By Chris Parker
The Central football program continues to make strides. After winning eight games in 2022, numbers within the program are trending up.
“It has been promising. It starts with the incoming freshmen. We went from having 12 (freshmen) a year ago to having 25 this year. To have an actual freshman squad come in the door tells a lot. They see good things happening,” Central head coach Shem Johnson said.
Johnson will look to keep his team focused on either matching or exceeding last season’s results.
“When you come off a year like last year, it is easy to take a lot for granted. Keeping these young men’s minds right and keeping these coaches’ minds focused on the big picture, which is consistency, that is the whole issue,” Johnson said. “To repeat another season like last year isn’t impossible, it isn’t even a hope, it is ‘this is what is going to happen’. We try to follow the blueprint that these successful schools around the area do. You keep it simple and show up and go to work.”
Six starters return on offense led by quarterback Antonio Starks-Fewell.
“He (Starks-Fewell) has picked up a lot as far as how to read a defense out in front of him. Watching him at 7-on-7 this summer, he is more of a calm player now. Emotions run high a little bit when things don’t go the way he is hoping, but that comes with a guy who is just an athlete and competitor,” Johnson said.
The Bulldogs will look to a running back by committee approach with seniors Jalen Ndongi and Devin Adams.
Colin Boles will be a key player out of the slot on offense.
“He (Boles) has been a solid No. 2 the last year. He knew what he had in front of him, so he was biding his time until it was his turn. He knows what to do. He probably is the best route runner that we have. He is also very technical. He is also an ex-track guy, so he has some speed and great hands,” Johnson said.
Lucas Ryan and Xavier Cole will be the top wide receivers.
Up front, the offensive line will be looking for new players to step in for graduated players.
“The line will look very new as a whole because the guys that they are replacing were four-year starters,” Johnson said. “The guys understand the roles they are stepping into. They know they have shoes to fill, and they are willing to do it.”
Dominic Odom, Trevor Wilson, Ben Brown and David Lopez are four players to watch on the offensive line.
The Bulldogs will look to push the ball down the field at a quicker pace this season after graduating some size on offense.
“We are trying to move the ball quickly. That is the key,” Johnson said. “A year ago, we could sit there and say run the rock. We had a guy could really make opposing defenses have to work in order to get their stops. We lose a little bit of size as a whole, so we want to be a little bit quicker and let’s be a little more efficient in our game-planning. Instead of relying on one or two guys it is all for one and one for all. That is our identity is get out and move the rock fast (and) exploit our own size difference. We are smaller but quicker.”
Defensively, eight starters return and none are more important than Wilson at defensive end. Wilson holds the record for sacks at Central.
“This kid is by far the No. 1 point on our defense. He can come down the line at you or come up the line at you,” Johnson said. “Coming off the edge, if you aren’t doubling him you are going to be in trouble all day.”
Wilson has a stable of moves to frustrate opposing offensive lines.
“He has developed quite a bit in his arsenal. He already had a few natural moves, but he has added a couple more between then and now,” Johnson said. “At the high school level, you have a lot of kids who play linear ball. They go straight and that is what they do. When you have a special young talent like (Wilson), he gets what he has to do. He gets what the offensive tackle is doing, so he has a counter for that. If you just have a linear player, you are going to lose every time against (Wilson) because he is an extremely intelligent ball player.”
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF OUR FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS
Rashad Smith and Joshua Nelson will also be on the defensive line.
Twins Devin and Dalvin Adams return to the middle of the defense at linebacker.
“They both play similarly. The biggest difference is that you have one guy who can run down hill, and you have another guy who can cover in the flats or even cover deep,” Johnson said.
Rowen Hart, the younger brother of former Bulldog great Ahmias Hart, will bring his 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame to the linebacking corps.
“He (Hart) has vision and understanding of how to read a quarterback, a running back and the line. Watching this come straight downhill at you is going to be scary. He is already a big kid without pads, and you put him in pads, and he looks like he is probably about 230 (pounds). He is just a monster holding down the middle. He can flow left and right. We are looking forward to him eat running backs alive,” Johnson said.
The secondary will feature Jordan Pittman, Davontre Vaughn, Donovan Martin and potentially Starks-Fewell.
Central will travel to Rogersville for a Jamboree with the host Wildcats, Strafford and Hillcrest. The Bulldogs open the regular season on Aug. 25 at Clever.
“Our two main goals in the beginning are to win one game at a time and see if we can finish this thing 9-0. Then let’s be ranked up there in our district at the end of the season so we can have another home (playoff) game to bring a beautiful crowd and a beautiful situation to our Bulldog Nation. Once we do that, we let the rest take care of itself. It is hard to talk about district titles and things like that when you are still in the infancy of changing your program around, but it is not something that is out of the picture.”
