By Dante Iafrate
NEFJ Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD – A year after Xaverian ended its season in the Division 1 semifinals, Springfield Central got a small measure of revenge on Friday night.

The Golden Eagles held off the three-time defending champs 21-14 behind another big night from Isaiah Rogers.

Both defenses set the tone early, trading three-and-outs and stalled drives for most of the first quarter before Central finally broke through. Jahir Charles hit Kodi Massey on a completion that flipped the field, then found Rogers on a simple flat route that the running back turned into a 21-yard touchdown, making it 7-0 with 2:49 left in the opening quarter.

Xaverian answered before halftime. Will Wood, who had been off target on a few shots down the field, scrambled in from 19-yards out with 3:22 left in the second quarter to tie it at seven, and the two teams went to the locker room deadlocked.

Central wasted no time changing that. Rogers took the first snap of the second half 86-yards to the house.

“My lead halfback made a great block,” Rogers said. “After that, I bounced it outside.”

The touchdown made it 14-7 with 11:38 left in the third quarter and it was Rogers’ second score of the night against Xaverian’s defense.

Head coach Bill Watson said the growth of his group, especially at running back, has been a two-week process.

“We got some young guys, some guys that haven’t started before,” Watson said. “They stepped up effortlessly. I think the biggest thing is we’ve got to establish the trenches, do a better job in there. I think they’re better now than they were two weeks ago, and we will continue to get better.”

Xaverian tried to answer, but Rocco Sestito lost a fumble that Central recovered, and the turnovers kept coming. Jackson Holmes picked off Charles to give the Hawks the ball back and Sestito fumbled again on a run trying to close out the third quarter, handing Central the ball right back at midfield.

The Golden Eagles couldn’t cash in right away, punting twice more, but the offense finally put the game away in the fourth quarter. Charles found Will Davis Jr. on a 33-yard jet touch pass that pushed the lead to 21-7 with 5:34 remaining. Watson credited the spread of playmakers for keeping Xaverian’s defense off balance all night.

“Some days the ball’s going to Will,” Watson said. “Some days it’s going to [Kodi] Massey. Some days it’s going to Brown and some of the other receivers. They hit Isaiah for a touchdown today out of the flat, too.”

Xaverian answered almost immediately when Sargent Chizmadia took the ensuing kickoff back for a score, cutting it to 21-14 with 5:21 to go. That was as close as the Hawks would get.

Central’s defense stuffed a fourth-down conversion attempt on the next possession and after trading stops, Xaverian’s final chance ended when a fourth-down screen pass to Chizmadia was stopped short.

Rogers, who bounced back from a tougher outing against St. John’s Prep two weeks earlier, said the improvement starts with what he sees up front and behind him.

“I told coach to trust our offensive line, let’s trust our halfbacks.” Rogers added, “First play we ran was I formation, after that I was gone.”

Springfield Central moved to 2-1 on the year and faces Westfield on the road next week. The Hawks dropped to 2-1 and host Central Catholic.