Central: One Win Away from District 4-5A Title

CENTRAL — Central High School played its first-ever game at  Doug Williams Stadium on Hooper Road last Friday night, and it was a game that few on either the Central or Scotlandville side of the ball will soon forget.

“One of the all-time great Central victories!” a Central alumnus of the 1950’s said after the game.

Central won 28-25 in an overtime slugfest that could have easily gone either way.  A field goal by sophomore kicker Jonathan Thibodeaux made the difference, and a classic goal-line stand by the Central defense sealed the victory.

For Coach Doug Dotson, it was a sweet victory for a Cinderella, come-back team that was counted out early in the season.

After six games, the Wildcats were 2-4 and had only the remotest hope of winning a fourth straight District 4-5A Championship.  Now the Come-Back Kids have won three straight against Walker, Denham Springs, and Scotlandville, and the team that starts five sophomores must only win its remaining game against Live Oak this Friday night.  Central is heavily favored.

If the Wildcats do in fact win in Watson, they will share the District Title with either Zachary or Denham Springs, depending on which one wins when those two pair off Friday night.  Since Zachary beat Central in the regular season, a Zachary victory would give the Broncos bragging rights to the title, with Central as Co-Champion.

Since Central beat Denham Springs in the regular season, a Denham win would give Central the championship, with Denham Springs as the Co-Champion.

In either case, a Central victory over Live Oak will put the Wildcats once again in the State 5A Playoffs.

In the first round of the playoffs, Central would face a highly-ranked opponent on that team’s home field.

Last Friday night’s game ended up in a 25-25 tie with 1.7 seconds left on the clock.

Central lined up for a 26-yard field goal attempt.  Jonathan Thibodeaux, the hero of the previous week’s victory over Denham Springs, was set to kick a game-winning field goal as the clock ran out.

To everyone’s amazement, the game took a dramatic turn.  Scotlandville blocked Thibodeaux’s field goal attempt, picked up the ball, and ran for an 80-yard touchdown.  The scoreboard showed Scotlandville winning the game 31-25 with no time left on the clock.  But that too was not to be.  As the Scotlandville fans celebrated in the stands, officials began to sort out the yellow flags on the field.

Scotlandville had committed a season-changing penalty — pushing a Central tackler from behind.

The Scotlandville touchdown was invalidated, and the regulation time period had expired.  The scoreboard went back to 25-25

Team captains for Central and Scotlandville met at the center of the field for another coin toss, which Scotlandville won.  They chose for Central to start overtime play first.

The Wildcats started from the 10 and had four attempts to score.  Finally, on 4th down, Jonathan Thibodeaux again came through, kicking a field goal.  Central led 28-25 as Scotlandville took possession.

The Hornets would have four attempts to score from the 10, or that’s what everyone thought.

On 4th down, Scotlandville threw a pass that was incomplete.  It looked like Central had won, but no, the officials called interference on Central.  It was once again 1st down for Scotlandville.  They had four more downs to try to score.

To stop Scotlandville, which had been running well all night, it would take a supersized effort, and that’s what the Wildcats produced.  On 4th down, the Hornets had an incomplete pass.

The game was over.  Central had won!  Pandemonium broke loose, as the Central fans and players went wild!

Coach Dotson praised his team for never giving up all season.  “These are champions!” he said.

“Scotlandville had every opportunity to win it.  They are a class team, but our guys simply wouldn’t give up!” he said.  “This is what we mean by ‘Central fight’!  It’s evident there is something special here.  We worked very hard all summer and all season.  After our early defeats, these kids could have given up, but they wouldn’t do it.”

Dotson praised his defense, especially Logan Metcalfe and Zach Hetrick.  On offense, he mentioned Hunter Cazes.  “How about that 83-yard touchdown?” he said.  He spoke about Brett Courville as outstanding, Jonathan Thibodeaux for being cool under pressure, and Zach Evans for hard running.

“Live Oak is a respectable team with a good offense.  We can’t let them win Friday night!”  “Come to Watson!” Coach Dotson said.