The Central High Grizzlies football team has been on a rampage this 2019 season.
The defending TRAC champions entered Thursday’s contest against the Clovis West Golden Eagles looking to move one step closer to another undefeated season.
And they took that step in their 55-21 dismantling of the Golden Eagles at Lamonica Stadium.
But, for a while, the Golden Eagles looked as if they had upset on their minds.
After the Grizzlies jumped out to a quick 14-0 advantage just four minutes into the game, Clovis West responded with a score of its own when running back Brandon Wafer split the middle of the Central defensive line as he raced through the secondary and past the defenders for a 49-yard touchdown to get his team on the scoreboard.
Central wouldn’t let the Golden Eagles establish any momentum by getting back-to-back scoring drives with no answer as Quali Conley caught a Jameson Silva pass out of the backfield, juked a defender and lunged over the goal line for the score to increase the Grizzlies lead back to 14.
Clovis West quarterback, who had an up-and-down performance with three interceptions in the first half, led an answer to the Central score, this time on an explosive play, something that has eluded the team’s offense at times throughout the season.
Senneway lofted a beautiful touch pass down the left sideline to the far corner of the endzone to a streaking-wide-open receiver in Benny Soto.
Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, the Grizzlies defense tightened the screws after that touchdown and showcased the myriad of ways that it can put points on the board.
Central defensive back Jakob Jones intercepted a Senneway pass at the Golden Eagles 30 yard line and returned it all the way inside the 10 to the 8 yard line.
One play later, Conley ran the ball in from that spot.
Senneway was again intercepted the following Golden Eagles possession, this time by Decario Hewitt. Hewitt returned the ball all the way to the house for the score and the rout was officially on at Lamonica Stadium.
Xavier Worthy and Conley added two more touchdowns and the Grizzlies took a resounding 48-14 lead into the halftime locker room.
But, what perhaps has allowed the Golden Eagles to have any success this season showed up in the second half; mental toughness.
“I’m very proud of my team,” Golden Eagles head coach Tim Randall said. “They fought and they didn’t give up…We have a motto in our program that is ‘a high tide raises all ships’, and we talk to the kids all the time about being a high tide.”
And clearly the Golden Eagles players took that message to heart in the second half.
The Golden Eagles essentially shut down the Grizzlies offense in the second half, only allowing the team to score 7 points.
David Pierro, who plays both on offense and defense, had the most explosive offensive play of the night with a 69-yard touchdown reception as he out jumped a Grizzlies defender as if he was fighting for his last meal and scurried to the endzone.
But there just wasn’t enough time left to see if the Golden Eagles could pull of the impossible.
Clovis West now finds itself in the midst of its second three-game losing streak of the season, and the sixth loss in the team’s last seven contests.
They will look to finish the regular season on a high note in the finale against Clovis Nov. 1.