The Notre Dame football team's shaky start was a distant memory when the final horn blew and the 30-13 margin over visiting Central glistened on the scoreboard as rain started to fall.
It took about a quarter and a half, but Notre Dame righted the ship to quickly turn a surprising early deficit into a lead. After falling behind 13-0 on two Michael McGhee rushes, the Fighting Irish stormed back to score 21 straight points from the 6:36 mark in the second quarter. The 21-13 lead stood at halftime.
Notre Dame had early troubles, throwing an interception on the first pass and sending snaps in two consecutive drives tumbling backward for big losses. One ended a prime scoring opportunity.
"Hats off to (Central) Coach (Cortney) Braswell, who has that team ready," Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said. "We told our guys if we turn the ball over, they're going to come hungry, and they're going to pounce on it because they are starving for a win."
Yellow flags also littered the field, but the Irish were able to respond.
"I think on that drive where we scored, we overcame some penalties, and once we got that momentum, we kept rolling," Fant said. "We were really excited at how the guys were able to really just grab that momentum and take it."
Cameron Wynn got the home team on the board with a 5-yard run, and Akil Sledge added a 1-yard score. Wynn capped off the half with a 30-yard pass from Landon Allen.
"Our energy was up, our effort was up, and we let them go on that 21-point run in the second quarter," Braswell said. "It's Central football. We are consistent at being inconsistent. Give Coach Fant credit, they know how to win, and we can't play like that and expect to beat good teams."
Notre Dame didn't let up in the second half, suffocating Central's offense. The Irish held the Purple Pounders to a negative number, including McGhee, who rushed for 72 yards in the game to lead the way.
Aside from a stalled offense, Central also struggled with special teams.
"We had a shanked punt, a punt where our punter had to take a knee and a safety," Braswell said. "We gave up about 16 points right there, and if you take those 16 points off the board, it's a close game."
Allen complemented a strong defensive effort for Notre Dame with a stellar freshman performance. He threw for a second touchdown to Andrew Banks with 11:05 to play in the game and tossed 22- and 35-yard passes to keep drives alive and set up the short rushing touchdowns.
"Landon played lights-out tonight," Fant said. "It was his first time under the lights on Friday night, and he looked confident in the pocket, confident making throws. He's a talent."
Allen didn't get the start but came in to accumulate most of the Irish's 203 yards through the air. Trea Johnson collected the safety.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com