Central Falcons Shut Out Center Point in Season Opening Win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Week zero of the season for the Central Falcons kicked off last night, but not in the way anyone was expecting. With the game starting messy for both teams, the Falcons' touchdown prior to halftime set the tone for the remainder of the game, giving Central the win 27–0 over the Center Point Eagles.
On arrival, the game was initially pushed back to 7:15 with lightning in the area. This delay would continuously be pushed back until, after a two-hour weather delay, both teams took the field.
On the first drive of the game, the Falcons looked to strike first around midfield on 4th and 2. A handoff to James Freeman was met at the line of scrimmage, resulting in the Eagles taking over.
The conditions played a huge part in this game, as the first offensive drive for the Center Point Eagles resulted in a fumble and was recovered by Taqarious Henderson at the 45.
What seemed to be a stalemate between these teams in the first quarter truly broke with a 30-yard missile pass from Armani White to Nathan Richardson to put the Falcons in scoring position. Shortly after, Anthony Dixon would follow the huge gain with a five-yard rushing touchdown. The PAT attempt was no good after a bobbled snap from the wet conditions.
After multiple drives from both teams, with nearly lost footballs due to ball-security issues, the last drive before halftime for Central was looking to be a score as Tra'Von Hall found open space on a pass from White, taking it 65 yards to the end zone, which would ultimately be called back for a holding call. However, Hall would finish the drive with eight seconds until half, punching it in from the one-yard line. This put the Falcons up 13–0 heading to the locker room.
Central Head Coach Demario Pippen said at halftime it wasn't the ideal start, but once the team gets comfortable, he will like what he saw.
"I just feel like we had to kind of get in a groove, man," he said. "A long delay, like a two-hour delay. It's kind of wet and muggy out there, so ball handling was a little off; snaps were a little off also. I really just think we had to get into the game, so in the second half we should be way more productive."
The start of the second half wasn't ideal for the Falcons, as a shanked punt handed the ball to the Eagles at the 14-yard line. With the help of multiple flags on the offense and a few tackles for loss from Lakendrick Lewis, the Eagles punted it away, pinning the Falcons at their own five-yard line.
What started with a 20-yard screen pass to Freeman would turn into a 95-yard drive, with Freeman putting the finishing touches on the longest scoring drive of the night from nine yards out to put the Falcons up three scores.
On the next possession, the Eagles looked to respond, but fumbled the ball. Central recovered at the 40 and followed up with Dixon's second touchdown of the night, coming from the 15-yard line.
As the Falcons tried to close the door on this game with one more late score, the Eagles forced another fumble and were hoping to get on the board. A few plays later, Jaelon Bramlett sealed the deal with an interception right near midfield.
Armani White finished the game with 130 yards in the air and 80 on the ground. Anthony Dixon totaled two rushing touchdowns, and Nathan Richardson led the way on defense with 3 TFLs and 1 sack.
Even with the early growing pains in the season opener, Central handled business and will host Tuscaloosa County High School next week in hopes of going 2–0.
For more Alabama Sports content from Reed Karch, follow him on X at @karch42 and make sure to stay tuned to Tide 100.9 for all the latest news.
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