Central’s answer to Unity-Payson’s strong start keeps good times rolling for state-ranked Panthers

CAMP POINT, Ill. — There is an entertaining tradition on Friday nights at Central’s home football games.

In between the third and fourth quarters, Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” can be heard booming from the loudspeaker. And it’s as if fans and players alike begin to anticipate the arrival of the sing-a-long portion of the soft-rock classic.

When the recording reminds listeners that “Good times never seemed so good,” combined with the familiar “Bum! Bum! Bum!” refrain, the Central crowd — and the football players along the sideline — combine to sing as one, many with their right hands in the air pumping to the beat of the music.

Yes, the good times may truly have never seemed so good at Central, ranked fifth in Class 1A. After Friday’s 30-8 win over Unity-Payson, the Panthers are 3-0, and barring some sort of natural disaster, are well on their way to a 14th consecutive trip to the postseason.

Central coach Brad Dixon was mildly surprised when asked about how the Neil Diamond song became so tied to the Panthers program.

“Really?” Dixon asked. “I’ve never noticed. I’m too into the game … but that’s a good song to do that to.”

Well before the Neil Diamond tune arrived as scheduled, Central survived a wake-up call in the first quarter that saw Unity (1-2) scoot to an 8-0 advantage. Quarterback Ryle Duke broke loose for an 11-yard scoring run and running back Bryan Dieker added a two-point conversion.

Central responded in much the same fashion it has this year — and over the past decade-plus. Following an overall shaky first quarter, the Panthers were able to gain control of the momentum with their familiar clock-consuming ground game, plus a rock-ribbed defense that swallowed up a Unity attack centered around the talented Duke and Dieker.

Central scored the final 30 points and was more or less in control by halftime when the Panthers led 14-8. Central left no doubt about the outcome with two more touchdowns in the third period.

“We had a great start, we came out and punched them right in the mouth,” Unity-Payson coach Matt Woodworth said.

Woodworth lauded Central’s depth and ball-control ability as eventual turning points that led to Unity’s sixth straight setback to the Panthers. Central owns a 9-2 series edge since the two schools became Western Illinois Valley Conference North rivals in 2012.

“Give (Unity) credit,” Dixon said. “They came out and played hard … so how would we respond? I think you saw how we responded.”

Start with that vaunted Central ground game.

The Panthers’ rushing attack enjoyed another stellar night, finishing with 279 yards. Seven different Panthers carried the ball three or more times, led by Isaac Genenbacher, who registered 82 yards on 10 totes. In addition, Genenbacher caught two of quarterback Nick Moore’s passes for another 43 yards.

Ross Riley (72 yards) and Conner Griffin (63 yards) were also major contributors to the Central ground game.

Central has stockpiled 857 yards rushing over its first three games, the primary reason the Panthers have outscored their first three opponents 119-8.

“I told our guys we had to wear them down,” Dixon said. “I knew we had more depth.”

Riley scored two of Central’s touchdowns on a pair of 2-yard bursts. Griffin added a touchdown on a 1-yard run and Gavin Graves scored on a 5-yard blast.

“(Unity) came out and hit us hard,” Central defensive lineman Ross Wilkey said. “It was a wake-up call.”

Both Wilkey and tight end/linebacker Carter Eyler said they could feel the Panthers gaining control of the game in the second period. Wilkey pointed to an interception by linebacker Darren Rigg that squelched a Unity drive and set up Central’s first scoring drive as one of the keys.

“You could sense the tide was turning,” Wilkey said.

Added Eyler, “Yeah, we could all sense that, for sure. We were able to wear them down. We have a lot of depth and we always have fresh bodies.”

Duke, who had thrown for 307 yards in Unity’s first two games, was held to 55 yards against Central. Duke is on pace to become the 26th passer in area history to reach 3,000 yards for his career. He now has 2,706, which is third all-time at Unity behind Brodie Dunker (5,035) and Josh Rabe (3,340).

Duke also led Unity with 69 yards rushing.

Dieker caught six passes out of the backfield for 45 yards.