George Washington storms back to take down Central High 29-20
Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Anthony Franklin | October 29, 2023
The final Friday in October generally in this part of the country is chilly, windy and many times rainy. This game was played under 70 degree sunny and humid conditions. Central entered the game as the #3 seed in the Public League 6A quarterfinal matchup despite having a lesser record (2-6) than their opponent George Washington HS (7-1) due to them playing in a higher tier division.
The game would start with Central receiving the ball and after an initial 1st down the Lancers offense would stall giving GW Eagles the ball. With freshman QB Logan Jerry unavailable the Eagles ran with Jr. Athlete Jaheim Bennett under center most of the game. The Eagles would go 3 and out before Central got their second possession and Jr QB Aidan Mcelhatton found Sr stud Wr Vance Johnson for a 68 yard touchdown to give the Lancers an early 7-0 lead. The Eagles would gain a little traction before fumbling giving Central the ball back with a short field. After a couple GW penalties and 2 first down running plays So RB Jordan Nicholson punched it in from the 2 yard line to provide a 14-0 early 2nd quarter lead for Central. The ensuing possession would lead to another GW fumble which luckily their defense stood strong on 4th down to give the ball back to the offense.
This may have been the game changing point as the Eagles offense started utilizing Jaheim’s legs more as he powered through and around would be Central tacklers and the end result would be a rushing touchdown for him with just over 1 minute left in the half to cut the deficit to 14-8 at the half. To start second half Washington tried to utilize the passing game but penalties and dropped passes would lead to them punting then opening possession. Their defense would step up with 2 key turnovers including a 3 quarter interceptions” (Jamar Coleman) to spark the team which led to Jaheim on a short field rushing in to tie the game midway through the 3rd quarter. From that point Jaheim would rush for 2 more scores providing the winning margin after Central scored a late TD for the final 29-20 score. Jaheim led the Eagles in rushing with another 100+ yard day while scoring all 4 TDs. The Eagles advance to the semifinals for the first time since the 2014 season where they’ll meet a familiar foe in Northeast which won its quarterfinal easily over Kensington High 57-0. Central will be idle for a few weeks until their annual thanksgiving day clash with Northeast.
The win was the first playoff win for Head Coach Austin Brasche and he provided the following when questioned about the adversity the team faced going down early to Central on the road “Our message all year has been “Next Play.” When things are going really well or really poorly we start saying that to each other on the sideline as a reminder to stay in the moment and focus on what you can control. The players and coaches have responded really well and grown throughout the season to focusing on their job in those tense moments. The leaders on the team just stuck to the script and kept their composure. Couldn’t be more proud of their resilience in those moments.”
When asked about the importance of Jaheim Bennett he said “Jaheim is a really talented football player that can play multiple positions across both sides of the ball. Over the summer Jaheim and our other starting QB Logan Jerry (2027) split time during the 7 on 7 season and both performed really well. As we got closer to the season we felt like we could be really explosive with both on the field so we moved Jaheim to RB/WR. Starting with the High School of the Future game we started using both at QB again and in this game we felt our best offensive plan was to continue rolling with Jaheim at QB. We are truly blessed to have two dynamic player makers at the position.”
When asked about the importance of getting that first score right before the half he stated “Getting that score in the second quarter was huge for the kids to begin believing in themselves and their teammates that we were going to win the game. We finally strung some plays together without shooting ourselves in the foot. It proved to the kids that we were beating ourselves and if we limited our mistakes this game was still within range for us to win.”
The defense really buckled down after Central jumped ahead fairly quickly. Coach Austin says “I can’t speak more highly of our defense and the performance they had on Friday. After that first drive breakdown they were put in tough positions consistently and always stood strong. They kept us in the game and responded well to the adversity of short fields every time they came out. That play Jamar made on that 3rd down out route was a testament to his film study and attention to scouting reports. Every time we saw that formation on film we had a good idea of what was coming. He trusted the scouting report and the continued reps his teammates and coaches put him in and delivered in the biggest way he could. It was great seeing a kid get rewarded for the time he put into his preparation.”
Lastly when asked what he’s looking forward to in the semifinals he says “I am so excited for the players and fans looking ahead at this matchup with Northeast. This is definitely one of the rivalry games with a lot of history to it up in the Northeast portion of Philadelphia. A bunch of the players from both teams grew up playing on the same little league teams and so it’s going to be a great atmosphere and intense game. I think everyone can expect a really physical contest that will come down to how well we execute and limit our mistakes. It should be a fun game!”
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