Central football team claims district crown, advances to state quarterfinals

With no time left on the clock, a five-yard facemask penalty gave Hillsboro quarterback Sam Mock one final shot at a desperation Hail Mary pass that sailed toward the end zone but fell short.

Standing underneath was Central junior Al Young, who hauled in the interception and ran several yards before dropping to a knee and securing the Tigers' second consecutive Class 4 District 1 championship with a 42-35 victory over the Hawks on Friday at Tiger Stadium.

Central (10-2) never trailed throughout the game, but unlike its three previous opponents, Hillsboro (9-3) never went away.

"We knew that it would be a matchup problem for us, and it was," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "That's a very good football team. They're very good at ball control, and they're very good at running the ball downhill. They've got very strong linemen. Our defense bent, but we didn't break. We ended up winning, and that's great. Our kids played hard, and it was just a great team win."

Central will take on host Affton next week in a state quarterfinal. Affton defeated Gateway 29-6 in the Class 4 District 2 title game.

"It's really indescribable," Central quarterback Peyton Montgomery said. "I can't even put it into words. We worked hard all summer. It was one of our goals. We said we wanted to be a conference champion, a district champion and a state champion, but it's amazing.

Central's Nikylus Thompson turns to the fans to celebrate after Central scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Hillsboro during the Class 4 District 1 championship Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 at Central. (Glenn Landberg)

"We have a great group of guys. I love them to death. I couldn't be more happy."

On the opening kickoff, Young had trouble fielding the line-drive kick but gathered the ball, found a crease in the Hawks' coverage and broke free from the last wave of defenders on his way to a 90-yard return just seconds into the game. Brennan Redinger added the first of his five PATs to give Central an early 7-0 lead.

"I just picked it up and saw the hole that big," Young said. "Coach always says, 'One cut, and it's over.'"

But the game was far from over.

On the ensuing drive, the Hawks picked up four first downs and went 72 yards on 13 run plays, scoring on a 9-yard run by Chris Walsh. Cole Luby booted the first of his five extra points to tie the game at 7-all with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter.

"You go back to what you do in practice, and what you do in practice is what you're going to do in the game," Hillsboro coach Lee Freeman said. "We felt like we were going to be able to move the ball against them when watching the film of some teams and what they've done against Cape Central. We tried to mimic that game plan, and it worked out well for us."

The Tigers quickly responded as Young hauled in a 63-yard pass from Montgomery on their next play from scrimmage. Four plays later, Braion Owens found the end zone on a 9-yard run to give Central a 14-7 advantage with 3:44 left in the quarter. Owens finished the game with 22 carries for 91 yards.

Central's Joshua Jones, left, celebrates with Jordan Franklin after Central scored on a two-point conversion after a touchdown against Hillsboro in the Class 4 District 1 championship Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 at Central. (Glenn Landberg)

The Hawks answered with another impressive 13-play drive. Hillsboro picked up five first downs on the drive and tied the game at 14-14 on a 1-yard run by Walsh with 9:06 to go in the first half.

Walsh racked up 95 rushing yards in the first half alone. The Hawks finished the game with 400 rushing yards, averaging a little more than 6 yards per carry. Walsh's game-high 25 carries accounted for 121 yards.

"They're going to gain yards when you as a coach have made up your mind that you've got four downs to get a first down. That was it. That's what their mindset was, and they used that to their advantage," Norman said. "They're good at what they do. They're big up front. They're physical. Their running backs are physical. Luckily for us, we created matchup problems for them as well on our offense."

After turning the ball over on downs at the Hillsboro 25, the Tigers got the fourth-down stop they needed near midfield. Central went 49 yards in seven plays and scored on a 1-yard keeper by Montgomery with 47 seconds remaining in the half. Redinger's extra point missed left, but the Tigers took a 20-14 lead into halftime.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Central lined up to kick deep but Redinger's well-executed onside kick caught Hillsboro off guard as the Tigers jumped on the loose ball.

"The big special teams play at the start of the second half kind of decided the difference in the ball game," Freeman said.

Central's Kway'chon Chisom, left, laughs with Jalen Reddin after their win over Hillsboro in the Class 4 District 1 championship Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 at Central. (Glenn Landberg)

Without hesitation, Montgomery faked the handoff on the next play from scrimmage and found Young in the corner of the end zone on a 49-yard pass only 10 seconds into the third quarter. Owens ran in the two-point conversion to push Central's lead to 28-14.

"I told him, 'When you get open, put your hand up," Montgomery said. "He had that white glove, and when I see that white glove, I know if I just throw it to the corner of the end zone and I have enough height on the ball, he's going to go under it and catch it."

Young had the only three catches of the game between either team, finishing with three receptions for 153 yards. Often the victim of double coverage, Young said the coaching staff has been searching for ways to get him more involved in the passing game.

