Central Soars Past Brookwood on Homecoming Night

The Central Falcons are on a roll to start the new year. Under first-year head coach Demario Pippin, the Falcons improved to 2-1 to start the season after the team beat the Brookwood Panthers in convincing fashion. The final score was 40-8 and the hometown Falcons sent their fans home happy on Homecoming night.

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Before the game even started, Mother Nature decided to affect the game between the Panthers and the Falcons. For the entire first half of the game, there was a monsoon of rain pouring down onto Central's football field. The rain affected both sides of the ball.

The first strike came from the Brookwood running game. Combing QB power and jet sweeps, the Panthers drove down 70 yards and set the team up on the five-yard line. From there, quarterback Jacob Rowell ran it in from five yards out to give Brookwood the lead with a successful two-point conversion.

Central responded to the touchdown by using its own running game to dice up the Panthers defense. Unlike Brookwood's run game, the Falcons used inside-the-tackle runs and drove it 70 yards before running back Marquis Thomas waltzed in from five yards out.

The Falcons got the ball right back after the team held Brookwood to a three-and-out. It looked like the Panthers also held Central to a three-and-out until the fourth down happened. In punt formation, punter Cornelius Dates caught the ball, fumbled it due to the rain, picked it up, and ran for a 60-yard touchdown. This play was the momentum shifter Central gained and ran with.

The nightmare continued for Brookwood as on the ensuing kickoff, the returner fumbled due to the rain and set up Central in prime position. Two plays later, Falcons running back Anthony Dixon ran it in from 20 yards out to extend the Central lead to 11 points.

The Panthers tried to re-establish their run game but nothing worked after that first touchdown drive. After turning the ball over on downs, Central took the ball and scored another touchdown. To set up the touchdown, Thomas ran from the midfield all the way to the Panther five-yard line. After that play, Coach Pippin decided to give Thomas the ball again and score his second touchdown of the night.

Central scored one more time in the monsoon first half. Once again, it was the run game that dominated the night. This time, stuck on its own 30-yard line, Dixon used his blazing speed and ran 70 yards to make the game 33-8.

Finally, the rain stops at halftime, but Brookwood decides it's a little too late for a comeback. For the rest of the game, both of the teams decided to put on a running clock due to the wet weather and the score at half.

Brookwood used most of the second half to put together a 70-yard drive that resulted in zero points. After Central figured out how to stop the QB power, the Panthers could not find an alternative on how to move the ball in the rain. Finally the fourth quarter with 5:28 in the game, QB David McNeil threw a 37-yard dart to Christian Bishop to extend the lead to 32 points.

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"Well, the message was to just stay focused, we always talk about dealing with adversity," said Coach Pippin. "You never know what is going to throw your way, my message is to stay focused. Luckily the run game was working tonight and we changed the O-line up before the game."

The Central Falcons are riding high after the homecoming win. Also with this win, the Falcons move to 2-1 on the young season. Next week, Central hosts the McAdory Yellow Jackets.

For Brookwood, this is a very tough loss as with this game the team now has a record of 1-2 on the young season. The schedule does not get easier either as the Panthers return home to play the undefeated Hillcrest Patriots.

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