By Ronnie Hagood
CENTER POINT – Behind a stingy defense, and some big plays on offense, the Center Point Eagles defeated the Munford Lions, 32-12, on Friday.
The 19-point victory doesn’t tell the story of how dominant the Eagles’ defense was. The first possession of the game for Munford was a small preview of the difficulty the Lions would have on offense all night. Center Point punted the ball after their first drive stalled and the ball was downed on the 1-yard line. The next play, the Eagles defense swarmed running back Corbin Smith in the end zone, tackling him to pick up a safety and take a 2-0 lead.
Center Point’s offense added to the lead two possessions later when Javon Davis would hit RJ Orr in stride across the middle of the field and into the end zone.
The Eagles led 10-0 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Center Point had multiple chances to put the game away early, but overthrown balls and dropped passes kept the Eagles offense grounded. After another Munford punt, Center Point moved down the field and capped its second scoring drive of the night with a 1-yard touchdown run from Jaylen Taylor.
In the second half, it was more of the same from the Eagles’ defense. Munford would gain a few yards, but then the hard-hitting defense of Center Point would force a punt. The lone scoring chance the Lions would have in the third quarter would result in another turnover. Orr jumped the pass from Tuck in the end zone and returned the ball to the 32-yard line.
Jayson Jones is the player everyone wants to see for the Eagles, but on this night, it was the two-way play of Orr that made the difference for Center Point. Orr finished the game with two receiving touchdowns and an interception on defense. Jones made his presence known, with a couple of electrifying punt returns including a 38-yard return for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter.
Despite the victory, Center Point head coach George Bates was not thrilled on the performance of his team.
“We didn’t play well,” Bates said. “I give a lot of credit to Munford, I talked with their coach (Michael Easley) what they do defensively, they cause a lot of problems.”
The win moves Center Point to 2-0 in Class 5A Region 5, which has it tied with Central Clay County High School and Sylacauga High School for first place in the region. The Eagles will hit the road next Friday night to play the Saint Clair County Saints in Odenville, Alabama. The Saints are struggling this season; they are current 0-4 on the season and 0-2 in region play.
“This is one of those things, you’re always blessed to get a win, but it won’t be one of those situations where we go and hoorah in the locker room,” Bates said. “It’s going to be, we’ve got a long way to go. We made too many mistakes, and we’ve got to have a great week of practice to get to where we want to be.”
