Central to play Belfry in the finals

Central really dominated this game. They had 4 trips to the red zone without scores. If they can connect on these they should be able to handle Belfry next week. Should have probably won 56 to 18, but maybe they are saving those scores for next week. Congrats to Central.

Central really dominated this game. They had 4 trips to the red zone without scores. If they can connect on these they should be able to handle Belfry next week. Should have probably won 56 to 18, but maybe they are saving those scores for next week. Congrats to Central.

Let me correct myself 5 times in the red zone

Good pressure up-front led to lots of picks. PT with 5 interceptions and one lost fumble doomed the Blue Tornado.

 

Field position was critical. Central controlled it all night. PT started on the Central side of the field only once, and their average field position in the first half was their own 15. Central took advantage, and most of their drives started on the PT side of the field.

 

Congrats to Central on a dominating performance on both sides of the ball! Had they scored on their first three possessions - all of which ended inside the PT 10 - (missed FG, downs, fumble lost) - it would have been really lopsided.

They did do a good job playing man to man on the fast PT receivers. I was also surprised PT could not run the ball any better than they did. Belfry LC should be a great game next week!

Central dominated the game? Really? Gee, we must have been watching different games.

 

Tilghman trailed 14-12 early in the second half and was driving, just shy of the red zone, when the quarterback was hit from behind, a linebacker caught the fumble and took it to Tilghman territory.

 

Central's first three scoring drives covered a grand total of 91 yards, two of them coming off turnovers. Tilghman was undone by six turnovers, four in the second half.

 

Tilghman decided to spread the field with their two best running backs battling injuries, and called a pass play about 75 percent of the time. I'm not sure that was the best approach, but Tilghman was in the game for more than a half and actually outgained Central, according to the stats I saw.

 

Central was the better team and deserved to win the game, but I wouldn't say they dominated it.

Sorry PT

Central to play Belfry in the finals

hey Scribe, you from the Possum Trot near Calvert City? Never heard of Black Gnat.

Congrats to a very good Central team that often times gets overlooked, due to the 6A Louisville schools.

Perhaps using the word "dominating" was a bit much, however, many in the press box thought the tide had turned decisively in Central's favor midway through the second quarter. And yes, I would say that the second half was a dominating performance...

 

...the size differential on the line certainly took its toll in the second half. In the first half, PT's smaller defenders needed to really stack the box with defenders to stop Central's running game, and I thought they did a pretty good job. But by the second half, things changed dramatically. PT could not stop the run by that time, and Central's Wales often "rode the wave" of blockers straight ahead into the line for 9-10 yard runs. If the first half was not a dominating performance - and I'll concede that - the second half most certainly was. Central absolutely ruled the trenches, and therefore, the game.

...six takeaways were impressive. Most came due to Central making plays, not merely getting lucky. Cox frequently had to throw off his back foot due to pressure, with somewhat predictable results.

...Comparing yardage is not indicative of this game. Central's defense consistently gave them the ball on the PT side of the field. Don't need many yards when you start inside the other team's 35 over and over again. PT's average starting field position in the first half was their own 15, and that didn't get much better in the second half. It's definitely a football truism - particularly in HS - that you can win a lot of games when you don't have to go far and the other guy does.

...The injury to PT's running back certainly hurt the Blue Tornado...haven't seen them enough to know what their second option was, but I doubt if Coach Wyatt really wanted to become so one-dimensional so quickly...unfortunately for him, I'm not sure he really had much choice.

 

So while I'll concede the point that the first half was a hard-fought affair, I'll also point out that - had Central not missed a short FG, fumbled inside the five, and seen yet another drive die inside the five - the game could have finished with a 49-18 or even 56-18 score. So yes, while I admired PT's effort, guts, and players' (abilities), I would say that this was overall a relatively dominant effort by Central. It was definitely a team on a mission.

 

I was fortunate during this game - I was simply there as a HS football fan, with no ties to either team. That's nice - you don't find yourself seeing the game through the rose-colored / jaded (depending upon the results) glasses that a team's fan often has to deal with...

