Long the king of Class 3-A football in Louisville, Central High School showed no signs of being ready to relinquish its crown Friday night.
James Simpson passed for two touchdowns, Corey Johnson rushed for two more and the Yellowjackets’ defense dominated the first half in a 41-21 victory over visiting Waggener on Friday.
Central picked up its 35th straight victory over a district opponent since Kentucky moved from four to six classes in 2007. Waggener (3-2) felt it was in position to end that run Friday, but Central (1-4) was much too strong.
“We talked about a hurricane, and we went into the eye of the hurricane in those first four games,” said Central coach Ty Scroggins, whose team opened the season with losses to Manual, Corbin, Christian Academy and St. Xavier. “We had two hard weeks of practice, and we just came out and played. The first half we dominated.”
PHOTO GALLERY | Waggener at Central
After a punt-filled first quarter, Central went to work in the second quarter to take control.
Johnson had touchdown runs of 9 and 26 yards to give the Yellowjackets a 14-0 lead at the 4:58 mark. After the second score, Waggener fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Central’s Mykah Williams returned it 10 yards for a 21-0 advantage.
The Yellowjackets then recovered an onside kick, and James Simpson’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Ukari Baker and fourth down made it 27-0 with 51 seconds left in the half.
Meanwhile, Central’s defense dominated in the first half as Waggener was held to two first downs (both on pass-interference penalties) and minus-19 yards.
“We just had to stop the run and stop their quarterback (Larry Harper) and stop Jairus Brents,” said Central linebacker Luke Bowman, who had a second-quarter interception. “Those were the main things, and we did that.
“We were ready to win. This was a district game, and we haven’t lost a district game in years. Never will we lose a district game. We weren’t going to start tonight.”
Johnson led Central’s rushing attack with 77 yards on 11 carries, all in the first half. He missed most of the second half with a minor injury, but Scroggins said he should be OK to return next Thursday at Moore.
Simpson completed 9 of 17 passes for 184 yards, with both TDs going to Baker, an emerging sophomore wide receiver.
Waggener quarterback Larry Harper completed 13 of 22 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns, all in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats staged a late rally.
Wildcats coach Jordan Johnson said his team’s depleted offensive line was a key factor in the first-half struggles.
“We’re thin up front, and we try to smoke-and-mirror it the best we can,” Johnson said. “They exposed it early because they’re well-coached and they know what they’re doing. …
“We’re a year and a half into this, and Central is 20 years into it or whatever it is. It’s just some bad habits that crop up when we get hit in the mouth and we get a little nervous.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
WAGGENER 0 0 0 21 – 21
CENTRAL 0 27 0 14 – 41
C – Corey Johnson 9 run (Sebastian Francisco kick); C – Johnson 26 run (Francisco kick); C – Mykah Williams 10 fumble return (Francisco kick); C- Ukari Baker 22 pass from James Simpson (kick failed); W – Tyquan Jackson 15 pass from Larry Harper (Brian Booth kick); C – Baker 75 pass from Simpson (Francisco kick); C – Cherioun Jones 30 run (Francisco kick); W – Booth 15 pass from Harper (Marlon Kimble pass from Harper); W – Manny Harper 5 pass from Larry Harper (run failed).
W C
First downs 9 15
Total yards 197 357
Rushes-yards 17-57 38-173
Comp-Att-Int 13-22-1 9-17-0
Passing yards 140 184
Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0
Punts-avg 4-30.8 3-39
Penalties-yards 7-56 11-107