BY  JAY BENNETT

The top-ranked Central Eagles used a bruising ground attack and a stifling defensive effort to post a convincing 41-7 victory over the Cheraw Braves last Friday night in the regular season finale at Meiklejohn Field.  The win capped a perfect 10-0 regular season for Coach Joey Mangum’s squad, while the Braves finished with a 3-7 mark and a third place finish in the Region 4-AA standings.
The Eagles piled up 314 yards on the ground and another 77 yards through the air, while the Braves only had 16 yards rushing and 85 yards in the air.  Mardu Smith paced Central with 130 yards  in only eight carries, while Radford Robinson added 103 yards in 15 rushes and he scored three touchdowns.
“This was definitely our best all-around game of the year and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Central Coach Joey Mangum stated after the contest.  “We knew that Cheraw would give us their best shot, but our kids rose to the occasion and really played great.  Our defense has only given up right around 400 yards rushing the entire season and they really got after it tonight,” Coach Mangum added.
Coach Johnny White was disappointed with the loss, but he had nothing but praise for the top-ranked Eagles.  “Most of our kids played very hard tonight, but we just got beat by a better team.  We did a great job of holding them from not scoring in the first quarter, as that was the first time that has happened this season.  We came within a eyelash of breaking a few plays in that first series, but they just tripped us up.  The difference in the game was they made the plays and we did not,” Coach White stated.
The Eagles will face the 2-8 Gilbert Indians in the first round of the Class AA playoffs in Pageland this Friday night, while the Braves have to travel to Batesburg-Leesville to face the 7-3 Panthers.  Both playoff games are slated to start at 7:30 p.m.
Central won the coin toss and deferred their option to the second half, giving their defense a chance to set the tone for the game in the early going.  The home team started their opening possession from their own 37-yard line, after a seven-yard return by Tyre Byrd.  Three running plays only netted five yards and the visitors got the football for their initial possession, at their own 20-yard stripe, after a 37-yard punt by Brad Bradley.
The Eagles came out in their patented wishbone formation and they methodically moved the football down the field, picking up two first downs and crossing the midfield stripe.  It appeared that Jowan Henderson had picked up another first down with an 11-yard run, but a blocking in the back penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on the Central sideline backed the pigskin all the way up
to the 39-yard line.  A short pass to Robinson only gained two yards, so Henderson dropped back to punt.  His high boot traveled 39 yards and Demetrius Miller fumbled the ball, but Kedarian Drake was there to fall on the pigskin for Cheraw, at the 15-yard stripe.
The home team had another three and out, as Darius Little only gained seven yards on three consecutive carries.  Brad Bradley then got off a 28-yard punt and Central got the ball back at the midfield stripe.
Runs by Mardu Smith and Radford Robinson got the ball down to the 21-yard line and then Henderson hooked up with Robinson, in the right flats, for a 20-yard completion, moving the ball down to the one-yard line.  That pass play ended the scoreless first quarter, but the Eagles had a big edge in the statistics battle.  Central had 88 total yards in 14 plays, while the Braves only had 12 total yards on six offensive snaps in the opening period of play.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard, on the first play of the second quarter, as Robinson punched it in from one yard out, over the left side of the line.  Des Blakeney then came on and added the P.A.T . to give Central a 7-0 lead with 11:55 left before intermission.
The Braves then decided it was time to go to the air, but that did not work either, as Storm Jacobs threw three consecutive incompletions.  Brad Bradley then only got off a 16-yard punt and the visitors got the ball back, in great field position, at their own 47-yard line.
It only took three plays to get back into the endzone, as Radford Robinson finished the 53-yard drive with a 19-yard jaunt, on an inside trap play.  Robinson started out the drive with a 19-yard run and Henderson had a 15-yard scamper on the second play.  Des Blakeney added his second P.A.T. of the contest to give Central a 14-0 advantage with 10:54 left in the second period of play.
Quentin Lewis returned the ensuing kickoff out to the 45-yard stripe, to give the home team their best field position of the night.  Durrell Hawkins had runs of four and seven yards to pick up Cheraw’s initial first down of the night, but the Central 42-yard line was as far as the Cheraw offensive unit would get.  Darius Little tried a halfback pass to Demetrius Little on third down, but Ronard Price made a great recovery and broke up the would-be touchdown.  Brad Bradley then came on and backed the Eagles up to their own eight-yard line with a 34-yard punt.
The Eagles then took control of the contest by going 92 yards in only five plays to extend their advantage to 20-0.  The big play in the quick drive was a 71-yard scamper by Mardu Smith.  Smith took a handoff and went off left tackle, finding a crease in the Cheraw defense, and then breaking free for the score.  Des Blakeney then added the P.A.T. and the visitors’ lead was now up to 21-0 with 5:33 left before interemission.
A 28-yard kickoff return by Durrell Hawkins gave the home team the ball at their own 33-yard line and then Brandon Taylor made his best catch of the season, hauling in a 27-yard pass from Storm Jacobs to pick up a first down and move the ball to the Central 40-yard stripe.  Taylor went up and simply outjumped Jalen Covington for the reception, as Jacobs threw a deep fade pattern towards the Cheraw sideline.  Jacobs was then sacked by Trent Hutto for a 10-yard loss on the next play and then he threw an interception.  He was trying to go to Gerald Ewing, in the middle of the field, but Debias Tyson stepped in front of Ewing and came up with the interception, as Ewing was triple-teamed on the play.
There was still 2:24 left on the scoreboard clock and the visitors wanted some more points before intermission.  Mardu Smith ripped off a 38-yard run, down the far sideline, and then Radford Robinson had an 18-yard gainer, to get the ball down to the five-yard stripe.  Henderson then went to his favorite target, Jiwan Funderburk, on an out pattern, but Darius Little stepped in front of Funderburk and picked off the pass at the goal line.  It looked like Little may go the distance with the pick, but Henderson and Smith ran him down at the Cheraw 45-yard stripe.
