Central’s Cinderella Team vs. No. 1 in State 5A

By Woody Jenkins

CENTRAL — Central High School will travel to Covington Friday to play the No. 1 5A football team in the state — the St. Paul’s Wolves.

Although they are the underdogs, Central head coach Doug Dotson said the Wildcats are ready for the showdown.

St. Paul’s plays power football, strictly traditional, and old school.

The key for a Central victory would be controlling the run and stopping the big pass play.  “The longer we have the ball on offense, the better we’re going to do,” Dotson said.  “We won’t be able to make mistakes.  We can’t give them anything.  We’ll need mistake-free football.  No fumbles, no dropped interceptions.”

St. Paul’s offense looks a lot like what we saw from Denham Springs, while the defense is a lot like St. Thomas More, minus St. Thomas More’s 280 and 300 pound linemen.

“We’ll have our hands full, but we’re going over there to win.”

Dotson praised the performance of the Central team last Friday.

“When our team was 2-4, our team kept working hard, regardless of what anyone else said about us,” he said.  “It took character for these young men to win the District Championship, but that’s how we got here. Our power rating was only 33rd in the state.  If that was the deciding factor, we wouldn’t have made it.  But the fact that we won the District Title automatically gave us a spot in the playoffs and bumped Chalmette down from 32 to 33.”

The coach said he noticed the performance of several offensve players in last Friday night’s  41-15 victory over Live Oak.

“Zach Evans had a great run, roughly 94 yards.  Unfortunately, it was called back, but it was one of the longest plays from scrimmage in Central history.  If it had counted, he would have had a 200-yard night.  Brett Courville was outstanding and went 11 for 11 in passing.  Gary Triplett had a 77 yard punt return.”

“On defense, we had a good night.  Logan Metcalf, Zack Hetrick, Joey Jarreau, and Thomas Edleman were outstanding,” he said.  “Tom stepped in and did a good job.”

Live Oak’s starting quarterback, Cole LeBlanc, played for Central until this season.  Dotson said he played very well Friday night.  After the game, the Central coach approached the Live Oak quarterback and congratulated him.  “He played hard and did a good job for Live Oak.  He fought like a warrior.”

Central will need a team full of warriors this Friday against St. Paul’s.  Coach Dotson said St. Paul’s has earned its No. 1 rating.

Yet, Central has a certain advantage in the contest.  They’ve played St. Paul’s the past two years.  Although they lost, both games were close and Central’s players know they are competitive with St. Paul’s.  They believe they can win this game.

On the other hand, it would seem difficult to motivate St. Paul’s.  They are playing the No. 32 seed and a team they have beaten.

St. Paul’s hasn’t been tested this year.  So no one has seen them under pressure.  On the other hand, Central makes its living under pressure.

Coach Dotson is asking for a big turnout Friday night in Covington.  St. Paul’s fans will turn out.  It will be a White-Out night.  So everyone is asked to wear white.  Leave early and arrive alive.

PREDICTION: This Central
team is the kind of group that could pull off the upset of the year, and we’re predicting that’s exactly what will happen.

Central 21, St. Paul’s 17.