New-look Central Catholic beats Leilehua (Hawaii) in Oregon high school football opener: 5 takeaways

Robbie Long has a strong debut taking over for all-state QB Cru Newman, and the Rams earn a win in their first game under new coach Charlie Landgraf

The Central Catholic Rams won the 6A title in 2023, and they're 1-0 to begin 2024. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

HILLSBORO — The first half of defending OSAA Class 6A state champion Central Catholic’s season opener against Leilehua of Hawaii showed the team’s potential.

The second half showed how far the Rams still have to go to reach it.

The result was a disjointed 35-15 victory at Hillsboro Stadium that gave first-year coach Charlie Landgraf plenty to dissect when the team reviews the game film over Labor Day weekend.

“First games, you always don’t know what to expect,” said Landgraf, who took over this season from five-time 6A champion Steve Pyne. “I thought the guys came out and played a solid first half, and then a ton to work on in the second half.” 

Junior Robbie Long, playing his first varsity snaps behind center taking over for three-year starter Cru Newman, had a solid performance, going 17 of 24 for 213 yards and three touchdowns and running for another.

The Rams held the Mules to 151 yards and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown until the final 3½ minutes.

Here are five takeaways from Friday’s Week 0 matchup between Leilehua and Central Catholic:

A strong debut for Long after winning starting QB derby

Long entered August in a three-way battle for the starting quarterback job with senior Beau Rolak, who was Newman’s primary backup last year, and junior Sam Ribner.

He impressed Landgraf during camp with “his consistency from the start of August to when we made the decision last weekend and the ability to make plays with his feet off-script.”

Landgraf also praised his calmness under pressure, which Long displayed several times — never more so than on fourth down early in the third quarter, when he spotted Tyson Davis standing alongside him as he was being spun to the turf, flipping Davis the ball and letting the junior ramble 45 yards for the touchdown that triggered the running clock.

“That’s hard to teach,” Landgraf said. “And that’s what Robbie brings for us as quarterback.”

Newman reached out to Long early Friday morning to offer some words of wisdom before Long’s first start.

“He just told me to play my game, don’t try to do too much and just have fun,” Long recalled.

Front seven dominates for Rams, but young secondary shows inexperience

Leilehua arrived in Hillsboro already having played twice, splitting games against Kamehameha-Kapalama and Iolani, and featured an offensive line that includes 6-foot-7, 320-pound left tackle Manamo’ui Luti, the top uncommitted recruit in Hawaii (No. 13 overall).

But the Rams front seven wreaked havoc in the Mules backfield for much of the game, recording three sacks and six tackles for loss, led by junior linebacker Donnie Varcher, who had a strip sack and two tackles for loss among his team-high five stops.

“We prepared well for this team,” Varcher said. “We watched a lot of film, and when preparation meets execution, that’s why we came out on top today.”

The secondary showed it’s still a work in progress after graduating all-state safety Cade Gehlen and cornerback Timmy Mitchell. On several plays, the Rams had one of the three Mules who played quarterback Friday scrambling, only to find an escape valve wide open.

“I thought our front seven played physical, and that’s just a credit to the guys and the culture that we’re creating,” Landgraf said. “And I’m proud of the guys on the back end, too. I mean, obviously, there’s room for improvement, but it’s a young group, and we’re excited to take the next step with them.”

Rams know they can’t continue coasting on big first-half leads 

The Rams built a 28-0 halftime lead, looking sharp at times in doing so, but no one was pleased with how they collectively took their feet off the gas pedal in the second half.

After amassing 270 yards in the first half and 14 first downs, they had 64 in the second half — 45 on the fourth-down off-script play to Davis for their only first down of the final two quarters.

“Mostly being an all-game team, not a first-half team,” Long said of where the Rams need to show the most improvement before next week’s game against Central Catholic of Modesto, Calif. “We need to play all four quarters, all 48 minutes, going out and playing our game.”

Injury turns projected two-back rotation to Tyson Davis show

The Rams returned two potential all-state running backs in Davis and fellow junior KK Sombe, but with Sombe out indefinitely with what Landgraf called a “significant knee injury,” the door opened for Davis to carry the load solo.

He delivered a strong first half, rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, but like the rest of the team, he faded in the final 24 minutes, getting three carries for minus-2 yards — although he did have his spectacular touchdown reception, bursting past several defenders to get to the left sideline. 

Rams escape opener without significant injuries

Perhaps the most important thing for Landgraf and the Rams to take away from Friday’s game was they didn’t add anyone to the injury list.

Even with the starting offense playing all four quarters to get into game shape on a hot afternoon that reached the low 90s on the artificial turf, there were few cramping issues, and no one missed significant game action because of injury.

That left Landgraf and his staff needing to worry only about improving in-game issues instead of scrambling to fill holes.

“We’ve got to learn how to finish right,” Landgraf said. “That’s the exciting thing as a coach. We got the win, right? It’s not always going to be pretty, and now we’re excited to watch the film and see what we need to get better at.”

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Central Catholic 35, Leilehua 15

Leilehua – 0 – 0 – 7 – 8 — 15

Central Catholic – 14 – 14 – 7 – 0 — 35

First quarter

CC — Tyson Davis 7 run (kick blocked), 5:34

CC — Safety, ball snapped out of end zone

CC — Landon Kelsey 13 pass from Robbie Long (pass failed), 1:53

Second quarter

CC — Long 4 run (Mario Martinez-Ibarra kick), 4:35

CC — Dayvion Curtis 31 pass from Long (Martinez-Ibarra kick), 1:44

Third quarter

CC — Davis 45 pass from Long (Martinez-Ibarra kick), 8:10

L — Chaystin Senas 90 kickoff return (Rodel Alano kick), 7:50

Fourth quarter

L — Cameron Keeve 6 run (Kevin Burke pass from Justin Tugaoen), 3:34

STATISTICS

RUSHING—Leilehua, Keeve 8-43, Kyin Rivera-Galbraith 4-10. Total 16-39. Central Catholic, Davis 13-85, Long 5-6, Ty Newbury 3-11, Cole Thomas 2-19. Total 23-121.

PASSING—Leilehua, Hanohano Plunkett 9-13-0-54, Tugaoen 2-7-1-17, Trustin Gomes 2-5-0-41. Central Catholic, Long 17-24-0-213.

RECEIVING—Leilehua, Zaeven Newman 4-18, Talon Tarpley 3-48. Central Catholic, D’Marieon Gates 4-53, Kelsey 4-25, Davis 3-76, Andreas Nicolaidis 2-16.

DEFENSE—Central Catholic, Donnie Varcher 5 tackles, 2 for loss, sack, forced fumble; Thomas 4 tackles, 1.5 for loss, interception; Evan Brenner 3 tackles.

FIRST DOWNS—Leilehua 9, Central Catholic 15. FUMBLES-LOST—Leilehua 1-0, Central Catholic 0-0. PENALTIES-YARDS—Leilehua 6-32, Central Catholic 9-100.

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