 

Kudos to both teams on an entertaining game. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Perhaps using the word "dominating" was a bit much, however, many in the press box thought the tide had turned decisively in Central's favor midway through the second quarter.

And yet, Central led just 14-12 at the half and Tilghman had a good drive going to start the second half.

So while I'll concede the point that the first half was a hard-fought affair, I'll also point out that - had Central not missed a short FG, fumbled inside the five, and seen yet another drive die inside the five - the game could have finished with a 49-18 or even 56-18 score. So yes, while I admired PT's effort, guts, and players' (abilities), I would say that this was overall a relatively dominant effort by Central. It was definitely a team on a mission.

So ... Central's defense gets credit for forcing turnovers, but Tilghman's defense doesn't for stopping the Jackets in the red zone?

And yet, Central led just 14-12 at the half and Tilghman had a good drive going to start the second half.

So ... Central's defense gets credit for forcing turnovers, but Tilghman's defense doesn't for stopping the Jackets in the red zone?

 

Forced errors and unforced errors are different. PT was ok, but it makes me wondering about their number two ranking. I would say several teams in 3a were over ranked, that is because there is a lot of inconsistent play in this division.

Forced errors and unforced errors are different. PT was ok, but it makes me wondering about their number two ranking. I would say several teams in 3a were over ranked, that is because there is a lot of inconsistent play in this division.

So ... which errors were forced and which ones were unforced?

And yet, Central led just 14-12 at the half and Tilghman had a good drive going to start the second half.

 

 

I don't want to belittle PT's efforts at all...but the bottom line was that almost the entire game was played on PT's side of the field. PT - to their credit - made the most of their first-half chances to keep it close, and Central didn't take advantage of early chances to blow it open. Which is why the game wasn't over at halftime. But I had the feeling PT was hanging on by its fingernails... they couldn't afford to keep putting 8-9 in the box to stop the run and yet they couldn't afford to stop doing so. In the second half, Central finally started to make them pay by going over the top. PT certainly got heroic defensive efforts in the first half. Central had multiple chances and didn't convert three golden ones inside the five. Blame Central's offense or credit PT's defense, it really doesn't matter (probably a little of both, as Central missed a chip-shot FG and fumbled the ball away once, and turned it over on downs the other time) - the bottom-line was, the feeling a lot of people had was that PT was plugging holes in the dike, but that the dike was just about to give way...which it did in the second half.

 

PT has a very good football team - but Central deserves the accolades they're getting.

I don't want to belittle PT's efforts at all...but the bottom line was that almost the entire game was played on PT's side of the field. PT - to their credit - made the most of their first-half chances to keep it close, and Central didn't take advantage of early chances to blow it open. Which is why the game wasn't over at halftime. But I had the feeling PT was hanging on by its fingernails... they couldn't afford to keep putting 8-9 in the box to stop the run and yet they couldn't afford to stop doing so. In the second half, Central finally started to make them pay by going over the top. PT certainly got heroic defensive efforts in the first half. Central had multiple chances and didn't convert three golden ones inside the five. Blame Central's offense or credit PT's defense, it really doesn't matter (probably a little of both, as Central missed a chip-shot FG and fumbled the ball away once, and turned it over on downs the other time) - the bottom-line was, the feeling a lot of people had was that PT was plugging holes in the dike, but that the dike was just about to give way...which it did in the second half.

 

PT has a very good football team - but Central deserves the accolades they're getting.

No one is denying Central's accolades ... they were the better team and they deserved to win it. I simply don't see the game as being as one-sided as some posters on here do.

 

As far as the dike giving way ... Central scored four times, offensively. Three of the drives covered a grand total of 91 yards. Central had four possessions that started in their own territory and only scored on one of them, and that came on a 63-yard pass. It wasn't as if they ran roughshod over Tilghman all night.

 

Bottom line, turnovers did in Tilghman. You can't have six giveaways against a team like Central and expect to win. And Central's defense deserves all the credit it can get for forcing them and capitalizing on them.