Tigers put up 499 yards, 42 points in win at Central

Wil Stephens hauls in a pass against Central Tuscaloosa.
Wil Stephens hauls in a pass against Central Tuscaloosa.

TUSCALOOSA — Demopolis (6-1, 5-0) rolled up 499 yards of offense in a 42-16 win over Central-Tuscaloosa (4-3, 3-2) Friday night.

Rashad Lynch paced the Tigers with 248 yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries. The senior credited his offensive line with the performance.

“Offensive line is doing a great job of blocking,” Lynch said. “Coach really worked on them this week and they’ve really been working hard.”

Rashad Lynch pulls away from a would-be tackler on his way to a touchdown against Central Tuscaloosa.
Rashad Lynch pulls away from a would-be tackler on his way to a touchdown against Central Tuscaloosa.

“They play hard. They’re really smart about what they do,” Causey said of his offensive linemen. “They’re putting their hats where they’re supposed to be and they’re playing really, really hard.”

Lynch set the tone early for Demopolis, scoring on a 50-yard sprint with 4:13 left in the first quarter to give his team a 6-0 lead.

The Tigers found the end zone again on their next possession, covering 80 yards on eight plays and punctuating the march with a 5-yard scoring run by Jayjerrin Craig. Logan McVay added the conversion run for a 14-0 lead.

“We were flat on both sides of the ball tonight,” Central coach Dennis Conner said. “Defensively, we came out about the first four or five series and we couldn’t get a stop.”

The Tigers made it points on three straight possessions when Lynch blasted through a pair of tacklers and scored on a 17-yard run for the 20-0 advantage.

Jayjerrin Craig (6) follows the blocking of Travares Hall (51) in route to a touchdown against Central Tuscaloosa.
Jayjerrin Craig (6) follows the blocking of Travares Hall (51) in route to a touchdown against Central Tuscaloosa.

Central appeared to find some rhythm after a roughing the kicker penalty extended a drive in the second quarter. The Falcons drove all the way to the Demopolis 5 before Demetrius Davis intercepted a pass in the end zone to halt the threat.

The Falcons finally broke through when Eldric Jones took a screen pass from Tyler Bell and went 31 yards for the score. Demopolis scored again on the final play of the first half when Craig caught a bubble screen from McVay and followed a caravan of blockers to the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown.

“First half, I thought we did that really, really well,” Causey said of his offense’s ability to run the ball. “Third quarter, we were extremely flat, but I think that had a lot to do with what they were doing to us. Give Coach Conner and his staff a lot of credit.”

After a stagnant third quarter for the Tigers, Lynch reignited the offense with a 73-yard touchdown run with 4:27 left in the game.

Logan McVay gains yardage in the open field against Central Tuscaloosa.
Logan McVay gains yardage in the open field against Central Tuscaloosa.

Eldric Jones added a 66-yard score for Central while Drew Jones had a 7-yard touchdown sprint for Demopolis.

Eldric Jones led the Falcons with 166 yards rushing in the contest.

A.J. Collier had an interception for the Tigers. Tim Bonner had six tackles with three sacks.

The Tigers host Wilcox-Central for Homecoming next week.

Tim Bonner goes in for a sack against the Central Tuscaloosa Falcons.
Tim Bonner goes in for a sack against the Central Tuscaloosa Falcons.