Vashon upsets Central football team 34-32 in overtime

There were a number of questions surrounding the Central football team heading into Friday night's home opener against Vashon.

The Class 4 runners-up from a year ago got the chance to showcase their offseason work, and an overtime thriller was the result.

Aaron Harris put the Tigers ahead on a 22-yard touchdown run in overtime, but after failing to add the two-point conversion, the Wolverines tacked on a 7-yard pass from Clifton Dickens to Levi Stockard and added a two-point conversion run from Charvon Lewis to come away with a 34-32 upset win in overtime.

Despite the loss, Central coach Nathan Norman was pleased with how his team responded to a 20-7 deficit in the first half.

"I told them that we were going to be in full pads Monday to work on tackling and getting off the ball as offensive linemen, but I also told them I was proud of them," Norman said. "They played hard. They showed signs of toughness and want to win, and as long as they do that, we have a chance. They can improve. They'll get better.

"Little things win football games, little things throughout the game. We had too many mistakes and couldn't overcome them."

Vashon (1-0) scored on its opening drive when Lewis broke free down the left sideline for a 66-yard run that gave the Wolverines a 6-0 advantage with 11:10 to go in the opening quarter.

"It's always great playing them. Our guys just stepped up today," Vashon coach Reginald Ferguson said. "They were definitely looking forward to playing them again because last year they played them really hard, so they got a chance to kind of come back and beat them. They were really happy about it, and I am, too. It's a good win for us."

Central's Blake Harris finds an opening for a run in the first quarter against Vashon Friday, Aug. 21, 2015 at Central High School. (Glenn Landberg)

Central (0-1) responded on the ensuing possession when Blake Harris capped a four-play, 62-yard drive with a 51-yard touchdown reception from Kway'Chon Chisom at the 9:32 mark of the quarter. Jonathon Bohnert added the extra point to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead.

Chisom was 8-of-13 passing for 171 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and also added 32 rushing yards on 11 carries.

After a long kickoff return set the Wolverines up inside the Central 35, Dahlen Jones scored on a 7-yard run, and Lewis ran in the two-point conversion to give Vashon a 14-7 lead.

Jones finished with five receptions for 59 yards and added a pair of rushes for 12 yards. He also took over at quarterback in the third quarter and was 4-of-5 passing for 42 yards, giving ease to Dickens, who was 13 of 23 through the air for 137 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

The game remained scoreless until the 4:08 mark of the second quarter when Dickens' 12-yard touchdown run extended the Wolverines' lead to 20-7.

The Tigers' ensuing drive appeared fruitless, but Al Young came to life on the offensive side of the ball. The senior wide receiver, who ended a scoring threat with an interception earlier in the quarter, pulled Central within a touchdown when he beat his defender for a jump ball on third-and-13 and shed another defender on his way to an 82-yard touchdown reception from Chisom. The Tigers tacked on the extra point to cut their deficit to 20-14 with 2:41 left in the first half.

Central coach Nathan Norman calls a play from the sideline during the second quarter against Vashon Friday, Aug. 21, 2015 at Central High School. (Glenn Landberg)

"Our kids could've folded early on in the game and hung their heads and quit, but they didn't. They played hard the whole time. They didn't play smart the whole time, but they played hard," Norman said. "We just made some critical errors at critical times in the game that we couldn't overcome, and we weren't able to put the final nail in the coffin."

On the final play of the half, a pass from Chisom that was intended for Young was picked off by Dickens, who nearly returned it to the end zone for a touchdown but was tackled by Chisom.

Central began the second half with an up-tempo offense, and Young carried the ball six times on the opening drive, including a 16-yard score that tied the game at 20-all with 9:18 remaining in the third quarter.

"We challenged our kids. We said, 'Hey, who wants it the most? Who can be the toughest? We ran smashmouth football right at them and were successful," Norman said about his halftime adjustments. "We tried to wear them down. ... We knew we had to get some identity and establish the run."

