KICKOFF TIMES ALTERED - Sub-Varsity games will kickoff at 6:30 & 8:00PM (Originally 5:30/7PM) while locations remain unchanged (JV At Lamar HS, Freshmen At Charger Field). The Varsity game will kickoff at 7:30PM (Originally 7:00PM) at KISD Stadium.
Fort Worth, TX - The Chargers (0-2) and Arlington Lamar (0-2) roll into Thursday nights Homecoming contest with both sides looking to pick up their first win of the season. Central has come flying out of the gates in their first two games of the season, scoring points on their opening drive against both Plano and Weatherford, while holding a 7-6 advantage over Plano at the end of the first quarter. On Thursday, Head Coach
Mike Sports will be looking for the Chargers to convert a strong start into a strong performance across all 48 minutes.
Lamar will be playing their first road game of the season after suffering back-to-back home defeats against both Timber Creek (49-7) and Waxahachie (14-6). In many ways, it's déjà vu for both program as they both came into their 2022 matchup after picking up loses in their first two games, against the same programs they've faced this season. The Vikings would come out on top in Arlington, claiming a 27-9 victory and finished the 2022 season with a 3-7 record.
Offensively, the Chargers have shown glimpses of brilliance in both the running and passing game. Sophomore
Dylan McAfee has paced a running game that has featured three backs (
Don'Na Wren &
Spencer Martin), running for 138 yards across the first two contests while averaging just over 4 yards a carry. Fellow sophomore
Don'Na Wren has the Charger's lone rushing touchdown of the season when he for 41 yards on 9 carries in the season opener against Weatherford. Freshmen
Spencer Martin rounds out the Charger's extremely young rushing trio.
Junior
Landon Smith and Sophomore
Chevy Andrews have both spent time under center for Central, with both connecting for a touchdown this season. Smith connected with
Masen Caudel for a 19-yard score this past weekend against Plano while Andrews hit senior
JaMareon Moore for a 12-yard touchdown in the season opener against Weatherford. Moore leads the Charger's receiving-core with 8 catches for 93 yards on the season.
Defensively, senior and two-time letter winning linebacker
Weston Underhill is leading the Chargers, averaging 10 tackles per game while junior
Hayden Snow leads the way in solo tackles with seven. The tandem of junior
Brycen Bardin and senior
Christian Hansen have harassed quarterbacks and running backs alike combining for seven tackles for loss this year.
Scouting the Vikings
The Viking offense is led by junior quarterback Gannon Carey. Carey has gone 20-36 for 229 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions while rushing for 46 yards across the first two games. Freshmen receiver Trenton Yancey has been Carey's favorite target with 6 receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown. Senior Sidney Anderson paced the running game in the season opener against Timber Creek, collecting 78 yards on 24 carries, but didn't feature in Lamar's second game of the season. In his absence, the Vikings managed just 41 yards rushing on 30 carries against Waxahachie.
Defensively, after giving up 49 points to fellow KISD program Timber Creek, the Vikings held a strong Waxahichie side with a 2-0 record side to just 14 points. The Vikings have been a handful behind the line of scrimmage, combining as a team for 17.5 tackles for loss, led by seniors Cooper Barnard and Damien Brown with five TFL's each. Junior Deante Gentry, a key contributor for Lamar as a sophomore in 2022, leads the Vikings secondary after collecting his first interception of the year last week.
Kickoff between the Chargers and Vikings is set for 7:30PM, 30 minutes later than the usual 7:00PM, Thursday night at the KISD Athletic Complex.
Keller ISD Athletics offers sports programs that help develop the whole student through athletics. KISD athletics programs will provide student-athletes opportunities to experience competition, leadership roles, self-improvement, goal setting, discipline, coachability, learning from setbacks, accountability, enhance academics, developing positive character traits, and being part of a team. In partnership with families and community, the mission of Central High School is to inspire in all students the desire to learn, the courage to lead, the value of proven character, and the commitment to serve. More information about Central and its coaches, student-athletes and teams is available at
Centralchargerathletics.com
