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Up until the end of the first half, Coach Will Thomas thought Central High played well. After failing last week in a 28-21 battle to Class 1 title contender Altavista, the Central Chargers returned home this past Friday. They took care of business, breezing by William Campbell 41-14 to even their record at 1-1 overall.

“To be honest, up until two minutes to go in the first half, we played very well.  Our special teams played extremely well, hit our extra points, which we struggled a bit on in the first game, and defensively we got after them,” Thomas said. “Jayden Lacks played great for us on defense.  Keon McCain had a good game on both sides of the ball.  Tony Jones played really well on defense, and it was also cool to big Jon-Luke Phillips get an interception.”

All three phases found the end zone in the victory.  With starting quarterback and defensive back Chad Mattox being sidelined because of injury, senior Daheim Watson picked up a fumble and returned it for a 23-yard touchdown.

“That was awesome to see, and he had some good punt returns, plus he made some tackles,” Thomas said of Watson, whose brother Shaheim also plays on the team.

Also for the Central  Chargers, sophomore Jalin Freeman returned a kickoff touchdown.  Freeman ran for 83 yards and a score on eight attempts to go with his 137 yards in the return game.  Amarion Moore ran for 102 yards and a score on 10 attempts.  Starting at QB, Reece Hart completed a 10-yard TD pass to McCain. Lacks led the defense with 11 total tackles, four behind the line of scrimmage.  McCain added eight tackles and a forced fumbles.

Central Chargers end a series

The game also ended Central High’s out-of-district series, for the time being, with a new scheduling cycle coming up in 2025.

“We’ve had some battles with William Campbell over the years,” Thomas said. “Coach [Danny] Broggin and I get along really well.  They put us out of the playoffs a couple times (2017, 2018) and we put them out a few (2011, 2014, 2021).  This is the last year we’re playing and it was mutual.”

Thomas indicated that each would be better served when it comes to the playoff power points pursuing other opponents. On deck for Lunenburg is a home matchup against Brunswick, which responded from a 51-14 loss to Mecklenburg by defeating Northampton 28-17.  Last year, the Chargers won a 42-41 overtime thriller over Brunswick.

“Man, I don’t want another game like that,” Thomas quipped.  “They always have athletes that can run and they can sling the ball down the field.  We know we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

Kavaliers lose in shootout

Kenston Forest went on the road Friday night, losing a shootout with the Rapp High Panthers. And by shootout, we mean exactly that. The two teams went into halftime tied at 28, then Kenston Forest stopped the Panthers on downs, starting off the third quarter. Then the Kavaliers drove down the field, with junior quarterback Devin Dunn tossing a touchdown pass to Dayton Williams.

The Kavaliers seemed to run out of steam in the 4th quarter, however, and lost 58 to 34. The Kavs look to bounce back this Thursday, Sept. 12 at home versus arch conference rival Blessed Sacrament (Powhatan). The Kavs stand at 1-2 non divisional and 0-0 in division 2. Thursday nights game will be the first game that counts towards their playoff standings .

Prince Edward gets a win

The players dumped Gatorade on Prince Edward Head Coach Melvin Mitchell after the game. After all, it was a time to celebrate, something Prince Edward hasn’t seen enough of in recent years. But when Mitchell told The Dispatch last week that the team was on the verge of success, he wasn’t kidding. The Eagles beat Parry McCluer 46-38 on Friday night, to win both their first this season and Mitchell’s first as Eagles coach.   

“It felt great to see my players fight through, and staying together through all the adversity,” Mitchell said. “They came together as a team.”

For the most part, it was a close game on Friday, with both defenses keeping players out of the end zone early. But once the Eagles defense started causing turnovers, it started a domino effect that ignited their offense. A 19-16 contest quickly became 33-16. Then 39-24 and finally 46-38. Mitchell said he was encouraged, both by an offense taking advantage of what’s on the field and a defense that didn’t just hold, but caused big turnovers. And this was against a Parry McCluer team that went to the playoffs last season and returned most of its squad.
Now it’s time for the Eagles to go back on the road. They’ll head to Nelson County this coming Friday to take on the 2-1 Governors. 

Beyond Central Chargers, other scores from the area 

It was a rough week for other teams in our region. Fuqua lost to Greenbrier Christian Academy 57-0, while Randolph-Henry lost 20-12 to James River.