Louallen, Stifling Central Defense Rout Blacksburg

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BLACKSBURG </strong>| Defense traveled down Highway 5 for the two-hour drive for Central as the Eagles forced two key first half turnovers and the offense was in a rhythm in a 40-6 rout of Blacksburg on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I thought the guys came out and played a really good game, especially defensively. I think they had -17 yards rushing at halftime so our guys were definitely getting after it and then in the third quarter, we were able to score a couple touchdowns and put it away during the fourth quarter so that's always good,” Central head coach Jonathan Eason said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles went right down the field on their first possession, but the drive ended as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592629' first='Taveon' last='Moore'] </strong>was stopped short on a slant. It only took two plays for Central to get it back on an interception.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639753' first='Aiden' last='Short'] </strong>was a playmaker throughout the evening, and that was evidenced on the next drive as he made a nice catch and run for a first down into Blacksburg territory. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664364' first='Dwayne' last='Louallen'] </strong>(pictured above)<strong> </strong>finished off the drive, finding the end zone with a 2-yard run with 5:14 to play in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jakari Holloman </strong>made a huge hit on third down on the ensuing series and then Blacksburg elected to try a fake punt. And take a guess at who blew it up? Short.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It looked like Central was on their way to blow the game open with a gain from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823098' first='Luke' last='Sims'] </strong>on the run, but the Wildcats got the stop on fourth and goal to end the quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blacksburg couldn't do anything with the momentum as <strong>MJ Allen </strong>stuffed the inside run play for a tackle for loss and then Holloman and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823097' first='Eric' last='Maddox'] </strong>combined for a sack. Things went from bad to worse for the home team as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817469' first='Aidan' last='Welch'] </strong>returned a pick six 15 yards to the house to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead as <strong>Lawson Hicks </strong>added the extra point with 9:51 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We knew they were going to try to run at us and I thought our d-line, linebackers came to play and I thought our DBs, when they needed to be there, they were there,” Eason said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Louallen added an 11-yard touchdown run to give Central a 20-0 lead with 4:50 left in the first half and made guys miss in the process. He also connected with <strong>Darren Gaines </strong>for a 51-yard touchdown pass with 1:29 before the half as well. The junior quarterback was in a rhythm throughout the night and was in sync with the entire offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We worked on it all week in practice, so we just had no choice but to come out here and perform like we were supposed to. We played (together) when we were younger so I clicked with all my receivers so it was just to a point where when we click, we just make big plays,” Louallen told Prep Redzone SC after the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second half saw Short and Moore score each one more time and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603786' first='Trevon' last='Clark'] </strong>got the Wildcats on the board with 6:57 left in the contest to prevent the shutout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Central Team Notes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1815952' first='Tahir' last='Wise'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1825304' first='Timmy' last='Tyson'] </strong>were in the backfield throughout the evening and did a nice job of plugging holes. <strong>Zaycarean Miller </strong>brought pressure on Blacksburg freshman quarterback <strong>Jameson Coffee</strong> in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jayq Rushing</strong> did a good job of running the ball late in the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blacksburg Team Notes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820680' first='Ryley' last='Burton'] </strong>was a bright spot for the Blacksburg defense, particularly as he made a tackle for loss on first down and then did a nice job of chasing down a swing pass on second down. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820674' first='Carter' last='Oglesby'] </strong>did a nice job of tackling in space when the ball came his way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Deck</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blacksburg will host Broome, while Central returns home to face Cheraw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->