When Nasir McLean made the decision to transfer from Catasauqua to Allentown Central Catholic, it also meant hed switch positions from quarterback to defensive back before the 2021 season.

Based on the sophomores performance in the Vikings Week 2 contest against Liberty, both those moves have paid off.

McLean made three interceptions as Central Catholic defeated the Hurricanes 14-7 in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division matchup at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium on Friday night.

Trailing 14-7 with no timeouts remaining and just 2:30 left in the game, the Hurricanes took over at midfield with one last chance to tie the score.

Junior quarterback Thomas Mason lofted a deep pass over the middle that McLean out-jumped a Hurricanes receiver for and pulled in for his third interception of the game.

I was dropping back. I told myself the play before that if (Mason) wasnt going to look off, I was just going to read exactly where his eyes were going, McLean said. I jumped up for it and his eyes took me exactly where the ball was and I got the pick.

While his final pick allowed the Vikings to run the clock out, the sophomores second interception set up their second touchdown of the game.

With just over 2 minutes left in the third quarter, Mason threw a pass over the middle that Central Catholic junior Griffin Patridge deflected and McLean caught before weaving his way inside the Liberty 20.

Seeing (Mason) roll out, my first thought was just run with him and find the nearest receiver. Then, luckily, my teammate tipped the ball for me and I got it. Then the thought was just try and score or get as far as I can, McLean said.

A facemask penalty against the Hurricanes set the Vikings up 9 yards out from the end zone and junior running back Travis Foster scored on the next play with a quick burst up the middle.

I was honestly cramping at first and then I just had to dive into the end zone. I saw the opening and then just wanted to get the play over with and score, Foster said. With our line up front, we just know we can pretty much bully anyone around in the league.

Foster put in a gritty performance out of the backfield, taking 31 carries for 131 yards.

We just had to keep pushing up front and keep our team together and not fall apart when the game got close, Foster said. We just had to keep going because not every play can break big so we had to keep coming at them, get them tired and then keep going down their throat.

Central Catholic opened up the scoring early in the second quarter when junior Conner Aquino connected with Patridge on a 4-yard touchdown pass.

The Hurricanes responded on their next possession as senior running back Kyndred Wright hauled in a 32-yard catch on third-and-11 before Mason threaded a 23-yard touchdown throw to senior receiver Josh Farrell.

The Vikings went three-and-out on their next drive and Liberty took over at the Central Catholic 42. The Hurricanes needed just three plays to reach the red zone and seemed to be finding their groove on offense until McLean snagged his first interception in the end zone on an errant throw from Mason.

McLeans three-interception performance is even more impressive considering the sophomore nearly missed the game after picking up a wrist injury in the Vikings Week 1 win over Dieruff.

We didnt know if he was going to play until yesterday. He was able to practice yesterday. He battled through a little bit of an injury and came up huge in so many different spots, Central Catholic coach Tim McGorry said. We saw during training camp just how athletic he was. Hes just a football player and hes able to understand whats going on and get people lined up, which is why he does a great job at safety for us.

Sophomore Armonie Torres also recorded an interception in the end zone for Central Catholic, which will look to improve to 3-0 next week when it hosts Emmaus (2-0) 2 p.m. Saturday.

Liberty (1-1) will look to get back in the win column when it travels to Whitehall on Friday night.

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Desmond Boyle may be reached at dboyle@lehighvalleylive.com.

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No-fly zone: Central Catholic football grabs 4 INTs in win over Liberty - lehighvalleylive.com