Central rallies to down Woodland
Posted on Friday, October 24, 2008
SPRINGDALE — Central Junior High and Woodland Junior High played an exciting game at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium on Thursday night. In the end it was the Warriors of Springdale Central who came out on top 21-14 to keep their hopes alive of winning a third straight conference title.
Central (7-1, 5-1 ) had to come back from a touchdown deficit on two different occasions but the Warriors responded well both times, tying the score and then taking the lead for good late in the fourth quarter.
“ The kids didn’t quit, ” Central coach Fred Hartsfield said. “ Woodland’s got a great team. They kept scoring and we kept fighting back, and this was a big step for us. ”
Neither team got off to a good start offensively as both gave up early interceptions in the first quarter. Woodland (6-2, 4-2 ) was the first to settle down and got on the board first with a 5-yard run from quarterback Austin Allen to give the Cowboys an early 7-0 lead.
Central struck back quickly to tie the game at 7-all. Jon Vaughn took the ball in from the 1-yard line, capping a 55-yard, 11-play drive that would be the final score of the half.
Woodland struck first in the second half as well. Allen hit Reid Holmes across the middle for a 21-yard touchdown reception to give the Cowboys their last lead of the game.
The Warriors rallied to score two more touchdowns in the second half to take control of the game. The first was a 17-yard run by Vaughn straight up the gut to tie the game at 14.
“ We hadn’t run our quarterback very much so they weren’t respecting Jon’s running ability, ” Hartsfield said. “ So in the second half we decided we would run straight at them with the quarterback and he stepped up like a champion. ”
Andrew Crook made the play of the game for Central with the score tied 14-14 and Woodland driving. Crook intercepted an Allen pass and in doing so helped set up the winning touchdown for the Warriors.
The go-ahead score would come with less than four minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Preston Pianalto took the ball in from 1-yard out, a play set up by a 25-yard run from Vaughn.
Vaughn had a rough start in the beginning of the game as Woodland’s Michael Mahler intercepted two of his passes. The first gave the Cowboys the ball at the Central 25 but they couldn’t convert; however, they were able to score off the second pick.
Central travels to Bentonville next week to take on a very good Gold squad with the winner more than likely taking the conference crown. Woodland returns to Harmon Field to host Bentonville Black.
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