Saturday Rewind: Panthers rely on instincts, smart plays to fend off Mustangs
CAMP POINT, Ill. — The instinctive and smart plays Central football coach Brad Dixon continues to see from some of his youthful playmakers is as encouraging as anything else three games into the season.
Sophomore quarterback Nick Moore delivered one of those plays to help the Panthers build an insurmountable lead Friday night.
Facing third and long on Central’s third drive of the game, Moore set up for a pass play with the wingback expected to be on the perimeter as the intended receiver. Unity-Payson bottled up the target and never allowed him to get into open space, forcing Moore to improvise.
He scrambled for the first down, drew a late-hit penalty once he was out of bounds and kept a scoring drive alive. Ultimately, Sterling Stotts scored on a 5-yard run for a 22-0 lead that propelled No. 8 Central to a 42-34 victory in the WIVC North Division opener.
“That’s a phenomenal play for a sophomore who is setting up in the pocket to throw a pass to a receiver who is not there and then to tuck it and run around the left side is a pretty huge play,” Dixon said.
Even with a three-touchdown lead, Dixon knew not to relax.
Especially on the road.
“We just haven’t really played well there,” Dixon said of the trip to Mendon. “We’ve always had crazy things happen. The last time, our headsets quit working. And the Unity kids play their butts off.”
So the fact the Mustangs put together a rally came as no surprise.
Central led 28-7 at halftime, but after Unity’s Bryan Dieker scored on a 32-yard reception and a 1-yard in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs had made it a one-possession game. Using Dieker and Cecil Hunt in the backfield together in the second half caused problems for the Panthers.
Hunt finished with 77 yards and Dieker had 73.
“They’re both really good,” Dixon said.
But the Panthers were the first defense this season to bottle them up, even though Dixon knows his defense needs to continue to make strides.
“We have a lot of things to clean up defensively,” Dixon said. “We have work to do on that side.”
The defense will be tested again next week when No. 3 Brown County comes calling.
“They do a great job of lining up and playing base defense, and their d-line just tries to lock up the o-line and get off and make plays,” Dixon said of the Hornets. “The fact they can throw it whenever they want is always going to put you in a bind. Hopefully we can wear them down.”
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