It was about as wild an October as possible for the Central High School football team.
The first Friday of November was a reprieve.
The Bobcats took down David Crockett 49-10 at home in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
With lightning in the area and the game out of reach, both coaches agreed to end the contest with 4 minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Central (9-2) hits the road next week to face a Columbia Central (7-3) team that put up 70 points in three quarters against East Hamilton on Thursday.
The Bobcats went 4-0 in October, all in one-score games. The four wins were by a combined eight points, including three fourth-quarter comebacks, and a two-point conversion stop against Karns last Friday that would have given the Beavers a late one-point lead.
Central coach Kevin Lane said this team has the ability to play without the scoreboard in mind unlike any team he’s ever coached.
“I told them this Thursday night at our movie night after we ate, we do that every week for the playoffs. I told one of my assistants it’s wild to think about, and I talk to them all the time about process over result, and focus on the details of what we are doing and never look at the scoreboard.
“And I’m not saying they never look at the scoreboard, but these guys just play the game like we practiced in the spring, and in camp, and in the fall when we split them into two teams and the scoreboard wasn’t on.
“I don’t know that I’ve been around a team that just doesn’t worry about the scoreboard. They literally play the game without the scoreboard in mind.
“ … To be as honest as I can, those close games were a reflection of that. Whether we score a touchdown or turn it over, we just play the next play or next series. They don’t get rattled, and nothing really affects them other than just playing the game.”
Central set the tone early against the Pioneers (4-7), making sure they really wouldn’t have to worry about the scoreboard on Friday.
Torin McAfee broke up a pass on third down to force a punt on David Crockett’s first possession. The snap on the punt was fumbled, and the Bobcats took over on the Pioneer 28.
It only took two plays for Central to find the endzone, with senior Javaston Badgett spinning out of a tackle at the 5-yard line for a 15-yard touchdown run.
Central’s Kaylin Chesney returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown on David Crockett’s next possession. Chesney beat the receiver to the ball on a pass that had a lot of air underneath it to give the Bobcats a 14-0 lead with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
A failed fake punt by David Crockett once again set up Central in plus territory. It didn’t take long for Badgett, one of the top receivers in the area, to get his second rushing touchdown of the night from 12 yards away, juking a defender in the process.
“To watch him do what he does is exciting, and I see it every day in practice. I see him do it all the time,” Lane said about Badgett.
“He never thinks he’s going to get tackled; he’s never worried about getting tackled.
“ … But the best part is his attitude, leadership, work ethic, and ability to practice exactly how he plays. There are only a few kids that practice exactly how they play, and he’s one of them.”
The Pioneers’ only spark of life came when A.J. Wynn intercepted Kaden Long and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. Wynn is also David Crockett’s quarterback.
The Pioneers followed that up with an onside kick recovery, but couldn’t do anything with it.
Long, recently named a Mr. Football semifinalist, quickly turned his night around with a four-yard touchdown pass to Tnaj Taylor and a five-yard scoring run untouched up the middle on the Bobcats’ next two possessions.
David Crockett’s willingness to go for it on fourth down, seemingly no matter what kind of field position it had, led to some interesting first-half stats.
Central didn’t run its first play on its own side of the 50 until 4:51 remaining in the second quarter, already holding a 28-7 lead. The Bobcats also only ran 19 plays on offense in the first half compared to the Pioneers’ 41, but that didn’t make a difference on the scoreboard.
“We knew going in they were going to fake punts, onside kick, anything they could do to be in the game with us,” Lane said.
There wasn’t much to glean from the second half. The rain started to come down at halftime, and the Bobcats scored quickly in the third quarter to go ahead 42-7 and put the running clock into effect.
That doesn’t mean the touchdown itself wasn’t impressive, with Badgett scoring on a 54-yard pass from Long. Badgett looked like he was going to be brought down around the Crockett 32, but eluded multiple defenders and raced down the right sideline.
Lane said Friday’s outcome was more like what he had hoped for against Halls, William Blount, and Karns.
“It was kind of what we thought we should have had the last three weeks, no offense to any team we played. Those teams fought us like crazy. Once we made the playoffs, I felt like our kids’ energy reset a little bit.”
Article written by Matthew Lutey/5Star Preps. To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc, visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2025 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.
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