ADAMS TWP — North Catholic used a dominant offensive and defensive effort to amass a 28-0 halftime lead en route to a 49-12 victory over Albert Gallatin on Friday night at the Mars Athletic Complex.

Senior Cameron Branch led the way for the Trojans, rushing for 101 of his 123 yards in the first half, while scoring two second quarter touchdowns.

“He has worked his tail off in the offseason,” North Catholic head coach Patrick O’Shea said. “We told him he was the guy this year, so I am not surprised at all. He’s just an awesome kid, so I was glad to see him do so well.”

The Trojans opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game as quarterback Zack Rocco scored on a 5-yard run, capping a four-play drive that begin at the Albert Gallatin 25.

Rocco finished the game with 116 yards passing and one touchdown.

O’Shea was impressed with Rocco’s leadership.

“He has turned into a real leader for this team,” he said. “He is a real nice kid and great student, and he is really coming into his own.”

The North Catholic defense was stellar in the first half, holding the Colonials to just 38 yards and two first downs.

Albert Gallatin showed some life in the second half, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, but it was too little, too late.

Cole Dupont, who led the Colonials with 50 yards rushing, scored on an 11-yard run, while Dylan Shea scored on a 70-yard fumble recovery.

“I told the kids at halftime to keep grinding and keep playing hard,” Albert Gallatin head coach Drew Dindl said. “We instituted a new system this year, and it’s going to take time. It never happens as quickly as you would like.”

Nikhai Hill-Green, Anthony Serventi, and Rashod Allen all found the end zone for North Catholic, as six different players scored touchdowns.

“I’m real proud of these kids,” O’Shea said. “They played hard the whole game, no matter who we put in the game.”

Albert Gallatin 0 0 12 0 — 12

North Catholic 14 14 14 7 — 49

First Quarter

NC — Zack Rocco 5 run (Will Kunzmann kick), 8:07

NC — Nikhai Hill-Green 5 pass from Rocco (Kunzmann kick), 1:52

Second Quarter

NC — Cameron Branch 5 run (kick failed), 11:01

NC — Branch 42 run (Branch run), 4:27

Third Quarter

AG — Cole Dupont 11 run (run failed), 10:35

NC — Anthony Serventi 34 run (Kunzmann kick), 8:23

NC — Rashod Allen 36 pass from Rocco (Kunzmann kick), 8:04

AG — Dylan Shea 70 fumble return (run failed), 1:35

Fourth Quarter

NC — Matt Miller 3 run (Kunzmann kick), 5:28

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Albert Gallatin, Braeden Moody 9-2, Kolby Verano 4-4, Cole Dupont 12-50, Torry Robinson 1-10, Javon Davis 1-9, Christian Stone 8-(-14). North Catholic, Cameron Branch 12-123, Anthony Serventi 5-69, Nikhai Hill-Green 2-33, Pierce Khoury 6-33, Matt Miller 1-3, Eamon Straub 2-8, Joey Prentice 3-6, Alex Dudash 2-4, Carson laconi, Zack Rocco 2-(-6).

Passing: Albert Gallatin, Braeden Moody 1-4-31-1. North Catholic, Zack Rocco 7-12-116-0.

Receiving: Albert Gallatin, Angelo Doyle 1-31. North Catholic, Tyree Brown 5-35, Nikhai Hill-Green 2-45, Rashod Allen 1-36.