Central 'much better' than last preseason

A year ago, Central High School walked away from the football jamboree wondering what happened.

The Tigers looked flat and had no answers. Coach Lawrence Brookins showed this year's Tigers the film from last year Wednesday to show what not to do.

After hitting the field with Jackson, Perryville and Wentzville Holt at the jamboree Friday night in Jackson, Brookins came away with a better outlook.

"We had some good moments tonight," he said. "Much better than last year."

The Tigers, working with several new running backs, moved the ball sporadically through their three scrimmages. Will Johnson, Mikell Abraham and Brandon Twiggs each had their share of carries.

"The one thing that stood out wasn't so much the running but the blocking," Brookins.

Johnson, the starting point guard for the Tigers basketball team last season, is in his first year of football since eighth grade. Johnson gained close to 50 yards and got loose for a 15 yard scramble against the Pirates.

"I thought he had a good night for a first-timer," Brookins said. "What's going to help him is when he learns the basic philosophy of how the plays are designed."

Johnson, along with Twiggs and Abraham, have the burden of filling in for all-state back Monroe Hicks.

"I'm no Monroe Hicks, but I'm not far behind him," Johnson said.

Quarterback Mitch Craft said he was impressed with his group of backs.

"He's a great athlete," Craft said of Johnson. "And Twiggs has got some quick feet, and he runs real well."

Craft was sharp throwing the ball when it was asked of him, although the Tigers spent the majority of the night on the ground. Craft had several good runs himself.

With a rain-drenched field, Brookins said Craft's runs were limited to avoid an injury.

"We could have run the ball with him more," Brookins said of Craft. "We let him run a little, but you don't go crazy."

The Tigers did allow a score to Holt, but the defense stepped up against the Pirates and shut down Jackson.

"We came out a little slow but we bounced back," Johnson said.

Against Jackson's offense, the Tigers picked off a pass and had several quarterback pressures.

"Defense overall was not bad," Brookins said. "The offense is always a little ragged compared to the defense."

For the Indians, the jamboree was a test for an inexperienced line. Jackson lined up five new starters on the line, and the inexperience showed. While Jackson scored against the Perryville defense, the Indians lost yards on their 12 offensive plays against Wentzville and Central.

Jackson coach Carl Gross said he's confident the line will come through with time.

"That will come with more games and more snaps," he said. "That's the group that can improve the most the quickest."

The Indians had a trio of new backs. Jason Meystedt, who started several games last season, Tony Fields and Cody Rouse will have to step into the big shoes of Stuart McIntosh.

Fields ran for over 50 yards on the night and Rouse and Meystedt each had over 20.

"Tony ran great, Cody Rouse ran the ball well and Jason did well too," Gross said.

The Indians used three different players at quarterback. Returning starter Tyler Profilet took the majority of the snaps, but senior Marc Lumsden saw extended action and Joey Starke got reps as well.

"I was disappointed with the quarterbacks," Gross said. "We got rattled and made some mistakes we shouldn't have made."

While the wet conditions did create problems, Jackson's trio had about as many interceptions as completions.

"Tyler right now is the starter, but that's not chiseled in stone," Gross said. "Marc is a senior and he's done some good things. If one of them is not hot I'll give another a chance."

Despite an ineffective offense the Indians were solid on defense. Jackson did not allow a score in its three scrimmages and allowed only 11 yards to Central.

"I felt defensively we played pretty well tonight," Gross said. "We flew to the football."

Perryville, coming off a 2-8 season, showed flashes on offense after having trouble scoring last season. Senior receiver Kyle Dobbelare had several receptions and showed the athleticism that made him one of the top hurdlers in the state.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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