Friday night brings two district rivals together as Central High School hosts Walker. The recent flood that took place across the Greater Baton Rouge and surrounding areas has devastated both cities. Both sides showed great numbers in support as the stands were completely filled before Kickoff.
Central High School hosted Walker this past Friday night and it was a nice touch to see Central dedicate their school colors to fellow Armed Forces in support for a fallen officer in the community. Central wore black and blue uniforms for their Hall of Fame game to show their support as a community for the Men in Blue.
Walker was first to put points on the board thanks to the power running of Tristan Taylor. Central fumbled on the 1st punt return of the evening to help the Walker Wildcats get into good field position. Central drove down the field late in the 1st Quarter but failed to convert on the field goal attempt leaving it 7-0 at the end of the 1st.
Late in the 2nd Quarter, Walker found a little rhythm with some nice play calling and a beautiful flea-flicker pass from Judd Lockhart for a big play. Shortly afterwards, Jacobi Scott found Ke’andre Ventress on a beaming 35-yard touchdown pass to bring the score 14-0 before halftime.
Things began to look up for Central as Walker had a bad snap to start the 3rd Quarter off for a field goal attempt. The turnover sparked the offensive unit as they effectively moved the chains down the field just before Xavier Lewis rushed for a 3-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats their 1st touchdown of the night. The conversion attempt was good to bring the score to 14-7 with Walker holding the lead.
Walker responded shortly afterwards on the next drive by maintaining composure at the quarterback position. Comfortably sitting in the pocket, Scott found several receivers on the drive to finally set up a field goal attempt that was good. The score, 17-7.
Central came up with a field goal of their own on the next drive to narrow the score to 17-10 with Walker still holding the lead with 7:00 left to go in the game.
Walker refused to ease off the gas pedal as Jacobi Scott led the offense once again down the field with accurate passing. Jalen Hills found the end zone once the Wildcats were deep in opponent’s territory. Hill marked the 2nd rushing touchdown of the day for Walker.
A late interception from Central would allow Walker to run the ball and the clock down bringing the final score to 24-10.
By: Alec Miller