The Keller Central and Justin Northwest football teams were on the brink. Both teams needed wins to have any prayer at a playoff berth in the tough, District 4-6A.
The game was close early, but Central steadily pulled away to defeat Northwest 37-17 on Friday at Northwest ISD Stadium.
With the win, Central improves to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in district play with Northwest all but out of any chance to make the playoffs falling to 2-4 and 1-3 in district.
“This was a huge win for us,” said Central coach Eric Vance. “Our goal is to just go 1-0 on every play and every week. Our district is so tight and I don’t know all of the scenarios, and try not to get involved in that, but at some point we’ll look up and if we go 1-0 enough times then it’ll work out for us.”
Central has a tough road to travel with Hurst L.D. Bell, Southlake Carroll and Trophy Club Byron Nelson left on its slate. The Chargers only previous district win was against Keller Timber Creek, so losses to Euless Trinity, Keller and Haslet Eaton will also hamper their chances.
“Trinity, they beat us,” said Vance. “But we had a close loss to Keller and a close loss to Eaton, who beat us on a last second field goal. Those are ones that you always wish you had back, but you can’t worry about it.”
Central survived a pair of interceptions by Northwest defensive back Nic Curley on back-to-back possessions in the first quarter. The Texans took advantage of the first pick by marching 58 yards in eight plays capped by a two-yard scoring run by Caris Sela that cut the lead to 8-7 with 1:32 left in the opening quarter.
The Texans were unable to take advantage of Curley’s second interception that came five-yards deep in the end zone and returned out to the Northwest 21. The Texans lost the ball on downs at the Central 28.
That was the difference. Central was able to score touchdowns on its other three possessions of the first half.
Running back Spencer Martin darted up the middle for a 22-yard score to open the scoring for the Chargers. Ayden Tucker made it 16-7 with a three-yard TD run and quarterback Isaiah Taylor pushed the lead to 23-10 with 37 seconds left before halftime, also running up the middle, on a 27 yard scoring scamper.
Central’s offensive line was superb allowing the Chargers to do pretty much anything they wanted. Central rushed for 336 yards on the night and threw for 156 more. Martin led the way with 119 yards rushing on 15 carries.
“Our offensive line was just moving really well and creating gaps,” said Martin, who added a 12-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter. “This was a really good win for us and it shows how good of a team we have. I think there’s still a chance for us to go to the playoffs, but it’s going to take 100% from every single player on the team.”
Taylor slipped a quick pass in the flat to Jeremiah Parker who turned it into a 62-yard touchdown to cap the scoring with 10:29 left in the game. Parker led the Chargers with four receptions for 75 yards.
“This win means a lot, but we have to look past this now,” said Taylor, who finished with 91 yards rushing on 14 carries and completed nine of 13 passes for 156 yards. “We have to keep fighting and keep focusing on going 1-0.”
Sela had a terrific game for Northwest rushing for 144 yards on 24 carries and catching two passes for 93 yards. Sela took a screen pass 73 yards to paydirt for the Texans to close out the scoring in the game.
Northwest would likely have to run the table against Carroll next week, then Byron Nelson and Trinity before finishing with Keller Timber Creek. The Texans suffered close losses to Keller and Eaton and defeated L.D. Bell.
“Northwest has a really good team and we knew that coming in,” said Vance. “They have a really good offensive line and a really good running back and they’ve been in every game until tonight. They’re in every single game and could easily be undefeated right now.”
“It just says a lot about out district with how close a lot of these games have been and how tough this district is. Hopefully the UIL (University Interscholastic League) takes notice and gets us all out of it,” Vance quipped.