With a talented offense and a defense that would not give up, the Pounders got another win Friday, August 29, against Polk County. The score was 24-0 at halftime, and both teams were scoreless in the second half. The first touchdown was a 70 yard pass thrown by Scout Morgan to Devin Swafford. Later, Tareq Faleh kicked a 31 yard field goal which made 10-0 at the end of the first quarter. The next score was on the ground, a 6-yard run by Brian Sledge. Near the end of the second quarter, Jacob Delorenzo recovered a fumble and ran it back for a 32 yard touchdown.

“On defense, we stopped every single run,” said Kevin McKenzie, a senior running back/linebacker.

The defense has been very impressive this season. Only allowing ten points the first game and none in the second game is a good sign of improvement.

“We’re not where we want to be, but we’re getting there stride by stride. 200 yards on offense shows us that we improved from last week’s game and that our offense is getting better. Overall the whole team is doing their job and that’s what we need them to do,” said offensive coordinator Coach Gary Bloodsaw.

Central’s next game was against East Ridge. This was the first district game this season for the Pounders. The defense shined again, only letting East Ridge score a 27 yard field goal the whole game. Sadly, these were the only points scored in the whole game. East Ridge scored the field goal in the first quarter and the next three quarters of the game were scoreless.

“The defense will take this one. If we don’t let them score, they can’t win” said Defensive Coordinator  Coach Cortney Braswell.

Senior Wide Receiver Devin Swafford was hurt during the game and was taken off the field by ambulance. He ended up having bruised kidneys and a bruised liver. Devin was released from the hospital Monday but will unfortunately miss the rest of the season.

The Pounders are now 2-1 (0-1) and play a non-district game against the Marion County Warriors tonight at 7:30.