Camp Point Central ends Carrollton's playoff hopes with win
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CARROLLTON - It looked like this could’ve been a memorable day for the Carrollton Hawks. Up 6-0 with a lead in the second quarter, the Hawks had the momentum, however, reality set in.
Reality’s name was the Camp Point Central Panthers, who were on a mission to get revenge from last year’s 20-18 playoff exit at the hands of the Hawks. They rallied to take the lead back and proceeded to score 31 unanswered points to close out Carrollton’s 2018 season in the second round of the IHSA Class 1A playoffs.
Central (10-1) advances to the quarterfinals and will host the Triopia Trojans next Saturday who defeated the Arcola Purple Riders 42-0.
“They’re a good football team. I thought they did a really good job today just controlling the clock, controlling the ball,” Carrollton head coach Nick Flowers said of Camp Point. “They were kind of folding the wing up inside, running a lot of fullback power-type stuff. We took the inside away. They were running a little bit wider. We took the outside away. They were running it a little bit inside. So they had a good game plan for sure.”
After falling behind in the first quarter on the road against a formidable opponent, the Panthers went back to work on offense and proceeded to score on three consecutive drives while their defense stepped up.
“I had faith in our offense,” Central head coach Dixon said. “We had a couple of things on the script in shotgun today that with the weather we probably shouldn’t have had on there. Once we got back to running the football and doing what we do, then we ran downhill and were able to get the job done up front. When we got backs that we have and the guys up front it kind of justifies what we’re doing works when we play physical football.”
These two teams faced off back in week nine of the regular season in Carrollton two weeks ago, and the Panthers came out 40-32 winners. Central had separate leads of 18-0 and 34-12, but the Hawks managed to find ways to claw back. This time, when the Panthers took a multi-score lead, they made sure not to let Carrollton back in it.
In the previous game, Central quarterback Eric Jones threw a season-high 12 passes, but today he was needed for three as the Panthers stuck to a heavy ground game. Dixon wanted to play to his team’s strength by pounding the ball repeatedly while tiring out Carrollton who have most of their players play both ways. On the other hand, Central has plenty of linemen depth.
“Our offensive line is one way, and our defensive line is one way. That’s a big deal when we can sub out that many guys,” Dixon said. “Give Carrollton credit. They’re playing most of the same 11 on offense and defense. It’s hard when we go on a six-minute drive for them to turn around and have to play offense after they’ve had to defend us for six minutes. They did a great job. Nothing was easy today.”
Midway through the first quarter, Central attempted a fake punt and run on fourth down, but the Hawks line stopped Jones short of the first down. Flowers completed a 32-yard pass to Nathan Walker and then found him in the end zone for a five-yard score to put Carrollton on top 6-0 with 2:04 to play in the first quarter.
The Panthers answered back with a 4:24 drive that saw Jones complete an 18-yard to Cole Williams who was wide open over the top. A two-point conversion gave the Panthers the lead for good at 8-6.
“We had a lot going right,” Flowers said about the Hawks in the first half. “Overall I thought it was a game of conservative calls on both sides early on the first half.”
On the following Hawks drive, Flowers completed 45-yard pass to Garrett Settles down the Central 38-yard line. A couple of players later on the drive, Carrollton had two close chances of retaking the lead. Flowers barely overthrew Walker on a wheel route and on the next play Walker bobbled a jump-ball in the end zone. Chayse Houston intercepted Flowers on the following play and returned the ball to the 33-yard line.
“We had a couple of opportunities there. In playoff football games once you lose possessions it’s hard to get the momentum back,” Flowers said.
Central milked the clock and with 13.7 seconds to go until halftime, Williams busted up the middle into the end zone on a two-yard run that gave the Panthers a 16-6 halftime lead.
Flowers was 19-of-33 through the air for 181 yards and on the ground rushed for 61 yards. He finishes the season breaking Carrollton’s single-season passing yards record with 2,701. The record was previously held by Wade Prough who threw for 2,598 yards in 2016.
Flowers, who tallied 295 yards two weeks ago against the Panthers was troubled for most of the game by their defensive setup.
“We did a lot better job of getting to those drops. [Flowers] does a great job of pre-snap reading and wanting to get to his open guy and we were able to take that first guy away,” Dixon said. “They hit us on a couple of wheel [routes] where he hit the second guy. In high school, it’s hard to look where you want to throw and then come back and throw. We played extremely physical with those receivers. We did enough.”
The six points are the least amount the Hawks have put up at home since Central shut them out in week eight during the 2013 season.
The Panthers received to start the second half and capped a five minute and 42-second drive with a Noah Strohkirch five-yard touchdown run. Williams, who finished the game with 92 yards on 22 carries, scored the last touchdown of the game on a one-yard run with 5:44 left in the game.
Carrollton ends their year at 7-4.
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