Central got rattled all right, mainly because of Boyle quarterback Phillip Mason's passing game. The senior hit on 15 of 26 attempts for 206 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and was named the game's Most Valuable Offensive Player. Brett Marshall for Boyle was named the Most Valuable Defensive Player.
"I think (Central) got confused when we put five receivers on the line, and lots of times the slot receiver was open," said Mason, who connected with eight different receivers. "We have such good balance at receiver that I felt confident throwing to anyone who lines up."
Running back Rees MacShara keyed a ground game with 106 yards on nine carries, three of them for touchdowns. The Rebels piled up 174 yards on the ground.
Strong Rebel defense
Boyle's defense, meanwhile, gave the Dragons fits. Central never threatened to score in the first half, and gained only 27 yards on the ground for the game. They did complete touchdown passes of 54 and 86 yards in the second half.
"They got a couple of big plays against some of our inexperienced kids, but overall our defense played well tonight," said French. "We kept them backed up most of the first half and came up with big plays to stop them when we needed to."
MacShara started the scoring with a 45-yard romp behind a huge block by Nick Camic, and Phillip Barsotti converted the first of his seven consecutive point after kicks to put Boyle on top 7-0.
Then came two backbreakers for the Dragons. After Jordan Auxmiller picked Central quarterback Quentin Smith at the Dragon 44, Mason capped the drive with a 2-yard scoring run with 4:34 left in the period.
On the first play after the kickoff, Boyle's Jordan Walker recovered a fumble by Smith at the Central 17, and Mason found Marshall with a 17-yard scoring toss to make the score 21-0.
Boyle added three more scores in the second period. Mason hit Ron Crtuchfield for 17 yards and a touchdown on a fade route. Then MacShara added another score on a 9-yard run to end a 73-yard drive, followed by Marshall's interception off a fake Central punt. Marshall returned the pick 17 yards for the touchdown.
Central turned the ball over three times to the opportunistic Boyle defense, while the Rebels didn't lose the ball at all, and only punted twice.
"It's a great way to start the season," said Mason. "We wanted to instill some confidence in the fans, but mostly in us."
Statistics
Rafferty's Bowl At Bowling Green
First Quarter
Boyle - Rees MacShara 45 run (J.T. Ross kick), 7:29.
Boyle - Phillip Mason 9 run (Ross kick), 4:34.
Boyle - Brett Marshall, 17 pass from Mason (Ross kick), 4:13.
Second Quarter
Boyle - Ron Crutchfield, 17 pass from Mason (Ross kick), 7:13.
Boyle - MacShara 9 run (Ross kick), 2:22.
Boyle - Marshall, 20 interception return (Ross kick), 1:45.
Third Quarter
Boyle - MacShara 6 run (Ross kick), 6:43.
Central - Denzel Carpenter, 54 pass from Quenton Smith (kick failed), 4:34.
Fourth Quarter
Central - Denzel Carpenter, 54 pass from Quenton Smith (Sergio Beltran-Sosa kick), 7:14.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Boyle, Phillip Mason 5-29, Rees MacShara 9-106, Chris Cook 3-16, Jordan Auxmiller 1-13, Ron Crutchfield 1-7, Boone Goldsmith 3-9, Alec Camden 3-10, Devan Cox 1-10. Central,Tabarus Mitchell 9-15, Quentin Smith 9-7, L.A. Rigsby 6-9, Troy Halcomb 1-0, DeCarlo Conn 3- (minus) 4 .
PASSING-Boyle, Phillip Mason 15-26-206, Boone Goldsmith 0-4-0 . Central, Quentin Smith 10-14-210, Ednin Hadzikadunic 0-1-0 .
RECEIVING- Boyle, Jordan Auxmiller 4-50, Cody Morris 1-10, MacShara 1-9, Brett Marshall 3-41, Jacob Smith 4-56, Lamar Smith 3-23, Ron Crutchfield 1-1. Central, Cortez Barber 1-30, Tabarus Mitchell 3-23, Ethan Dodge 2-14, Marcel Flourney 1-8, Troy Halcomb 1-1, Denzel Carpenter 2-140.
BOYLE212170--49W. CENTRAL0067--13BCWCFirst Downs218Rushes26-17428-27Passing206210Total Yards380237Comp-Att-Int15-30-010-15-2Fumbles - Lost0-03-1Penalties8-809-99
