Central dominates Festus in rematch

The Central football team's defense finally caught up to its offense Wednesday night.

Festus never had a chance.

Central turned what most people expected to be a Class 4 District 1 semifinal thriller into a massive blowout, romping 56-20 at Tiger Stadium.

"It was a fun game," Central sophomore wide receiver Al Young said with a grin. "We came out hyped. We took it to them from the jump."

Did Central ever.

The Tigers led 21-0 with just over five minutes left in the first quarter and, unlike in the previous meeting with Festus less than two weeks ago, never let the visitors up for air.

"I'm happy with the win," senior tailback Mikey Jones said. "I knew we was going to get it."

Central, the district's second seed, improved to 7-4 with its sixth straight win. The Tigers advanced to play at top-seeded Hillsboro on Monday night for the district title. Hillsboro beat Central 28-20 in last year's district final.

Third-seeded Festus (8-3) had its sights set on playing for the district championship, and the visitors had every reason to feel good about their chances.

On Oct. 25 at Tiger Stadium, Festus rallied from a 35-14 halftime deficit to forge a late 56-56 tie before Central scored the winning touchdown in the final seconds to post a thrilling 62-56 victory.

Central coach Nathan Norman said he reminded his players about that recent meeting when the Tigers entered Wednesday's break ahead 41-14.

This time there was no second-half letdown by Central.

"We [the defense] had a bad taste in our mouth from last time," senior lineman Lorenzen Brookins said.

Central's defense rose to the occasion, shutting down a Festus squad that was averaging 48 points per game and had piled up 495 yards of offense in the previous meeting.

One of Festus' touchdowns Wednesday came on a kickoff return and another came with just over a minute left against Central reserves.

Festus managed only 216 yards, just 60 in the second half that was partially played with a running clock after Central went ahead by 35 points.

"We had to prove ourselves," senior lineman Darvile Hopkins said of the defense.

While Central's defense did that, the Tigers' offense continued to click on virtually all cylinders.

Central entered the contest averaging 48.2 points during its five-game winning streak. Three times the Tigers scored at least 59 points.

The Tigers piled up 454 yards of offense, 320 yards in the decisive first half.

"We played well all across the board tonight. We played four quarters, and we played defense," Norman said. "I'm really proud of our kids, the way they responded. We're playing really good football."

Jones continued to thrive as he closed in on the school single-season rushing record of 1,587 yards set by Monroe Hicks in 2002.

Jones rushed for 167 yards on 19 carries -- he had 148 yards on 14 first-half carries -- and scored three touchdowns on runs of 2, 7 and 5 yards, giving him 21 TDs this year. He increased his season rushing total to 1,577 yards.

Junior Braion Owens added 115 yards on 20 carries and scored a 31-yard touchdown.

"Our linemen have done a tremendous job. Our backs know that. They give them [the linemen] credit," Norman said.

Senior quarterback Dennis Vinson had another strong performance, completing 5 of 6 passes for 114 yards and a 25-yard touchdown to Young. Vinson also scored on runs of 4 and 2 yards.

Young, who has already broken the school single-season record for receiving yardage, caught three passes for 89 yards, giving him 899 receiving yards.

Young added a 32-yard touchdown run from the tailback spot, giving him 20 TDs.

The Tigers forced four turnovers and scored after three of them. Central did not have a turnover.

"Turnovers were key," Norman said.

Things turned sour for Festus on the game's second play when junior tailback Corey Carr, the squad's leading rusher on the season with 1,288 yards, suffered a leg injury while being tackled during a 4-yard loss.

It was Carr's only carry of the night as he had to be helped off the field and never returned.

Central turned the game in its favor by scoring three touchdowns in a span of 3 minutes, 27 seconds during the opening quarter.

The Tigers drove 65 yards on its first offensive possession. Vinson's 4-yard run and the first of senior Matt Chism's six conversion kicks made it 7-0 just 3:31 into the contest.

Festus fumbled two plays later, and junior safety Jalen Reddin returned it 30 yards to the 2.

"I thought I was going to score," Reddin said with a smile.

Jones did the honors on a 2-yard run, making it 14-0 less than a minute after Central's first touchdown.

Central recovered a fumble deep in its own territory on Festus' next possession and drove 81 yards in just two plays.

Vinson fired a perfect deep ball to Young for a 50-yard gain and Owens scored from 31 yards out for a 21-0 lead with 5:02 still left in the opening period.

"Coach said just go out, play strong and hit them in the mouth from the beginning. That's what we did," Reddin said.

Festus threatened a comeback but Central always had an answer.

Vinson's 2-yard run early in the second quarter came after Festus' first touchdown.

Jones' 7-yard run that made it 35-7 late in the half came after Hopkins ran 10 yards with a punt that was blocked by senior lineman Zach Stagner.

Festus scored on a kickoff return, but Central ended the half with a bang as Young took a short pass from Vinson, eluded several defenders and scored on a 25-yard play just 21 seconds before the break to make it 41-14.

The rout continued in the second half as Jones scored on a 5-yard run and ran in the conversion during the third quarter, then Young broke loose for a 32-yard TD run midway through the final period for a 56-14 bulge.

"I was surprised," Reddin said of the lopsided margin of victory. "I thought they would come out harder than they did."

If Reddin was surprised, Brookins wasn't.

"No. We had a mission," Brookins said.

Mission accomplished in a huge way.

Festus 0 14 0 6 -- 20

Central 21 20 8 7 -- 56

First Quarter

C -- Dennis Vinson 4 run (Matt Chism kick), 8:29

C -- Mikey Jones 2 run (Chism kick), 7:40

C -- Braion Owens 31 run (Chism kick), 5:02

Second Quarter

F -- Jordan Wilkes 54 pass from Andrew Hayden (Travis Spraul kick), 11:14

C -- Vinson 2 run (Chism kick), 8:45

C -- Jones 7 run (Chism kick), 3:28

F -- Josh Mobley 65 kickoff return (Spraul kick), 3:18

C -- Al Young 25 pass from Vinson (kick blocked), 0:21

Third Quarter

C -- Jones 5 run (Jones run), 1:35

Fourth Quarter

C -- Young 32 run (Chism kick), 6:13

F -- Nathan Cummings 6 run (kick failed), 1:07

F C

First downs 11 20

Rushes-yards 36-150 53-340

Passing yards 66 114

Passes 2-6-1 5-6-0

Punts 3-19.7 3-45.3

Fumbles-Lost 4-3 1-0

Penalties-Yards 2-15 5-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Festus, Cummings 14-77, Spraul 4-29, Wilkes 3-22, Austin Cook 10-19, Hayden 4-7, Corey Carr 1-minus 4. Central, Jones 19-167, Owens 20-115, Young 4-36, Vinson 5-14, Chase Eubank 3-10, team 2-minus 2.

PASSING -- Festus, Hayden 2-6-1-66. Central, Vinson 5-6-0-114.

RECEIVING -- Festus, Wilkes 1-54, Spraul 1-12. Central, Young 3-89, Bo Wilferth 1-23, Kway'chon Chisom 1-2.