A stingy defense, combined with an offense led by Chavis (Mike) Gregory was too much for the larger Nacogdoches Mike Moses Dragons Thursday night as the Roughrider 8th grade 'A' team built a 12-0 lead and then rode its defense for a 12-6 victory at Roughrider Stadium.
"The 8th grade played very well last night," said Center Coach Joey Williams today. "Coach [Tracy] Bolton and I are very happy with the team's performance, but we also know they have a lot of work to do and we have to fix a few things to get better."
Despite the close score, Center dominated the contest from start to finish as the Nacogdoches offense couldn't get started because of the tenacious 'Rider defense.
Center took a 6-0 lead on a score from approximately 50 yards out by Gregory. The two-point conversion failed.
After the Roughrider defense forced a punt, Center took over and Gregory once again led the 'Rider offense on a scoring drive. Gregory bounced in from two yards out to give Center a 12-0 advantage.
Center had an opportunity to score again before intermission, moving the ball to the Nacogdoches 20-yard line. But a fumble allowed the Dragons to stay in the contest, although they still trailed 12-0 at the half.
Nacogdoches' only score of the night came in the fourth period when Gregory was stripped of the ball and a Dragon defender picked it up and ran it in for the score.
With the lead cut in half, 12-6, Center used its ball control offense to run time off the clock and to take the victory.
"The 8th grade 'A' team plays real hard," Williams stated. "They have a great attitude and a lot of talent to go with it.
"We were not able to get much of a passing game going due to the weather conditions for the second week in a row. But even with the rainy weather, the Roughriders were able to come away with another impressive victory."
The Center Junior High teams will return to action Thurday when they host Bullard. Seventh grade games will get underway at 5 p.m., with the 8th grade squads to follow at approximately 7 p.m.