The Central football team entered Thursday's game at Houck Stadium needing a win to prevent its first 0-4 start since 1999, when the team lost its first six games before finishing 1-9.
The Tigers committed 11 penalties, three turnovers and made more than their share of technical mistakes. But the most important statistic was on the scoreboard, which showed a 14-6 victory for Central over Normandy.
"It was a big win," Central receiver Eric Ennis said. "We definitely wanted to get some momentum on our side. This will give us some confidence."
Hykeem Hammonds gave the Tigers an early lead with a 2-yard run with 6 minutes, 21 seconds left in the first quarter. Andy Billmeyer added the extra point, which proved to be the game-winning point.
The rest of the first half was a blur of yellow. Central finished the half with nine penalties for 65 yards, all on offense. Normandy had eight penalties for 60 yards.
Central coach Lawrence Brookins said he tried to talk to the players about penalties at halftime.
"I don't know if they're trying too hard," Brookins said. "A lot of the penalties -- when those things are done in practice, we have penalties in practice to make sure they don't do that."
The halftime speech may have made some difference, as Central committed just two penalties in the second half. Central's mistakes were not done yet, though.
After taking the kickoff to start the third quarter, Central drove about 60 yards to Normandy's 9-yard line. The Tigers took more than 6 minutes off the clock, but the drive ended when quarterback Garrett Stevens was picked off in the end zone.
The interception was just another of a long list of mistakes, which made it difficult for Brookins to find many positives besides the win.
"There was just so much inconsistency, I couldn't find a lot [of positives]," Brookins said. "As I say that, you get done and watch the film and find out it's not quite as bad as you thought."
Normandy took advantage of the interception, scoring on a 66-yard touchdown reception by Reginald Sims with 2:36 left in the third quarter. Central maintained its lead, though, as the point-after was no good.
Central put the game away on Stevens' first touchdown pass of the season. The sophomore quarterback hit Ennis in the back of the end zone on a broken play for a 20-yard score.
"I just tried to find an open space, and Garrett found me," Ennis said. "I thought I might have floated out, but when I came down I saw I was in. It was a good pass by Garrett."
Blake Slattery iced the game with an interception in Normandy territory.
Hammonds finished with 97 yards on 23 carries for the Tigers. Stevens was 14-for-27 passing for 150 yards.
Central's defense had given up 98 points before holding the Vikings to a lone touchdown on Thursday. Normandy had just 62 yards rushing.
"We didn't play our best game," Central defensive back Ty Craft said, "but we stayed together, played hard and came out on top."
---
CENTRAL 14, NORMANDY 6
Normandy 0 0 6 0 -- 6
Central 7 0 0 7 -- 14
First Quarter
C -- Hykeem Hammonds 2-yard run (Andy Billmeyer kick)
Third Quarter
N -- Reginald Sims 66-yard reception from Demetrius Wagner (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
C -- Eric Ennis 20-yard reception from Garrett Stevens (Billmeyer kick)
Normandy Central
First downs 5 14
Rushes-yards 25-62 35-103
Passing yards 102 150
Passes 10-18-3 14-27-1
Punts 5-22.2 3-32.7
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 2-2
Penalties-Yards 12-85 11-80
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Normandy, Quintin Morris 8-43, Jarvis Johnson 2-2, Charles Thomas 5-6, Jeremy Johnson 1-5, Dominique Graham 3-(-14), Demetrius Wagner 4-15, Reginald Sims 2-5; Central, Hykeem Hammonds 23-97, Garrett Stevens 7-(-8), Ty Craft 2-5, Joey Uhls 3-9.
PASSING -- Normandy, Jarvis Johnson 8-14-2-31, Wagner 2-4-1-71; Central, Stevens 14-27-1-150.
RECEIVING -- Normandy, Graham 3-(-5), Sims 1-66, Dwayne Bell 5-34, Arionne Hampton 1-7; Central, Scott Dunaway 6-54, Craft 4-49, Eric Ennis 2-29, Uhls 1-12, Blake Slattery 1-6.
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.