Central Takes Win In Scrimmage
by: Jerry F. Rutledge

As preseason scrimmages go, both the Central Red Devils and the Carver Tigers got what they needed out of the game-style workout at Garrett-Harrison Stadium Thursday night.

Central got the win, scoring 27 points in the second half to defeat defending Georgia AAA champion Carver 27-14 in front of an estimated 6,000 fans and a regional cable audience.

But both coaching staffs got a view of their squads in game-like conditions, an invaluable tool going into next week's regular season.

"We have a long way to go," said Central coach Ron Nelson. "But it was good to see our players put forth a lot of effort. They'd been hitting each other and it was good to hit somebody else for a change."

Nelson said he was proud of how his team came back in the second half after being dominated by Carver in the first, as the Tigers built a 14-0 lead early in the third quarter. "We got our offense going after struggling in the first half," Nelson said. "I was proud of how we got back in it."

Despite the loss, Carver's Dell McGee felt the game was a success in that he was able to work in a number of young players in the second half. "We saw some things we need to work on next week," McGee said. "We had some problems with our punter and we made some mistakes and penalties we need to correct. We were up 14-0 with our starters out there, but we got to play a lot of players."

After a scoreless first quarter, Carver linebacker Jarvis Jones intercepted a Darren Daniel pass at the Central 48. A mere 12 seconds later Carver was on the board, as Malcolm Chinn took an inside reverse from his wing position and ran 48 yards down the sideline to give Carver a 7-0 lead after Ray Gardener's point after kick.

The Red Devils open the season next week against Shaw at Garrett-Harrison Stadium.