"We've been working on that in practice. We'll have somebody double me, and we found out a key to stop it," Young said. "So when somebody doubles me, we just go over the top, and they know I can out-jump probably anybody. I just go up and get it."

But Hillsboro wasn't done.

The Hawks marched 56 yards down field and picked up four first downs on a 13-play scoring drive that ended with a touchdown run by Walsh, his third of the game, on fourth-and-3 at the Central 4. The 4-yard score cut Central's lead to 28-21 with 5:02 left in the third quarter.

"Whenever our guys have to play from behind with something like that, we're always going to try to go for it on fourth down if we can if it's a situation where we feel like we have to, and our kids kind of know that up front," Freeman said. "You've just got to put the ball in the hands of your playmaker if you've got it and just kind of run with your seniors there and go with what they're doing."

Senior fullback Josh Jones' first touchdown of the season came on Central's next possession. A 41-yard pass from Montgomery to Young moved the Tigers deep into Hillsboro territory, and Jones pounded his way into the end zone for the 5-yard score, giving Central a 35-21 advantage with 1:41 remaining in the quarter.

On Hillsboro's next play from scrimmage, Trey Terry broke loose for a 41-yard run to set the Hawks up at the Central 13. He found pay dirt five plays later on a 2-yard run to cut the Tigers' lead to 35-28 with 11:37 remaining in the game.

It only took the Tigers one play to respond.

Montgomery ran an option left and scampered into the Hawks' secondary, where a defender grabbed him by the facemask but wasn't able to prevent the 74-yard touchdown run that extended Central's lead to 42-28 with 11:12 to go in the game.

"Braion told me it was definitely going to be a keep. He's usually in the back of my ear because he's got good football knowledge," Montgomery said. "He can tell before the play. He's got kind of a sixth sense about it. He told me to keep it and that he was going to run up there and get a block for me like he did, and I just did the rest."

Through the air, Montgomery was 3 of 4 passing for 153 yards and one touchdown. He also added nine carries for 110 yards on the ground.

"When you've got an offense that has threats at wide receiver, a line that can pass-block and run-block and a quarterback that can manage the game and beat you with his feet, you're hard to stop. It's a defensive coordinator's nightmare," Norman said. "Our offense is clicking, and we're doing what we're supposed to do."

Terry broke loose for a 64-yard run on Hillsboro's next possession and scored on the following play from 3 yards out to cut the Tigers' lead to 42-35 with 8:09 remaining in the game. The sophomore running back amassed 134 of his game-high 185 rushing yards in the second half alone, while sophomore fullback Alex Warren finished with 75 yards on 16 carries.

"That's kind of what we build our team on, running the football, and we have two very talented backs back there this year," Freeman said. "They work hard."

The Tigers moved into the red zone thanks to a pair of personal fouls, but on third-and-11 at the Hillsboro 11, Montgomery scrambled in the backfield to avoid pressure and was stripped at the 22, where the Hawks recovered the ball. However, Central got a much-needed stop on fourth-and-4 at the Hillsboro 38 after Mock's pass fell just out of the outstretched arms of his intended receiver.

"On defense, we were trying to get the stop, and on offense, Norman just told us to take care of the ball and be smart, don't get any penalties," sophomore Kway'chon Chisom said. "Just like that, we made it happen."

Hillsboro 7 7 7 14 -- 35

Central 14 6 15 7 -- 42

First Quarter

C -- Al Young 90 kickoff return (Brennan Redinger kick), 11:45

H -- Chris Walsh 9 run (Cole Luby kick), 5:04

C -- Braion Owens 9 run (Redinger kick), 3:44

Second Quarter

H -- Walsh 1 run (Luby kick), 9:06

C -- Peyton Montgomery 1 run (kick failed), 0:47

Third Quarter

C -- Young 49 pass from Montgomery (Owens run), 11:50

H -- Walsh 4 run (Luby kick), 5:02

C -- Josh Jones 5 run (Redinger kick), 1:41

Fourth Quarter

H -- Trey Terry 2 run (Luby kick), 11:37

C -- Montgomery 74 run (Redinger kick), 11:12

H -- Terry 3 run (Luby kick), 8:09

H C

First downs 21 8

Rushes-yards 66-400 37-225

Passing yards 0 153

Passes 0-3-1 3-4-0

Punts-average 0-0 0-0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 4-45 7-55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Hillsboro, Terry 21-185, Walsh 25-121, Alex Warren 16-75, Sam Mock 4-19; Central, Montgomery 9-110, Owens 22-91, Jones 4-22, Young 2-2.

PASSING -- Hillsboro, Mock 0-3-0-1; Central, Montgomery 3-4-153-0.

RECEIVING -- Central, Young 3-153.