Both teams failed to sustain drives before Lewis capped a nine-play, 58-yard drive with a 2-yard run, his second of the night, that gave Vashon a 26-20 lead with 50 seconds left in the quarter.

On the next possession, the Tigers turned the ball over on downs at the Vashon 13, and the Wolverines responded by taking the ball to the Central 32 before Chisom intercepted a pass by Dickens and returned it to the Vashon 23. Young converted a fourth down with a 3-yard run that moved the ball to the Wolverines' 12 and scored three plays later on a 4-yard run that tied the game at 26-26 with 2:44 left in regulation. However, a missed extra point prevented the Tigers from taking the lead.

"We did the things we needed to win at the end of the game. We just couldn't finish," Norman said. "We had a bad snap on the botched extra point to go up before the end of regulation. It was just the little things."

Central's Al Young lurches forward as Vashon defenders work to bring him down in the first quarter Friday, Aug. 21, 2015 at Central High School. (Glenn Landberg)

A scary moment came for Central on the first play of the ensuing drive when Young went low on a tackle near the Tigers' sideline that prevented Lewis from breaking past the secondary. Young stayed on the ground for several minutes before heading to the sideline and being taken out of the game.

"We're going to evaluate it as a concussion," Norman said about Young, who amassed 95 yards on three receptions. "I think he took a knee to the helmet. ... I sent a coach over to him to talk to him and settle him down and look at the big picture."

Young also led the ground attack for the Tigers, finishing with 20 carries for 104 yards, but Norman said he's still searching for more answers at the running back position. Central combined for 216 rushing yards on 47 carries.

"I'm confident in the kids I have," Norman said about his running backs. "I felt like early in the game, our offensive line didn't do as well as we would've liked. I felt like we challenged them, and they picked it up and did a nice job at the end of the game."

Vashon had a chance to score in the final seconds of regulation but Chisom ended the threat by breaking up a pass and sending the game to overtime.

Lewis had a game-high 149 rushing yards on 13 carries, paving the way for a Wolverines rushing attack that amassed 261 yards on 36 carries.

"Our confidence level is great because of the fact that they had adversity in this game. They were out and then caught up and got behind, and then we went up," Ferguson said. "... It's definitely a foundation for our season going forward. We're going to build."

Vashon 14 6 6 0 8 -- 34

Central 7 7 6 6 6 -- 32

V C

First downs 16 9

Rushes-yards 36-261 47-216

Passing yards 179 171

Passes 17-28-2 8-13-1

Punts-average 1-35 2-33

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 9-85 6-45

First quarter

V -- Charvon Lewis 66 run (run failed), 11:10

C -- Blake Harris 51 pass from Kway'Chon Chisom (Jonathon Bohnert kick), 9:32

V -- Dahlen Jones 7 run (Lewis run), 7:51

Second quarter

V -- Clifton Dickens 12 run (pass failed), 4:08

C -- Al Young 82 pass from Chisom (Bohnert kick), 2:41

Third quarter

C -- Young 16 run (run failed), 9:18

V -- Lewis 2 run (pass failed), 0:50

Fourth quarter

C -- Young 4 run (kick failed), 2:44

Overtime

C -- Aaron Harris 16 run (run failed)

V -- Levi Stockard 7 pass from Dickens (Lewis run)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Vashon, Lewis 13-149, Dickens 19-92, Jones 2-12, Anthony Durant 2-8; Central, Young 20-104, Tyler Banks 12-61, Chisom 11-32, Harris 2-16, Trevon McClard 2-3.

PASSING -- Vashon, Dickens 13-23-137-2, Jones 4-5-42-0; Central, 8-13-2-1.

RECEIVING -- Vashon, Durant 9-96, Jones 5-59, Larry Shelton 1-9, Lewis 1-8, Stockard 1-7; Central, Young 3-95, Harris 3-73, Rico Flye 1-9, Felawn Smith 1-(-1).