Westside pulls away to knock off Central
The Westside Seminoles won their second straight GHSA Region 4-3A game Friday night, defeating Central 40-20. The Seminoles used a balanced attack, rushing for 168 yards and passing for 167, while the defense, after giving up 20 points in the first half, limited Central to 93 yards and zero points in the second half. The win moves Westside to 3-2 in the region, and they can clinch the third seed in the region with a win next week.
Central was in a must-win situation, but it could not quite get it done as it ended the regular season at 6-4 after a 5-0 start.
Four who mattered
Savion Knowlton: The senior quarterback threw two touchdowns in the game and passed for 167 yards. His 36-yard pass to Omar Jones in the first quarter gave Westside a 12-0 lead and then added a 33-yard strike to Brenden Anderson in the third quarter to move Westside’s lead to 33-20.
LaKelvin Clark: Clark set the tone for the game on the opening kickoff when he took the ball and10 broke several tackles and actually lost his shoe at the 50. But he finished the run with just a sock left on one foot for a 90-yard score. He added a 4-yard score in the second quarter. Clark ran for 84 yards on 16 carries.
Antonio Sanders Jr.: The Central senior running back had 104 yards and a touchdown in the first half but was unable to continue midway through the third quarter due to injury. He ended the game with 153 yards rushing. Central was unable to mount any type of offense after he left the game.
Stephon Jones: The Central quarterback threw two touchdowns in the first half to keep Central in the game and ended with 128 yards passing.
Turning point
Central had the ball to start the second half but had to punt after three plays on offense. Westside moved the ball, and Knowlton connected with Anderson to give Westside a two-score lead. But unlike the first half, Central was unable to answer with a score of its own. Sanders broke loose on a 40-yard run on the next possession to move the ball to the Westside 33, but on the next play he took a hit after a 4-yard run and was unable to continue.
Observation
Showing some fight: After spotting Westside 12 points, the Chargers showed some fight. They made it a 12-6 game on a Sanders touchdown run and trailed only 26-20 at the half. But Westside played inspired defense in the second half to end Central’s season.
They said it
Westside head coach Spoon Risper on the importance of getting an early lead: “We wanted to set the tone, and I can’t even begin to say how big the kickoff return was for us. We played with a lot of confidence the entire game and made some adjustments at the half, but getting ahead against a stout defense was huge for us.”
Risper on the Westside tradition showing up: “These kids expect to make the playoffs because they have seen all these Westside teams make the playoffs for the last 19 years. We had some adversity early in the season, but I never doubted these kids’ ability. I feel like we are peaking at the right time of the year.”
Central head coach Jesse Hicks on the loss: “Obviously the season did not end like we wanted it to end, and we are disappointed after starting off the year at 5-0. But I am very proud of these kids and the way they battled all year. We just have to go back to the drawing board and get better for next year.”
Hicks on what the loss of Sanders: “First and foremost, we are here to protect these kids when they are hurting. Antonio and many others have played through injury all year. I am proud of the effort the entire team gave. We just had a really bad first quarter, and we couldn’t get out of the hole.”
What’s next?
Westside travels to Kendrick on Friday.
This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Westside pulls away to knock off Central."