The home team still had :50 seconds left before halftime, but Jacobs was sacked again by Josh Covington and then he threw his second interception of the contest.  Debias Tyson came up with his second pickoff of the night, as Jacobs’ pass to Brandon Taylor was underthrown at the 40-yard stripe.
Henderson then took a knee and the Eagles took a 21-0 lead into the halftime break.  The visitors really dominated the second period, as they scored 21 points and piled up 197 yards, while the Central defense held Cheraw to -13 yards rushing and 20 total yards.
Things then got worse for the home team on the second half kickoff, as Radford Robinson hauled in the football at the 19-yard line and proceeded to go 81 yards for his third touchdown of the contest.  The talented senior caught the ball, on the numbers, near the home sideline and then raced across the field for the score.  Des Blakeney added the P.A.T. once again and the Eagles now had a 28-0 lead with 11:46 left in the third quarter.
Durrell Hawkins almost matched Robinson’s heroics on the ensuing kickoff, as the junior returned the football from the Cheraw 15-yard stripe to the Central 15-yard line, as Montez Seegars saved a touchdown with a horse-collar tackle.  Seegars was flagged for the high tackle and that moved the ball down to the Central eight-yard line.  Darius Little gained two yards on first down, but a bobbled snap and a fumble on second down resulted in a Tevus Funderburk recovery at the seven-yard line.
The Cheraw defensive unit then rose up and stopped Central on downs, bringing on Henderson to punt for the first time since the opening quarter.  The senior got off a 35-yard boot and Demetrius Miller returned the boot to the Central 40-yard stripe.
The home team then finally got on the scoreboard, as Darius Little finished off the short scoring march with a 14-yard rush around the left end.  Little lined up in the wildcat formation and scored on a draw play to cap the five-play scoring march.  Pass completions to Brandon Taylor and Brad Bradley both moved the chains and helped set up the score by Little.  Brad Ratliff then converted his first P.A.T. of the campaign to cut the Central lead to 28-7 with 7:30 left in the third period of play.
The score by the Braves seemed to reignite the Central offense, as they came right back and marched 66 yards in ten plays to pad their lead.  Robinson and Henderson did most of the damage on the scoring drive, but it was De’aja Blakeney that hit paydirt, on a one-yard plunge off the left side.  Des Blakeney’s P.A.T. attempt hit the crossbar, but Central’s lead was now up to 34-7 with 2:47 left in the third quarter.
Things then continued to go bad for the home team, as Quentin Lewis and Cedric Robinson collided trying to field the ensuing kickoff and Josh Kelty recovered the pigskin for Central, at the Cheraw 40-yard stripe.  It only took three plays for the Eagles to add another touchdown,  as Jiwan Funderburk made a leaping catch at the 20-yard stripe and then raced to the endzone.  Des Blakeney added the P.A.T. and the Central advantage was up to 41-7 with 1:43 still left in the marathon third period of play.
Quentin Lewis then returned the ensuing kickoff out to the midfield stripe, but the Central defense held on downs, at the 43-yard line, to get the ball back.  The home team had a fourth down and one at the 43-yard line, but Tevus Funderburk broke through and stopped Darius Little in the backfield.
The Braves got the football back, after a three and out by Central, but Debias Tyson ended that drive with his third interception of the contest.  Tyson picked off the football at the 46-yard line and he was finally tackled at the Cheraw five-yard stripe.  The Eagles got down to the one-yard line, but Coach Joey Mangum had Jalen Covington hit a knee, on fourth down, to keep from scoring another touchdown.
The Braves then fumbled the ball once again, on their next possession, as Darius Little coughed it up at the 19-yard line and it was Ronard Price that recovered the pigskin for the Eagles.  The visitors then ran out the clock, claiming the Region 4-AA championship and finishing the regular season with a  perfect record.
The six turnovers were a season-high for the Braves, as Coach White was disappointed with those and the penalties against the home team.  “We knew that we had to play almost a perfect game to beat Central, but we had way too many penalties and turned the ball over six times.  Our special teams also did not play very well tonight, as we gave up a touchdown on a long kickoff return and fumbled a kickoff with some miscommunication out there.  We simply cannot do all of those and beat anybody, especially a great team like Central,” Coach White said.
“They are a great team and a quality program and it is going to be a bear for someone to beat them in the playoffs.  They are a lot more balanced on offense this year and their defense is outstanding.  They can run it or throw it and that puts a lot of pressure on any defense.  They also have a blend of speed and power and not many teams on the AA level have that kind of mix.  Their defensive front gave us a lot of problems tonight, as they are very quick and hard to block,” Coach White added.
“I told our players, after the game, to keep their heads up and get ready for the playoffs,” Coach White stated.   “Everyone is back to 0-0 again and we have another chance to redeem ourselves.  We have to travel to Batesburg-Leesville on Friday night to play a very good team, but I know we will be ready.  They beat us in the 2005 state title game and I hope some of our players remember that.  We are going to throw in a few wrinkles this week and throw the whole ball of wax at them on Friday night.  We have nothing to lose and hopefully, we can play well and surprise a lot of people,” Coach White added.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

(OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK)

#1        Senior wide receiver, Brandon Taylor, led the team with three receptions
for 48 yards and he picked up three first downs with his catches.

(DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK)

#6        Senior defensive back, Darius Little, had eight total tackles, including six solo
stops and two assists, plus a pass interception.