BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN – In recent years, the matchup between Auburn High School and Central High School has become one of the state’s premier football games, oftentimes with bragging rights, region titles and postseason aspirations on the line.
Friday’s game was no different. And after four quarters, it was the Red Devils (6-1, 4-0) who walked out of Duck Samford Stadium with a stunning 36-0 road region victory over the Tigers (5-2, 3-1). Junior quarterback Bobby Coleman completed 15-of-23 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns and the CHS defense held AHS to 173 yards of total offense in the win.
Coming off a 49-14 loss to IMG Academy (Fla.) last week, it was just the kind of game the Red Devils needed to reassert themselves as one of Alabama’s top 7A contenders. However, CHS head coach Patrick Nix dismissed his team’s performance as a complete domination over their bitter rival, citing the 10-0 score at halftime.
“It’s not like you’re dominating the game,” Nix said. “Our defense dominated the game all night and played really well. Then obviously offense made some big plays, got going a little bit. I think the field goal before [halftime] was massive.When you walk into this place and win, you feel really good. Last week was last week, and you just keep right on moving. I think coming to Auburn and beating Auburn is enough said.”
While there were plenty of standout performances for CHS, freshman wide receiver Braylen Averett’s three receptions for 102 yards and two TDs stood out in particular. In a position group filled with future college players, it was Averett who led the way against what had been a stingy AHS secondary to that point.
“Great player, very young, still learning,” Nix said. “He had a couple of opportunities during the game and was very disappointed in himself at the end of the first half. But he sure made up for it in the second half, for sure. He’s a dynamic player. We’ve just got to get the ball in his hands, and he makes plays.”
For AHS head coach Keith Etheredge, the lopsided defeat came down to who could make plays and who couldn’t. While the Tigers did make some plays on both sides of the ball, they weren’t enough to overcome the Red Devils’ swarming defense and explosive passing game.
“They played well tonight,” Etheredge said. “Their defense played really good tonight, and we couldn’t get anything going. We couldn’t get our run game going, which, in turn, let them lay their ears back and come. And they’re so athletic, they’re so good off the edge. And their receivers are really good. They break tackles, and they can make small chunks into big ones.”
Despite the disappointing loss, Etheredge expressed confidence that his team would respond positively against a Smiths Station High School program that has already won as many games this year as it did the previous three seasons combined.
“I think that if we come in and have a good week of preparation, we get right back in that win column,” Etheredge said. “Smiths Station is a very much improved team. They’re very much improved. So we’ve got to come ready to play.”
Despite the large final margin of victory, the first half began as a gritty defensive battle over field position. With their offense sputtering, the Tigers’ defense was routinely called upon to defend short fields as the Red Devils’ average starting field position was at the CHS 49 yard line.
As both defenses kept the opposing offenses at bay, CHS received the break it needed to open the game up after Marquise Cooper intercepted a pass at the AHS 13 yard line. From there, it only required one play — a 13-yard pass from Coleman to Mike Bass — for the Red Devils to go up 7-0 with 4:07 left in the first quarter.
Following that TD, the game returned to its status quo as both teams stalled offensively due to withering pass rushes and self-inflicted errors.
Then, with 5:35 left in the second quarter, CHS received the ball at its own 32 yard line and went on a 12-play, 53-yard drive that consumed virtually all of the remaining game clock. Despite the drive petering out around the AHS 15 yard line, Jack Ciancio extended the Red Devils’ lead with a 33-yard field goal.
That put CHS up 10-0 with 11 seconds left before halftime.
After the break, both teams continued to struggle to move the ball until the Tigers fumbled at their own 33 yard line with 7:40 left in the third quarter. Facing another incredibly short field, the Red Devils quickly marched into the end zone with three plays, including a 21-yard pass from Coleman to Averett.
With CHS up 17-0 with 6:56 left in the third quarter, the game took on a much different tone than it had up to that point.
Following another empty-handed AHS drive, the Red Devils took control with a two-play, 85-yard drive that began with a 20-yard Donovan Crow run and ended with a 65-yard screen to Averett, who broke several tackles to put CHS up 24-0 with 4:01 left in the third quarter.
Not long after that TD, it appeared the Tigers had received a break to get them back into the game after the Red Devils fumbled at their own 8 yard line with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
That good fortune quickly turned to misfortune as AHS fumbled the ball on its very first play, which led to a 96-yard scoop and score TD that stunned the home crowd and put CHS up 31-0 with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
From there, a safety following a bad snap on a Tigers punt attempt with 11:05 left in the fourth quarter and a 27-yard Ciancio field goal with 5:35 left in the fourth quarter ended the scoring.
What’s Next
The Tigers will travel to Smiths Station to face the Panthers in a 7A Region 2 game on Oct. 10. SSHS is currently 2-5 overall and 1-3 in region play, and coming off a 42-32 win over Johnson Abernathy Graetz High School.
So far, the Panthers have scored 19.1 points per game while allowing 35.6 points per game. In comparison, the Tigers have scored 25 points per game while allowing 15.4 points per game.
The Red Devils will travel to Montgomery to face Carver High School in a 7A Region 2 game on Oct. 10. CHS is currently 5-1 overall and 4-0 in region play, and coming off a 49-14 win over Enterprise High School.
So far, the Wolverines have scored 37.8 points per game while allowing 15.2 points per game. In comparison, the Red Devils have scored 25 points per game while allowing 15.4 points per game.
