By Adam Cole, The Opelika-Auburn NewsPHENIX CITY — Hewitt-Trussville tried its best to shake Central-Phenix City upfront Friday night, but it did so with little success in a 37-21 win for the Red Devils, perhaps most evidently in the third quarter.
Hewitt-Trussville vs. Central-Phenix City on August 19, 2022. (Photo by Matthew Poczatek)
Down two scores and facing second-and-11 at their own 15 yard line, the Huskies got tricky, calling an end-around that ultimately got blown up. Central linebacker Lance Pitts swooped in to strip a handoff that Georgia commit AJ Harris fell on in the end zone to pad an already sizable Red Devil lead.
“They got a lot of penetration back there tonight, and that’s what happened on that play,” Hewitt-Trussville coach Josh Floyd said. “I don’t know the whole thing that happened, but watching it live, I know they got a lot of penetration and made a play, so that gave a little bit of separation.”
It was a Red Devil win to start the year, as Central held off a pesky Hewitt-Trussville for the two-touchdown victory at Garrett-Harrison Stadium, and while the Central offense showed up when it needed to, its defensive front proved a vital x-factor.
Of the 64 plays Hewitt-Trussville ran on offense, more than a quarter of them ended with forced negative yardage or no gain. Highly touted defensive line recruit Tomarrion Parker also had a big game for the Red Devils with 3.5 sacks.
Offensively, Central had 495 yards of total offense, with quarterback Jaylen Epps logging a 17-for-28 passing night 231 yards, a touchdown and an interception, as well as 102 rushing yards on 10 carries.
“I thought, for this first being his first start, in this kind of atmosphere, that kind of game, he did great, absolutely great,” Central head coach Patrick Nix said of Epps. “Missed a couple balls (on) his reads, but overall, I thought he looked really, really good and showed what he can do.
“He’s a dynamic runner, throws the ball well and he’s just gonna get better and better with experience and reps and seeing things.”
Nix also said he thought Auburn commit Karmello English — who had five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown — had such a significant early impact that it shifted to Huskies’ defensive focus to the future Tiger and gave way to the Red Devils rushing attack.
Romelo Green and Zackariah Simmons provided that spark on the ground, with 180 yards of combined offense and three scores for Central. Green logged 38 rush yards on seven carries as well as three catches for 49 yards, and Simmons logged 93 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
“Both those guys are really, really good,” Nix said.
After mustering only 118 yards in the first half, Hewitt-Trussville managed to end the night with a 342-yard performance thanks in part to some second-half scores that kept the Huskies around, including a touchdown that re-trimmed Central’s lead to a one-score, 23-15 affair after the Red Devils defensive touchdown.
“We’ve just got to get better,” Floyd said. “We’ve got to get better. I told our guys before the game, ‘This one game doesn’t make or break our season.’ Obviously, wish we were on the other end of it, but just got to bounce back. They’re a really good football team.”
