Callaway (5-1, 3-0 in region play) used a grinding running game to drive for the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter to overtake Central, and Wilson “Boom” Lindsey came up with a huge interception to seal the victory
Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins told his team a week earlier immediately following its win over Chapel Hill that the road game would be tough one, and it was.
Callaway was up to the challenge, though, winning its fifth straight game while spoiling Central’s homecoming.
“I was just proud of our kids for handling the adversity of the night,” Wiggins said. “We kept fighting and OVERSET FOLLOWS:were able to come away with the win. The big interception late in the game sealed the game for us and I’m just real proud of our coaches and our kids for their effort throughout the night.”
The Lindsey interception came with 1:41 left in the game when Central-Carroll (4-3, 3-1) tried a long pass as the clock ticked away.
Two players fought for the ball, and Lindsey came down with it and was able to run the ball back to the Central 20-yard line before being shoved out of bounds.
Quarterback Tez Parks then kneeled down on the next two snaps until the clock expired, and that was that.
It was a hard-fought win, and Wiggins was pleased with the effort.
“Good football teams find a way to win,” Wiggins said. “I feel like we did that tonight. There’s a lot of things we need to work on. We made a lot of mistakes, but coach (Grant) Chesnut and his staff did a great job preparing his kids. Their kids played extremely hard. It was a great ball game. I was just proud of our kids for continuing to fight throughout the game and finding a way to win.”
In the first half, turnovers led to touchdowns for each team.
After a Callaway fumble, Central went 55 yards for the touchdown, with Curtis Davenport scoring on a 2-yard run, and the extra point made it 7-0.
Callaway thought it had tied the score on its next possession on a Parks 45-yard touchdown pass to Terry Godwin, but the play was negated because of a holding penalty.
In the second quarter, Godwin struck again, and this time his touchdown counted.
The Lions tried a deep pass in Godwin’s direction, and that was a bad idea.
The speedy sophomore stepped in front of the receiver and picked off the pass on the run, and he returned it 65 yards for the touchdown, and Chase Freeman’s extra point tied it at 7-7, which was the score at the half.
“It feels amazing to catch one and take it all the way back home for the team,” Godwin said. “I think they found out that I wasn’t a joke back there. They thought I was going to lay down after the first play, but I came back fighting and picked it off.”
In the third quarter, Central took a 10-7 lead.
The Lions went 53 yards to the Callaway 12-yard line, setting up a 28-yard field goal by Tyler Obukuro.
Neither team did much on offense from there until Callaway’s offense came to life in the fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers took control of the ball on their own 32 yard line with 9:45 left, and they went to work.
The Cavaliers went 68 yards on 10 plays - all on the ground - to score the go-ahead touchdown.
At the 1-yard line, Parks went over on a quarterback sneak, and Freeman again added the extra point to make it 14-10 with 4:30 left in the game.
Central tried to respond, but Lindsey, the Cavaliers’ agile and speedy defensive back, stepped in front of the Central receiver on a pass that came up short and made a leaping catch. He maneuvered back down the field, picked up some key blocks, including a big one from Parks who was in on defense, and made it to the 20-yard line to effectively seal the victory.
“I knew at some point I was going to get one,” Lindsey said with a smile from ear to ear. “It just had to happen at the right time. I thought was going to score, but he caught me on the sideline. I knew they were going to try me up at one time and I had to be ready.”
Callaway will look to move a step closer to a region title when it hosts Haralson County Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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