the night in a 33-16 win over the Cardinals at Stellos Stadium.

Hawkom finished with 212 yards on 16 of 30 passing, connecting with Nick Olibrice for three touchdowns to go with an interception. The senior signal caller also rushed for 25 yards and another score, while Olibrice finished with seven catches for 117 yards to go with the touchdowns.

"It was a good opportunity to get out and get a win, to compete in a first game," Ray said. "We’re happy to get a W. We’re still a work in progress. We need to work on everything.

"I loved the effort. I loved that we’re 1-0. Good to get out here and get (win) No. 1 under the belt. I’m sure there are a million things we can correct and get better at, just like every other team."

Emmanuel Munyanya added 97 yards on 16 carries and Cooper Varano also had 45 yards rushing and a touchdown. Central outgained Bishop Guertin 238-36 in the first half and led 19-0 at halftime.

The Little Green scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Hawkom to Olibrice early in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 26-0. 

But after a change at quarterback, the Cardinals started to move the ball on offense.

After Hayden Moses started and split time with Joey DaSilva in the first half, DaSilva came in on Bishop Guertin's next drive and helped lead a 11-play, 69-yard drive that ended on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Austin Hiscoe to Joey Lupo. DaSilva then ran in the conversion to make it 26-8 with 3:31 left in the third.

"Hayden Moses has been a great leader and has done everything the right way," Bishop Guertin coach John Trisciani said. "I think there’s going to be some competition at practice this week and we’ll see how it goes."

DaSilva led Bishop Guertin with 86 yards passing on 5 of 10 with an interception and also had 35 yards rushing and a touchdown, plus two two-point conversion runs. 

Central dashed any hope of a Cardinals' comeback on the ensuing drive by recovering an onside kick at the Bishop Guertin 47-yard line. Three plays later, Hawkom found Olibrice open over the middle for a 27-yard touchdown. 

"Since I’ve been coaching, Alex Hawkom is the best quarterback that I’ve seen," Trisciani said. "I’ve heard nothing but great things about him as a person, as a kid. He can run, he’s smart with the football and there’s no throw on the field he can’t make."

DaSilva finished off the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run with 4:04 left in the game.