Central football escapes with OT victory over Chaminade

~ Central forced overtime with a late TD and beat Chaminade 28-21 on Friday

The Central football team dug itself a double-digit halftime deficit for the second straight week.

Central was again able to climb out of it -- but this time the Tigers' comeback defied probability.

The Tigers, trailing visiting Chaminade 21-14 Friday night, faced third-and-15 from inside their 1-yard line in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Central somehow escaped that predicament and drove for the tying score.

Central’s Mikey Jones looks for room to run against Chaminade during the third quarter.

The Tigers then won it in overtime 28-21.

"We just keep battling. We fight as a team," senior tailback Mikey Jones said after the Tigers overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit. "We played as brothers."

The Tigers, who the previous week won 29-17 at Sikeston after trailing 17-6 at the break, improved to 4-4 with their third straight victory.

"I'm super proud of our kids, the way we fought back. We never gave up," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "We pitched a shutout in the second half, and it was just a heck of a game by our kids."

Chaminade, from suburban St. Louis, fell to 4-4 as Central avenged last year's 21-14 double-overtime road loss to the Red Devils.

"That game last year was probably one of the biggest heartbreaks I've had," Central senior linemen Scottie Thomas said. "The attitude we had was we wouldn't let it happen again."

For most of Friday's contest it didn't look like the Red Devils would need overtime to beat Central again.

The Tigers cut the 21-7 halftime deficit to 21-14 midway through the third quarter but that was still the score with time running out.

Central took over at its 6-yard line with 2 minutes, 55 seconds left in the final period. A quarterback sack placed the ball inside the 1-yard line and an incompletion followed.

On third-and-15, senior quarterback Dennis Vinson hit junior Jalen Reddin with a 20-yard pass.

After another incompletion, Vinson lofted a screen pass to Jones, the Tigers' tailback.

"It opened great, thanks to my line," Jones said.

Jones rambled 74 yards to the Chaminade 5-yard line with 1:38 left.

"That was huge," Norman said. "It was really set up nice."

The next play saw sophomore Al Young, Central's touchdown machine, score on a 5-yard run with 1:28 remaining for his third TD of the night and 14th of the season, nine rushing and five receiving.

"Al has really turned into a secret weapon ... no secret, just a weapon," Norman said.

Senior Matt Chism's third PAT forged the 21-21 tie.

The Red Devils still had enough time to win in regulation -- and they very nearly did.

Chaminade drove from its 36-yard line to near the Central 20 and called a timeout with 8.1 seconds remaining.

Senior Thomas Martin, the Red Devils' 6-foot-5 senior quarterback who is receiving Division I recruiting interest as a kicker, had boomed all four of his kickoffs into or out of the end zone.

Now Martin lined up for a 38-yard field-goal attempt that was well within his range.

It never had a chance as Reddin stormed in for a clean block.

"I said before he even got out there that I was going to block it if they tried a field goal," Reddin said.

Said Norman: "He's [Martin] a great kicker. [Reddin] is a very aggressive football player. He came up big for us."

It was on to overtime, where each squad receives possession from the opponent's 25-yard line until the outcome is decided.

Central was on offense first and scored in three plays, all runs by Jones. He picked up 9 yards on first down, another 9 on second down and then went in from 7 yards out. Chism's PAT made it 28-21.

Chaminade now needed a touchdown and PAT to force a second overtime. A first-down run was stopped for no gain, then Central senior linebacker Jacob Boerboom intercepted a pass over the middle to seal the victory.

"It was great to be out there and make a play," said Boerboom, who had missed the previous three games with a groin injury. "I'm really proud of the guys."

The talented Red Devils controlled the first half, scoring on their first three possessions on drives that covered 53, 80 and 81 yards.

Chaminade's first offensive play, after a Central punt, was a 42-yard pass completion on a trick play as a wide receiver took a handoff from a running back and threw the ball.

Central faced an uphill climb the rest of the night.

"They're a good team and they played really well in the first half," Norman said.

Central managed a 7-7 tie late in the opening quarter on Young's 6-yard touchdown run that capped an 80-yard drive keyed by Reddin's 11-yard run on a fake punt.

But Chaminade rolled into halftime with the commanding 21-7 lead.

"We kept our heads together. We didn't go into the locker room pouting," Young said. "We knew we had to have one of those second halves like at Sikeston."

The Tigers did.

Things began to swing Central's way on the opening possession of the third quarter as Chaminade faced fourth-and-1 from the Tigers' 47-yard line.

Martin couldn't handle the snap and fumbled, and Central senior lineman Martez Carter recovered at the Tigers' 48.

"That fourth-down stop was a huge momentum shift for us," Norman said.

Central scored quickly as Vinson and Young hooked up for a 55-yard touchdown on a deep ball. Vinson hit Young in stride.

"That was a beautiful pass," Norman said.

The Tigers couldn't get the tying touchdown until they were almost out of time, but Central's defense stiffened the entire second half to give its offense a chance.

"Very little adjustments [at halftime]," Norman said. "We just challenged them."

Central held Chaminade to 98 yards after halftime. The Red Devils finished with 315 yards. The Tigers had 366 yards, 222 coming after the break.

Vinson completed 9 of 18 passes for 221 yards.

"He had a good game," Norman said.

Young caught five passes for 116 yards. Jones rushed for 89 yards on 24 carries.

Chaminade sophomore tailback Taylor Jeffries ran for 107 yards on 21 carries but was held to 21 yards after halftime on 11 attempts.

Central ends the regular season next Friday, hosting Festus.

Central 28, Chaminade 21 OT

Chaminade 14 7 0 0 0 -- 21

Central 7 0 7 7 7 -- 28

First Quarter

Ch -- Taylor Jeffries 3 run (Thomas Martin kick), 8:50

Ce -- Al Young 6 run (Matt Chism kick), 1:48

Ch -- Darius Daies 11 run (Martin kick), 0:00

Second Quarter

Ch -- Hunter Forte 1 run (Martin kick), 3:04

Third Quarter

Ce -- Young 55 pass from Dennis Vinson (Chism kick), 7:20

Fourth Quarter

Ce -- Young 5 run (Chism kick), 1:28

Overtime

Ce -- Mikey Jones 7 run (Chism kick)

Ch Ce

First downs 15 17

Rushes-yards 34-156 42-145

Passing yards 159 221

Passes 12-18-1 9-18-0

Punts 3-33 4-26

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-Yards 5-49 6-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Chaminade, Jeffries 21-107, Daies 4-28, Forte 3-10, Martin 2-14, Frelich 3-minus 1, team 1-minus 2. Central, Jones 24-89, Vinson 10-24, Young 2-11, Braion Owens 3-9, Jalen Reddin 1-9, Bailey Keller 1-3, team 1-minus 2.

PASSING -- Chaminade, Martin 11-17-1-117, Roderick Campbell 1-1-0-42. Central, Vinson 9-18-0-221.

RECEIVING -- Chaminade, Frelich 4-93, Mark Gorman 2-41, Forte 3-14, Jeffries 2-8, Daies 1-3. Central, Young 5-116, Reddin 2-29, Jones 1-74, Owens 1-2.