FLATTENED – Central running back Dave Philistin is about to go down after a short gain, but he leaves a would-be Salem tackler flat on the Gill Stadium turf. Dom Worsley (No. 23) and Dom Perroni trail the play. (Jerry Liptak Photo)

MANCHESTER – Winning never gets old. The three-time defending Division I state football champions from Manchester Central were firing on all cylinders Saturday afternoon, Nov. 13, at chilly Gill Stadium, coming away with a decisive 42-12 D-I playoff semifinal win over outclassed Salem.

“We had a great week of practice and we really played well,” said Central head coach Jim Schubert. “We played much better defense than we had in the past couple of weeks.”

Salem came into the contest looking to avenge a 27-7 regular- season loss at the hands of the unbeaten Little Green. Central had other ideas.

Behind an impressive 276- yard, five-touchdown performance by Sloan Russett, the Central juggernaut decided the outcome by halftime.

It was just another day at the office for Russett, who has galloped for 2,300 yards and 33 touchdowns in his senior campaign. While Russett has become something of a household name, oft-forgotten linemen Lucas Pedras, Ben Brule, Tyler Pfaff, Jake Dicroce and George Samaras have dominated in the trenches.

“The offensive line was outstanding,” praised Schubert. “They are a mature group and they handle things very well.”

With Salem forced to punt on its first possession, the tone was set for the day when David Demeo came through the line untouched to block the would-be kick.

After Joe Robinson recovered at the Blue Devil 22-yard line, Russett opened the scoring with 6:35 to play in the first quarter on a one-yard scoring run.

Dan Hayden booted the first of six point-after attempts to give Central a lead it never relinquished.

“We looked at a lot of film and thought that we might be able to block one,” said Schubert. “Our special teams were outstanding.”

With fullbacks Dave Philistin and Todd Pelletier softening up the middle of the Salem defense, Russett broke a 56-yard run on Central’s next possession to give the locals a 14-0 lead.

Richard LaRochelle answered for Salem, capping a 10-play scoring drive, but Russett and the Little Green were overwhelming.

A 29-yard Josh Ratacik-to- Dan Conley aerial brought the ball to the Blue Devil six-yard line; Russett waltzed in untouched to increase the lead.

Speedster Dom Worsely scored before the break, taking a jet sweep 48 yards to paydirt. Russett’s last first-half TD – a nine-yard jaunt – extended the lead to 35-6 at intermission.

On the first Little Green play from scrimmage in the second half, Russett gathered his fifth and final touchdown of the day with a nifty 77-yard run.

With a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, Schubert gave Joe Pasqual, Bobby Allard, Maurice Ellison, Justin Washington, Chris Lind, Joey Martin, Julio Arias, Jon Loiselle, Rich Bowman and others some extended action.

The Little Green play 8-2 Pinkerton Academy on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 1 p.m. at Gill Stadium with a chance to claim their fourth straight Division 1 championship. Central beat Pinkerton, 47-25, on Oct. 22.