Wildcats Need Three Wins To Make State 5A Playoffs

October 21, 2011 0 Comments

CENTRAL — The Central High Wildcats had one of their best games of the season last Friday night, defeating Walker 54-15.

Now Coach Doug Dotson’s team must win three straight in order to have a chance to return to the state playoffs. The Wildcats travel to Denham Springs Friday night for a match that is always difficult, even more so this year.

Dotson said Denham Springs has a solid team that is very strong on ball control. “We expect them to try to keep the ball and grind out yardage, while keeping it away from our offense,” he said.

“We’ll have to stop them from making first downs on the ground while being ready to stop the big play,” he said. “While Denham is noted for their running game, they will hurt you with the pass if you’re not prepared.”

Overall, Dotson was pleased with his team’s performance against Walker. “It was not the complete game that we are looking for but it was closer to what we want. The offense moved the ball well. Our defense stopped Carlton Perkins, the leading rusher in the state and held him to 23 yards. We were able to control the line of scrimmage and hem Perkins in. He’s a great player. He’s good at all facets. So this was a real accomplishment.”

“On offense, we had two players over 100 yards rushing. That means our offensive line was doing something. Coaches Jerry Fremin and Justin Hutchinson are doing a great job with the offensive line.”

Two top players will be out with injuries — Antonio Ragusa, who had surgery on a finger, and Tony Guercio.

Dotson said Denham Springs coach Dru Nettles does a great job. “They expect to win. We’ll have to play 48 minutes and put it together in order to win.”

“This is a young team, and hopefully, we are going to peak at the right time.”

“At Denham, we won’t be able to let them hang onto the ball for five minutes or more when they get it. We can’t allow them to drive the ball and maintain field position.”

“This game might come down to a few key plays — especially whether they get the first down when they need to or we stop them. Then we have to break up the big play.”

Some of the Central athletes to watch Friday night include:

• QB Brett Courville, a prolific runner and scorer

• RB’s Zack Evans and Gary Triplet

• Lineman Alex Franks

• On defense, watch Zach Hetrick, 6’3”, 230-pound linebacker, Joey Jarreau, and Logan Metcalf.

Coach Dotson said Friday night is a White-Out night. That means no color other than white.

The Wildcats will wear their white jerseys.

For statistics from Tyler Wales on each Wildcat game, go to www.centralcitynews.us.

Walker 0 8 7 0 15

Central 6 22 12 14 54

Central Scoring:

Courville 6 yd run