Great game, crazy finish. Warren Central picks up a home playoff game with the win, something that was among the most improbable scenarios two weeks ago.

 

The game was a defensive struggle, with Greenwood having more opportunities but shooting themselves in the foot again. They had four trips inside the 20 that came up empty, with two turnovers and two missed field goals. Central got on the board first following one of those Greenwood turnovers, which was set up by a Halcomb bomb to Carpenter getting down to the 1 yard line. Halcomb snuck it in, and a bad snap on the PAT was run in by Carpenter for an 8-0 lead. The teams traded possessions until Greenwood got the equalizer on a 35 yard TD pass from Downing to Mkanta. Mkanta caught it at the 15 and easily shook a man to get in, and they tied the game with the unconventional polecat formation. The score was 8-8 at halftime. Greenwood looked like they might pull away as they took the opening drive of the third quarter 80 yards in less than one minute to go up 15-8. It remained that for most of the rest of the quarter until Halcomb took a keeper right up the middle from 20 yards out to tie the score, where it would remain for the rest of regulation, with only one serious scoring threat by either team, a missed 42 yard field goal for Greenwood's Alex Belt.

 

OT was where things got wild. Central had the ball first and scored in three plays, kicking the PAT to go up 22-15. Greenwood needed only two plays, scoring on a nice pass from Downing to Adams in the front corner of the end zone, and down one, they lined up in the polecat formation that had been extremely effective twice before, with Central showing no signs of stopping it. WC used their one timeout to adjust to the formation, and Greenwood called a timeout of their own and decided to kick. The kick was wide right, and bedlam broke out. But a roughing the kicker penalty was called, and Greenwood was given another chance from the 1.5 yard line. They chose to go for two as their kicker had gone out with an injury. But they didn't get the right personnel in, and having used their one timeout for the period, took a delay of game penalty that moved them back to the 6. So they again lined up for a PAT, but had to use their backup kicker because no plays from scrimmage had taken place, so their primary kicker Belt could not come in. The kick was low and wide left, and Central had the win.

 

I firmly believe I saw the best game in the history of the series. It was the first OT game between the two, with the closest margin of victory, topping the previous of three. This Greenwood team is very good, probably their best in school history. It was a shame one had to lose, but really, Central needed it more. It may end up being great for both, as this will only make the Gators hungry.

Congrats to the Dragons!

Congrats to Warren Central on back-to-back excellence!

 

WC beating both Bowling Green and Greenwood really makes Fort Campbell's 49-7 win over Warren Central a solid win.