By Jared Keene
NEFJ Correspondent
MANSFIELD – Losing to St. John’s Prep in the opening week of the season really did not sit well with Springfield Central.
Just ask Mansfield.
The Golden Eagles had two weeks to prepare after being off last week, but instead focused more on themselves and improving in areas they can control. Central made the long drive from western Mass and showed up to the Hornets’ Alumni Field with a business-like attitude, ready to get after it.
Junior running back Isaiah Rogers rushed 30 times for 217 yards and three touchdowns and the Eagles defense limited Mansfield’s balanced attack, helping Central to a dominant 28-3 victory on Friday night.
“We came in here with the understanding that Mansfield is a very good football team and a great program,” Eagles head coach William Watson said after his team improved to 1-1. “We wanted to come in here tonight and be physical and play well in all three phases of the game. We have a lot of pride and we work hard, and whenever we lose, we’re going to watch the film and fix our mistakes.
“We want to come out and show that we’re better the next game and I think we came out and showed that tonight against a good football team.”
The Hornets (2-1) opened the game by moving the ball effectively until they hit the red zone, where two costly penalties and poor execution limited them to a James Warren 25-yd field goal instead of a touchdown.
From there, it was all Central.
Jareth Staine’s 43-yard deep ball to Derrick Johnson Smith got the Golden Eagles on the board, with Jacoby McCoy’s (4-of-4 PAT) point after making it 7-3 late in the first quarter.
Rogers actually got off to a bit of a slow start before he found paydirt from 18 yards out for a 14-3 lead with 7:15 left in the first half. Central took that same lead into the half before the Golden Eagles came out and went 80 yards in three plays to open the third, with Rogers breaking free for a 49-yard score and a 21-3 lead.
“We came out here to make a statement,” Rogers said. “We lost by one in our opener, so we wanted to dominate and make a statement, and show that we’re the best team in Massachusetts.”
With the game in firm control, Central fed Rogers often in the second half. Running behind an O-line consisting of David Kerr, Gavin English, Adam Gomez, Vernon Charles, Bruce Earl, and Joaxis Medina, Rogers hit the holes hard and did damage running both between the tackles and to the outside.
He capped off his day with a 32-yard scamper with 4:36 left to play to round out the scoring.
“Shout out to my O-line,” Rogers said. “We’ve been working on the run game since week one. Coaches came up with a great scheme to dominate the run game tonight and it showed.”
“Isaiah did a terrific job and I thought the O-line led the way,” Watson said. “Our guys were driving, moving their legs, and Isaiah lowered his pads, made the correct reads, and hit the holes. That’s what we expect out of him.”
