The vision is clear for the type of season Central can have if its experienced group continues to improve.

The Bobcats took care of business Friday night at Fulton in the Battle of Broadway, taking down their rival, 48-19, in a matchup Central controlled literally from the very beginning.

Senior Javaston Badgett returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

Fulton managed one first down before having to punt on its opening possession, and Central took a 14-0 lead on an efficient three-play, 47-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard run by Jaedyn Harris.

“I thought we started fast,” Central coach Kevin Lane said.

“Obviously, the opening kickoff return, Javaston Badgett took off, opened the game up right then, and we ended up stopping them, getting another drive and score to make it 14-0 right away.”

The Bobcats (1-1) have a wealth of returning talent and starters, including Harris, a senior running back; Badgett, a senior receiver/defensive back; Kaden Long, a junior quarterback; Torin McAfee, a senior receiver/defensive back; and J.J. Sackie, a junior receiver/defensive back.

All of the above had their moments on Friday.

Long, who had 201 rushing yards in Central’s 26-20 Week loss to Dobyns-Bennett, showed his versatility with a totally different style against the Falcons.

At the half with Central ahead 27-0, Long was 13-of-20 passing with 240 yards, two passing touchdowns and 36 yards rushing. With the big lead, Long threw only two passes in the second half and didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

“Last week, we missed a couple of throws,” Lane said.

“But last week, what they were giving us was him (Long) running the football. And this week, they were going to take him running and us running the football away, so we were able to throw the football over their head a little bit.”

The biggest “over their head” throw was a 52-yard deep ball from Long to Sackie that gave the Bobcats a 27-0 advantage with 3:53 left in the second quarter. The ball was nearly overthrown, but Sackie was able to get to it just in time at about the Fulton 20-yard-line and did the rest himself.

Harris added touchdown runs of 12 and 15 yards in the second half. On the 12-yarder, he made a great cut to the outside after it appeared he was going to be stopped up the middle.

Lane mentioned Harris’ vision as well, just not in the way you might expect.

“Long overdue. He’s a great kid. Works his tail off. Funny story, last week he was standing out in the middle of the field squinting and missed half the calls because he didn’t have his contacts in.

“So, he put his contacts in tonight, got the calls, had a blast, and he ran the ball really well.”

After a quiet first half, McAfee got in on the fun in the second half. First, he intercepted a pass and returned it 52 yards to set up the Bobcats at the Fulton 19.

Central ended up scoring on that drive via a 4-yard run from sophomore Jaylin Johnson to go ahead 41-6 in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

McAfee also caught a 22-yard pass from backup quarterback Lincoln Elmore in the fourth.

“We’ve got a lot of those guys back that we had last year (at the skill positions),” Lane said.

“Offensive line, we got four guys returning and got a young guy in there, and they’re doing a heck of a job. Right now, we’ve got enough experience that, if we stay healthy and just keep getting better every day in practice, we’ve got a plan to make a run.”

In contrast to Central’s experience, Fulton (0-2) graduated 20 seniors off last season’s team and only returned one skill position player.

Friday’s game made it clear the Falcons are still trying to figure out where all the pieces are going to fit.

Rejuan Womble, who played some Wildcat quarterback for the Falcons last season, was the starting quarterback in Fulton’s Week 1 loss to Macon County.

However, sophomore Ethan Gideon started against Central, with Womble starting at running back, and still shouldering the bulk of the Fulton offense.

Fulton rotated Gideon and Womble at quarterback throughout the game. Neither had much luck in the first half, with Fulton’s longest play being 11 yards.

There were some highlights in the second half for the Falcons. Junior receiver Jamil Smith caught a touchdown pass for 19 yards, and returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score.

Smith was also Fulton’s standout last week with five catches for 74 yards, so he appears to be one of the pieces that is locked in place.

Late in the game, Fulton’s Will Dixson made his first high school catch count. The freshman caught a deep pass from Gideon for a 49-yard touchdown.

Fulton travels to Anderson County next week, while Central hosts West.

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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