With a playoff game on the line, Central rose to the challenge on Friday. Everything went their way against the Liberty Patriots as they made off with a 35-14 win. Considering the Grizzlies have won five games by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
A big part of Central's victory came down to the chemistry between Jelani Dippel and his top target Daylon Scott. Dippel threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns while Scott picked up 115 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Scott was no stranger to the big play, cutting upfield on a catch that went for 53 yards.
Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 316 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in six consecutive matchups.
Central didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Jareal Albert, Xavior Jones, and Jontae Della picked up one apiece. Central got some further help from Aidan Chavez: he made 16 total tackles (0.5 for loss) and defended a pass.
Despite the loss, Liberty still got an impressive performance from Jalen Murphy, who rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Central pushed their record up to 9-2 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 39.7 points per game. As for Liberty, the loss snapped their winning streak at five games and leaves them with a 7-4 record.
Central will challenge Clovis North at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Clovis North is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 29.5 points per game this season. Liberty does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
