Pageland – After a disappointing 34-20 loss to Darlington High School to open the football season on August 18, Central got on the winning track on August 25. The Eagles defeated Parkwood – just across the state line in Monroe, North Carolina – 35-3 to even their record at 1-1.
Shane Griffin, in his second season as Central’s head coach, believes his team got a bit of a wakeup call against Darlington. The Eagles had a lot of players getting their first taste of action under the Friday night lights in a hostile environment.
“Darlington did a great job last week, my hat’s off to them,” said Griffin, who led Central to 6-5 mark last year. “No excuse, but I would like to have that one back, but it is what it is. I think we were able to learn a lot from the loss. We learned we’ve got four quarters to play.
“We had maybe the best week of practice I’ve been a part of. We were focused on turning things round, reestablishing expectations, things like do your job and be where you’re supposed to be. We had a great week of practice.”
The Eagles scored touchdowns on their first three possessions against Parkwood.
“We were just clicking,” Griffin said. “The offense was rolling, and the defense played outstanding.”
The Eagles offense is led by Griffin’s son, senior Jacob Griffin. He is a 6-foot-3-inch, 210-pound pro-style quarterback. He was 17 of 20 for 275 yards and three touchdowns against Parkwood. Jacob was 18 of 22 for 279 yards and one touchdown against Darlington while running for 59 yards on six carries.
His wide receivers are senior Tyson Miller and sophomore Sean Davis with senior Austn Middleton lining up in the slot. Against Darlington, Miller had five catches for 78 yard, Middleton five for 64 and Davis one for 53.
The running backs are junior Tray Wilson and sophomore Ashten Wilson. Tray ran for 165 yards on 13 carries against Parkwood after picking up 80 yards on six carries against Darlington. Ashten rushed for 60 yards on 14 carries against Darlington.
The offensive line has just one senior in right guard Ja’den Mungo. Juniors are on the left side with John Wallace at tackle and Camden Threatt at guard. The other starters are sophomores, Jared Melton at right tackle and Brandon Rollins at center.
“Offensively, we have plenty of weapons to get the ball to on any given play,” Coach Griffin said. “If we can get our offensive line solidified and communicating effectively, we should be exciting to watch.”
The Eagles are fortunate enough to have enough depth where their front seven on defense play just defense. The line is made up of seniors Terry Johnson and Denorris Wilson and junior Kobe Davis. The linebackers are seniors Petey Blakeney, Daniel Moore and Justice Gingham and junior Dontavius Covington.
Miller, Tray Wilson and Sean Davis start in the secondary along with Taveon Moore.
“Our defense has speed and talent all over the field as well,” Coach Griffin said. “We are expecting to have a great season and the players have been working hard this offseason to get ready to compete at a high level.”
Sebastian Resendez is the placekicker and Daniel King is the punter.
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