Andrews gives Central fans reason to cheer

~ The Tigers' two TDs came on runs by their speedy junior back.

Bright spots were few and far between Thursday night for Central in its 56-13 loss to Jackson at Houck Stadium.

But there was Cantrell Andrews.

The junior running back and kick return man was the only positive for Central in a first half that saw the Tigers rack up a total of 21 yards of offense and fall behind 42-0. And he scored the Tigers' only two touchdowns of the game, scoring on runs of 3 and 41 yards.

"They just did their technique better than we did," Andrews said. "It's like coach says about working hard in the summer and getting into the weight room."

Coach Lawrence Brookins' Tigers fell to 1-5.

Any chance the Tigers had to counter with the speed of players like Andrews or quarterback Chase Johnson was negated by early fumbles that helped Jackson score two TDs on drives of 4 and 17 yards in the first two minutes of the game.

Despite the early deficit, Andrews never got down. He tried to fire up his teammates with a 49-yard kick return off a reverse to set up Central at Jackson's 41. Later in the half, he had a 34-yard kick return.

"You worry about their speed, and you saw it there on their kickoff returns," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "Cody Randen had to make a touchdown-saving tackle on one of them."

Said Andrews: "I have to give it up to my front line. Without them, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere. They held their blocks and formed the wedge for me."

Central finally got on the board in the second half, with Andrews setting up the scoring drive by recovering Jackson's muff of the opening kickoff.

Andrews caught a 13-yard pass from Johnson before covering the final 10 yards of the drive with two carries.

"We just wanted to put some points on the board and let people know we're still together," Andrews said. "We're not going to give up."Brookins said there was not much he could tell his players at halftime about adjustments -- "Jackson did what we scouted them to do," he said -- but he did huddle up with the seniors and underclass captains, including Andrews.

"I was proud that we did come out and play a little better in the second half, and we didn't appear to give up," Brookins said.

Andrews finished the game with 67 yards on seven carries and caught three passes for 34 yards. Chase Johnson passed for 94 yards.

"Chase is a hard worker and his play earns a lot of respect from his teammates," Brookins said.