FLAG FOOTBALL: Battle of defending champs goes to Central-Phenix City

Central-Phenix City quarterback Mariah Harrison attempts to avoid Catholic’s Hayden Fitts in Tuesday’s battle of defending champions. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

In a game that lived up to the hype, Central-Phenix City’s defense turned back Catholic twice in Red Devil territory to help the defending 6A-7A state champions defeat the defending 1A-5A state champions 21-12 at Catholic on Tuesday night.

“We made a couple of big stops after turnovers and that’s a credit to the defense,” Central coach Mitchell Holt said. “It’s just going to take time for the kids to jell and learn each other and kind of get a feel for where each other is going to be. This is the first time to play a full game together and the uncertainty of not knowing where the person on your left and right is and being able to trust them, that comes with reps and just playing.”

Last Thursday’s meeting was postponed by inclement weather, with Vestavia Hills defeating Catholic 20-0 before the Vestavia-Central game was canceled midway through the first half. Catholic (0-2) was scheduled to play Ellwood Christian on Tuesday afternoon, but Ellwood failed to show, leaving the Knights with a makeup game against the state’s hottest team. 

“We learned a lot from the first game,” Catholic coach Whitney Toole said. “We didn’t come out and play our best against Vestavia. They’re a great team, obviously, but we didn’t play our best. I think we came out and played very close to our best tonight. Obviously, we lost this game (to the weather) last week but we wanted to play. We want to play the best teams. We want to see where we stand. We’re not going to back down from anyone or shy away. We want to play the best teams in the state.”

 The two teams had fought evenly through the first half with a Catholic touchdown midway through the third quarter pulling the Knights within 14-12. After forcing a Central punt, the Knights drove past midfield before a costly interception led to a Central touchdown. The Knights would drive the length of the field later in the quarter, but turned the ball over on downs at the Central 2-yard line.

“We had a lot of opportunities at the goal line, inside the 10,” Toole said. “We had a lot of missed opportunities, but we have something to go back and work on. They have a great team, a great quarterback and very experienced receivers back from last year, but I thought we played well all around.”

Central relied on its experienced receivers on the game’s initial possession, driving the length of the field in three plays for a quick 7-0 lead as Mariah Harrison hit Colby Cook with a 36-yard touchdown pass and threw to Savannah Sevier for the conversion.

The two teams traded interceptions, with Maggie McNeely snaring a pass in the end zone for Sevier to keep the game from getting out of hand. On the first play of the second quarter, Ellis O’Connor grabbed a 17-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Fitts, but Fitts’ conversion pass was intercepted, leaving the Red Devils clinging to a 7-6 lead.

Central put together an impressive drive featuring the running of Harrison late in the first half, scoring on an 8-yard quarterback keeper with 26 seconds left for a 14-6 halftime lead.

 From there, the Knights seemed to have the upper hand, but Central’s defense stopped the Knights short on a two-point conversion attempt after Frances Rogers grabbed a pass in the end zone that had been tipped by teammate Avery Sadler. 

Catholic’s last three possessions ended with a Lauren Carrero interception, a punt and a fourth-down incomplete pass from Fitts to a well-covered Rogers.

“It wasn’t our best, but we found a way to win,” Holt said. “I’m proud of them for their resiliency, but we’ve got to clean it up. We’ve got a long way to go.

 “We let it snowball on us. We let one become two. That can’t happen. You have to move on from your mistake and play the next play. But we kind of carried it over. We had four returners on offense. We’re down to two playing the same position as last year and we’re asking a little different out of all of them. Our first full game, playing new positions, asking new responsibilities out of people, it’s going to take time to do what we need to do.” 

The Knights played the game without the injured Anna Russo, but played well against the Red Devils, something that hasn’t been the case in previous meetings.

“I think a lot of that came down to want-to,” Toole said. “Our girls came out nervous against Vestavia. We have some eighth graders taking the field and they just needed some experience under their belt, get the nerves out. In the first quarter, they realized that, hey, we can compete with this team. We haven’t competed with this team in three years.”

Harrison led the Central rushing attack with 71 yards on 13 carries and completed 13 of 22 passes for 187 yards with three interceptions. Cook led all receivers with 101 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions, while Sevier added 48 yards on three catches. Kennedi Ellis led the defensive effort with six tackles and an interception.

Fitts led the Catholic rushing attack with 39 yards on nine carries and completed 18 of 32 passes for 152 yards with two interceptions. She also led the defense with eight tackles, an interception (returned 16 yards) and a pass breakup. Sadler had 69 yards on nine receptions, followed by O’Connor with 46 yards and a touchdown on three catches, Rogers with 31 yards and a touchdown on four receptions and Kallie Hampton with 18 yards on three catches.

Catholic travels to Lee-Scott next Tuesday before returning home to play Prattville on Wednesday. Central (1-0) opens region play on Wednesday against Carver.