Johnson leads Jags past Warren Central

Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 11, 2008

Warren Central had momentum. They had Madison Central, a team that is a favorite to contend for a Class 5A state championship within four points facing a third-and-17.

Then, in an instant, all of WC’s fortunes were reversed.

Tobias Singleton ran for 28 yards on a reverse handoff to give the Jaguars a first down. Four plays later, the Jags scored a touchdown on Peyton Johnson’s 1-yard run and that four-point lead ballooned to 11. MC went on to win, 28-10.

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“We’ve been working on that play since August 4 and haven’t had the need to use it,” Madison Central coach Bobby Hall said. “We felt like it was a great time to use it. Warren Central clearly had momentum and we needed a big play and we got it to one of our playmakers.”

Warren Central had only two possessions after that score, one ended in a punt and another when the game ended.

“Our kids played with all they could play,” WC coach Curtis Brewer said. “That is a tremendous football team and we stayed in there.”

Early on it looked like the Jaguars, who have already beaten highly regarded Tupelo this season, would waltz to a victory. The Jags took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in seven plays and took a 7-0 lead on Johnson’s 11-yard TD run. The drive took only 1 minute, 17 seconds.

On the third play of Warren Central’s first possession, a bad snap sailed over quarterback Keaton Sanders’ head. He picked up the ball and tried to make a play, but Madison’s D’Anthony Wilkerson intercepted the pass deep in WC territory. Seven plays later, running back Michael Johnson scored on a 6-yard run for a 14-0 lead.

Another ineffective drive resulted in a punt and the Jags again marched to the WC 11-yard line. Madison then fumbled, though, giving WC the ball back early in the second quarter.

That is when WC  (2-4, 1-2) put together its best drive of the night. The Vikings started at their own 6-yard line and marched 76 yards in 11 plays. They had a fourth-and-inches from the Madison 6-yard line, but a false start penalty backed them up five yards and WC settled for a 28-yard Jared Thames field goal.

A third-quarter fumble led to a Willie Fields’ 3-yard touchdown dive as Warren Central got within 14-10 midway through the third quarter.

“I am not ashamed of anything our kids did,” Brewer said. “They prepared and played hard all game.”

Peyton Johnson added a third touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard dive within the final three minutes. Johnson completed 12 of 17 passes for 141 yards and Michael Johnson led Madison with 57 yards rushing.

Joel Forbes led WC with 83 yards on 11 carries, while Fields added 48 yards on nine carries. Madison outgained WC 353 to 218 as a team.