We all know that anything can happen when the high school football playoffs begin, so Central coach Glenn Carter was especially concerned as his Purple Pounders were facing the Watertown Purple Tigers at home Friday night.
Watertown entered the game with a 3-7 record, but had lost three of those games by less than a touchdown and were averaging almost 25 points per game. Carter knew that his team would need to play a near-flawless game to have a shot.
Carter was somewhat relieved when the final horn sounded at Central Memorial Stadium/Etter-Farmer Field with his team ahead by a 47-35 final and improving to 7-4 for the season. The road doesn’t get any easier as Central will face Sequatchie County in the second round after the Indians improved to 10-1 with a win over McMinn Central.
“That’s a huge win for us is the bottom line,” Carter said following the game.
“It’s been a long time since we advanced to the second round, but my guys didn’t quit and we just beat a really good team that’s much better than their record would indicate. Our offense sputtered a little, but our defense and special teams bailed us out and I’m just thrilled that we get to play again next week,” he added.
Watertown coach Gavin Webster knew that his team would have to play well to win. The Fighting Tigers were able to overcome an interception returned for a touchdown and a kickoff return for a TD later in the game, but a short field goal that would have put Watertown ahead in the second half was blocked and returned for a touchdown. That was basically the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“We have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short, but we kept battling the entire game. We were able to overcome the pick six and the kickoff return, but that blocked field goal totally turned things around. I love these guys and am proud of the effort they put forth, so we have no reason to hang our heads,” he nodded.
These two teams traded touchdowns for the first three quarters before Central gained the advantage by scoring three times in the fourth stanza while Watertown only scored once.
The Purple Tigers won the total yardage battle by a substantial 437-292 margin, but they just weren’t able to make the big plays when they were needed most.
It’s hard to say just who the most significant player for Central was as Houston Boykin and Ronye Watson both were outstanding.
Boykin scored the first touchdown on a 32-yard pick-six with 6:23 left in the first quarter before also scoring the second TD for Central on a 20-yard run. But his biggest play may have been the blocked field goal less than a minute into the fourth stanza that teammate Jaylen Igou returned some 78 yards for a score that gave Central a 34-28 lead when Watertown was on the verge of grabbing the lead for the first time.
Watson may be the best player in Chattanooga as he scored three touchdowns in Friday’s win, the first on an 84-yard kickoff return, the second on a 43-yard pass play and the third on a 23-yard run late in the fourth that put the Purple Pounders ahead, 40-28.
Watertown answered once again when Jesse Bratcher scored on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Kaden Waldorf with 4:32 to play to get the Purple Tigers within five at 40-35, but Central’s Amarion Jenkins returned the ensuing onside kick and the Purple Pounders added an insurance score when Caden Jones tossed an eight-yard pass to M.J. Bell with 1:31 remaining.
Watertown had one final possession, but it ended on an incomplete pass on fourth down with less than a minute to play, allowing Central to snap the ball one more time before the celebration began.
Waldorf completed 26 of 43 passes for 354 yards and four touchdowns, but even that heroic effort wasn’t enough to pull out the win.
Bratcher was the leading receiver with 147 yards on 10 catches while Reynolds had 89 yards on six grabs and two TDs. William Burns was the leading rusher for Watertown with 46 yards on 14 attempts and one TD.
Watson was again the guy for Central as he had 116 yards rushing on 15 attempts and two catches for 56 yards. Boykin had 62 yards on nine carries and the two TDs total.
WATERTOWN 7 14 7 7 -- 35
CENTRAL 7 14 7 19 -- 47
CEN – Houston Boykin 32 interception return (Cayden Hicks kick), 6:23 left in first;
WAT – William Burns 7 run (Brody Osborne kick), 1:40 left in first;
CEN – Boykin 20 run (Hicks kick), 8:24 left in second;
WAT – Marcus Reynolds 24 pass from Kaden Waldorf (Osborne kick), 5:26 left in second;
CEN – Ronye Watson 84 kickoff return (Hicks kick), 5:10 left in second;
WAT – Garrett Davis 2 pass from Waldorf (Osborne kick), 0:02 left in second;
CEN – Watson 43 pass from Caden Jones (Hicks kick), 9:58 left in third;
WAT – Reynolds 48 pass from Waldorf (Osborne kick), 8:17 left in third;
CEN – Jaylen Igou 78 blocked field goal return (kick blocked), 11:09 left in fourth;
CEN – Watson 23 run (pass failed), 5:53 left in fourth;
WAT – Jesse Bratcher 27 pass from Waldorf (Osborne kick), 4:32 left in fourth;
CEN – M.J. Bell 8 pass from Jones (Hicks kick), 1:31 left in fourth.
TEAM STATS: WATERTOWN CENTRAL
FIRST DOWNS 22 15
RUSHES-YARDS 31-83 36-200
PASSING YARDS 354 92
TOTAL YARDS 437 292
PASSES (Comp-Att-Int) 26-43-1 8-14-0
PENALTIES-YARDS 4-40 6-75
FUMBLES-LOST 0-0 0-0
PUNTS-AVERAGE 1-35.0 1-33.0
INDIVIDUAL STATS:
WATERTOWN RUSHING: William Burns 14 carries for 46 yards and one TD; Garrett Davis 15 for 41;
WATERTOWN RECEIVING: Jesse Bratcher 10 catches for 147 yards and one TD; Marcus Reynolds 6 for 89 with two TDs; Garrett Davis 2 for 8 with one TD;
WATERTOWN PASSING: Kaden Waldorf 26 of 43 for 354 yards, four TDs and one interception.
CENTRAL RUSHING: Ronye Watson 15 carries for 116 yards and one TD; Houston Boykin 9 for 62 with one TD;
CENTRAL RECEIVING: Ronye Watson two catches for 56 yards and one TD; Joe Jefferson 3 for 12; Justin Jones 2 for 16;
CENTRAL PASSING: Caden Jones 8 of 14 for 92 yards and two TDs.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)