Central Private sits atop District 5AA after win
For Southern Sports & Travel, By Patrick Tate
With the approach of Halloween and a barrage of scary movies to appear on TV, the Wilkinson County Christian Academy Rams may not see anything scarier than the Chucky they saw on Friday. Central Private senior linebacker Chucky Conrad and his defensive team mates limited the Rams to 47 yards of total offense in a 34-6 Rebel victory.
After a scary start for both teams, Central Private exerted its power in the second half to pull away from the Rams. Both teams started the game with interceptions. Caleb Sterling had a interception for the Rams then Joey Harris returned the favor for the Rebels. A fumble for a huge loss forced the Rebels to punt on their next drive. The Rebels then forced a WCCA punt after three plays but again turned the ball over as Sterling recovered a CP fumble. Another stellar series of downs by the CP defense forced a turnover on downs as the Rebels took possession on their 36-yard line. A Dustin Johnson 15-yard blast and a 29 yard strike from Seth Stevens to his favorite target Lance Wicker set up the first Rebel score on the night. Stevens took it in from 14 yards away to put CP up 6-0 when the 2-pt conversion failed. The Rebel defense led by Taylor Fletcher and Morgan Miley again forced the Rams to punt after 3 plays.
The Rams forced a Rebel punt on fourth down but broke through the line and blocked the kick recovering the football on the Rebel 20. It looked like the Rebel defense would answer the call but after a sack by Zach Leblanc the Rebels were called for a penalty which gave the Rams a first down at the 10-yard line. Three rushes up the middle paid off as Ram quarterback Hall bulled in from 4 yards out. The Rebels were able to stop the 2 point conversion and the score remained tied at 6.
The Rebels seemed to acquire a little Les Miles magic right before the end of the half. After 2 sacks and an incomplete pass CP faced a fourth down and 23 yards to go when Stevens launched a pass to Wicker that sailed over his head into the waiting arms of Moak who scooted 40 yards for a Rebel touchdown with :20 remaining. Stevens did find Wicker on the fade route for the 2 pt conversion.
It took the Rebels 11 seconds to score at the start of the second half as Troy Lowe took the kick off 80 yards for the score. Lowe said," I was just trying to get to the wedge before I got hit and then I saw the hole and just ran." Matt Myers was true on the PAT kick and the Rebels finally had some breathing room 21-6.
After an exchange of punts, the Rebels were on the march again. A three play 60 yard drive high lighted by a Luke Fryoux toss to Wicker for 16-yards and a Dustin Johnson 28 yard gallop set the ball on the WCCA 9-yard line. Ryan Bowman finished the drive with a 9-yard sprint around left end into the end zone. The PAT was blocked and CP held a 27-6 lead.
Johnson who rushed for 103 yards on the evening dominated the next Rebel drive as he carried 4 consecutive times on the 4 play 43 yard drive finishing with a 16 yard trot into the end zone. Myers added the PAT to make the final CP 34 WCCA 6.
The win clinched a playoff birth for the Rebels for the sixth straight year and sets up a district championship clash with Centreville Academy in two weeks. The Rebels are off this week and return to action in Baker Friday before Halloween when Chucky returns.
After a scary start for both teams, Central Private exerted its power in the second half to pull away from the Rams. Both teams started the game with interceptions. Caleb Sterling had a interception for the Rams then Joey Harris returned the favor for the Rebels. A fumble for a huge loss forced the Rebels to punt on their next drive. The Rebels then forced a WCCA punt after three plays but again turned the ball over as Sterling recovered a CP fumble. Another stellar series of downs by the CP defense forced a turnover on downs as the Rebels took possession on their 36-yard line. A Dustin Johnson 15-yard blast and a 29 yard strike from Seth Stevens to his favorite target Lance Wicker set up the first Rebel score on the night. Stevens took it in from 14 yards away to put CP up 6-0 when the 2-pt conversion failed. The Rebel defense led by Taylor Fletcher and Morgan Miley again forced the Rams to punt after 3 plays.
The Rams forced a Rebel punt on fourth down but broke through the line and blocked the kick recovering the football on the Rebel 20. It looked like the Rebel defense would answer the call but after a sack by Zach Leblanc the Rebels were called for a penalty which gave the Rams a first down at the 10-yard line. Three rushes up the middle paid off as Ram quarterback Hall bulled in from 4 yards out. The Rebels were able to stop the 2 point conversion and the score remained tied at 6.
The Rebels seemed to acquire a little Les Miles magic right before the end of the half. After 2 sacks and an incomplete pass CP faced a fourth down and 23 yards to go when Stevens launched a pass to Wicker that sailed over his head into the waiting arms of Moak who scooted 40 yards for a Rebel touchdown with :20 remaining. Stevens did find Wicker on the fade route for the 2 pt conversion.
It took the Rebels 11 seconds to score at the start of the second half as Troy Lowe took the kick off 80 yards for the score. Lowe said," I was just trying to get to the wedge before I got hit and then I saw the hole and just ran." Matt Myers was true on the PAT kick and the Rebels finally had some breathing room 21-6.
After an exchange of punts, the Rebels were on the march again. A three play 60 yard drive high lighted by a Luke Fryoux toss to Wicker for 16-yards and a Dustin Johnson 28 yard gallop set the ball on the WCCA 9-yard line. Ryan Bowman finished the drive with a 9-yard sprint around left end into the end zone. The PAT was blocked and CP held a 27-6 lead.
Johnson who rushed for 103 yards on the evening dominated the next Rebel drive as he carried 4 consecutive times on the 4 play 43 yard drive finishing with a 16 yard trot into the end zone. Myers added the PAT to make the final CP 34 WCCA 6.
The win clinched a playoff birth for the Rebels for the sixth straight year and sets up a district championship clash with Centreville Academy in two weeks. The Rebels are off this week and return to action in Baker Friday before Halloween when Chucky returns.
