Central Holmes won its fourth straight game last week and did it with relative ease.
The Trojans scored at will as they ran out to a 28-0 lead and ended up beating homestanding Oak Hill 56-27 on Friday night.
The Trojans are now 6-3 on the season and have won four straight games. The Trojans will end the regular season this week as they travel to Carroll Academy to play the 7-2 Rebels.
Central Holmes coach Jim Crowder said the Trojans had a good week of practice and it spilled over into Friday night’s game.
“I thought our focus and our physicality and excitement in general was a big key,” Crowder said. “We had a spirited week of practice, probably the best week that we have had. I guess the weather had something to do with that since has cooled off some. We have strung together a couple of wins and the kids are starting to have fun and that’s good to see.”
The Trojans did not start strong as they threw an interception on their first play from scrimmage. But the Trojans responded by blocking a punt to give them the ball at the Oak Hill 38.
Two plays later, Wykece Johnson scored on a 30-yard run and Owen O’Bryant booted the PAT to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.
The Trojans got another short field on an interception by C.J. Head. This time the Trojans went 52 yards in three plays as Noah Steen scored on a 37-yard run. O’Bryant’s PAT was good and Central Holmes led 14-0.
After recovering a fumble on Oak Hill’s next possession, the Trojans went 52 yards in five plays as Steen scored on a 9-yard run. O’Bryant’s PAT gave the Trojans a 21-0 lead.
The Raiders turned the ball over again as Elijah Steen came down with an interception, putting the ball a the Oak Hill 19. Two plays later, Johnson scored on a 2-yard run and O’Bryant’s PAT gave the Trojans a 28-0 lead.
Oak Hill answered with a 10-play, 56-yard drive to cut the lead to 28-7, but the Trojans answered right back with a 90-yard kickoff return from Lawrence Wiley to make the score 35-7. Oak Hill got a 5-yard touchdown run right before the half to cut the lead to 35-14 at the half.
“I think we are starting to develop an identity as a team on offense,” Crowder said. “We are playing to that identity and protecting the football. We turned it over on the first play but didn’t do it again and I thought that was key. We didn’t dwell on it and I was proud that we stuck to our guys and did what we do. Our defense had three or four stops early and that allowed us to get a big lead.”
In the second half, it was a back-and-forth affair for a majority of the third quarter.
After swapping possessions to start the second half, the Trojans struck first with a 3-yard run from Johnson to finish off a four-play, 46-yard drive. O’Bryant’s PAT made the score 42-14.
After Oak Hill answered with a seven-pay, 54-yard drive to cut the lead to 42-20, the Trojans went 65 yards in seven plays as Johnson scored again, this time on a 2-yard run. O’Bryant PAT gave the Trojans a 49-20 lead.
The Raiders went right back down and scored on an eight-play, 51-yard drive but Central Holmes answered with a six-play, 75-yard drive. Johnson had a big 48-yard run and finished off the drive with a 2-yard run for his fifth touchdown of the night. O’Bryant’s PAT made it 56-27 for the final score.
Johnson had another big night for the Trojans as he rushed for 205 yards on 22 carries.
Central Holmes pays a visit to 7-2 Carroll on Friday night at 7. Crowder said the Trojans are in the playoffs and could be anywhere from a No. 7 seed with a win or fall as far as a No. 10 with a loss.
