Five forced turnovers and timely offense have the Central Rockets heading to state semis
Central quarterback Katravis Marsh dropped back, scanned the field and heaved a third-down pass down the right sideline. Geovanni Ribalta caught the pass in stride, sped past two Dillard defenders and strolled into the end zone to break open a scoreless game late in the first quarter.
The 56-yard catch and run gave the Rockets early momentum.
Big turnovers from the defense made sure it stayed in Central’s favor.
The end result: A 35-0 Central win over host Dillard in the Region 4-6A Final on Friday in front of a standing-room only crowd at Otis Gray Jr Memorial Stadium.
The Rockets (10-3) have now won their three playoff games by a combined 129-23 score with a pair of shutouts. They advance to next week’s Class 6A state semifinals when they travel to Manatee County to face Palmetto. Dillard finishes the season 12-1.
But shortly after the game ended and his team had its time to celebrate, coach Roland Smith huddled his team together and reminded them of where they are.
One more win, and Central has the chance to compete for its first state title since 2015.
“Our job is not done until we get to the big dance,” Smith said. “Be ready to go to work.”
They certainly went to work on Friday.
Central’s defense forced five turnovers that resulted in the Rockets’ final 28 points and turned what seemed like a close game early into a blowout.
Amari Daniels scored rushing touchdowns of 8 and 2 yards following Yulkeith Brown and Wesley Bisssinthe interceptions in the second and third quarter, respectively.An Aaron Honer fumble recovery set up Marsh’s second touchdown of the game — a 10-yard strike to Chamon Metayer.
And Reuben Bain put the running clock in motion by scooping up a botched pitch in the Dillard backfield and taking it about 35 yards for a touchdown.
“Great effort,” Smith said. “I can’t say enough about my defensive coaching staff. They did a tremendous job preparing our kids for the postseason.”
Marsh completed 9 of 12 passes for 163 yards and the two touchdowns. Daniels had 63 yards rushing on 16 carries. Fellow tailback Kejon Owens had 81 yards on 12 carries.
