BLOOMINGTON - Central Catholic High School had been looking for a spark all night. So when Ben Heaton fielded a third-quarter punt near midfield, he didn't limit the search to one direction. | Photo gallery

The Saints' senior started right, but upon seeing a logjam, cut left, eluded a defender and raced 50 yards to the Mahomet-Seymour 2-yard line. Central scored two plays later, breaking a scoreless tie, and went on to a 17-0 victory in a key Corn Belt Conference game Friday night at Bill Hundman Memorial Field.

"When you're running you have to have your head on a swivel because they're coming at you full speed," Heaton said. "I just saw an opening on the left. Our guys do a great job of setting up a wall, so when they get all of those guys sealed off, the back side opens up sometimes."

The Saints (7-0, 6-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, took sole possession of the Corn Belt lead by winning their homecoming game. No. 7 Mahomet-Seymour fell to 6-1 and 5-1.

Central cashed in on Heaton's return on second down when Adam Rebholz hit tight end Dylan Johnson with a 7-yard touchdown pass at the 3:56 mark of the third quarter.

Johnson worked free in the end zone and then pointed to the sky in honor of his father, Gary, who died suddenly this past summer.

"They were blitzing strong from that side and I had a wide-open catch," Johnson said. "That was for Dad. I feel him with me every play."

Central pushed the lead to 14-0 with 8:54 remaining when Brad Connor (77 yards, 20 carries) scored on a 7-yard run. Kendall Cox added the second of his two extra-point kicks and later booted a 29-yard field goal.

The defense did the rest, limiting Mahomet-Seymour to 19 yards and one first down in the second half.

Bulldogs' star running back Andrew Brewer, who entered the game with an area-leading 1,430 yards, gained 65 yards on 20 carries.

The Saints' leading tackler with 13 was junior Austin Sherwood, who moved from linebacker to tackle this week. Linebacker Sean Stokes added 12 tackles and an interception, linebacker David Murray had 11 and safety Rebholz 10.

"He's a good running back, but our defense stepped up," Stokes said. "Our line played great, our linebackers went to the ball and the defensive backs were there when they needed to clean up a tackle."

Central coach Bobby Moews said the defense "really stood tall," crediting the front seven with preventing Brewer from finding "creases."

Still, he pointed to Heaton's punt return as the key play.

"It changed the momentum. It got our kids fired up," Moews said. "Ben's been a huge playmaker, especially on returns. He makes a lot of people miss. And you also have to credit the kids on that return team. They do a nice job."

Mahomet-Seymour coach Keith Pogue, whose team had 115 yards of offense to Central's 182, called the return "a great athletic play."

"That young man is an explosive player," Pogue said. "Our effort was good, but their defense is the best I've seen. They're unbelievable to the ball. They swarm tackle and they're physical. Their defense and special teams won this game for them."