Central Edges Rival Denham; Wildcats Face Zachary for District Lead

By Dave Freneaux
    Central brought a balanced offensive attack and solid defense into Wildcat Stadium last Friday night, but Special Teams provided the spark with two successful on-side kicks and Jeral Ward’s 71 yard touchdown punt return to secure the 21-20 win over the Yellow Jackets.
    Near-perfect execution of Ross Melton’s two on-side kicks kept the ball in the hands of the Wildcats, and the offense responded with 270 yards, evenly split between pass and run.  Central’s defense held the explosive Denham offense to 20 points with strong performances by Chance Atkins, Caleb Moore, Jameel Jones, Andrew Harris and Edgar Janise.
    Quarterback Gabe Brown was a solid 11 for 16 with 135 yards passing, connecting with Trenton Guay on four plays for 40 yards, Joseph Schopp and Josh Brown twice each, and Mason Evans for a timely 37-yard strike.  Xavier Lewis, playing through a nagging ankle injury, turned in another strong performance with 98 yards on 20 carries.
    Central, 5-3 and 2-1 in district, travels to Zachary this Friday with the district lead on the line.  A win against the Broncos, 7-1 and 3-0 in district, would put Central in a three-way tie for first with one game remaining.  Tune in at 6:45 Friday for the Central Stat Care broadcast of this critical game on 91.9 FM Radio Amor.