SAVANNA - For the second straight week Central scored the winning touchdown with under a minute to play as the Tigers rallied to defeat Savanna 12-8 Friday night in the District A-6 opener for both teams.

After a scoreless first half, the host Bulldogs got on the scoreboard early in the third period when they blocked a Central punt. The ball went out of the end zone and Savanna led 2-0 with 10:55 to go in the third stanza.

Savanna added to its lead with 9:45 left in the quarter when quarterback Landon Walker tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Taylor Barr. The conversion run failed and the Bulldogs took an 8-0 advantage to the final period.

Quarterback Shade Kutil of Central completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to tailback Brandon Holt with 11:53 left in the quarter, and the conversion pass failed, keeping the score at 8-6.

Savanna mishandled a handoff later in the stanza, and defensive end Jacob Lattimore recovered the fumble with 1:20 remaining. The Tigers moved to the Savanna 4 before Kutil ran for the touchdown with 36 seconds left. The two-point conversion pass was no good and Central led 12-8.

Central defensive end Joseph Gibson and cornerback Cannon Harrison each broke up a pass attempt by the Bulldogs on Savanna’s final two offensive drives, and an interception by Holt sealed the Tigers’ second victory of the season.

“We tried to run the ball, but we couldn’t, and throwing the ball was a game-changer for us,” Central head coach Wade Couch said. “We dropped six passes earlier in the game, but later we just started catching the ball. They were blitzing their middle linebackers up the middle, and we picked them up. We did a fantastic job of pass protecting, but we had to make some adjustments during the game.

“Our offense started falling in place, and it was magical. The kids elevated their game, and I was very impressed.

“They (Savanna) had 11 yards rushing and 117 yards passing against us, and they had 418 yards of total offense the week before against Konawa.”

Middle linebacker Jake Lineberry had 10 tackles, three of which were for losses, for the Tigers, and outside linebacker Alex Taylor had eight tackles.

Defensive lineman Cole Dillard had two key sacks in the game for the Tigers, and Lattimore also had a key sack, Couch said.

Kutil, who ran for the go-ahead touchdown in the season opener against Foyil with 22 seconds left in the game, was Central’s leading rusher at Savanna with 51 yards on 24 attempts. Rogers added 22 yards on eight tries and Holt had two carries for two yards. Zac Doyle topped the Bulldogs with 22 yards rushing on 12 tries.

Kutil was 10-of-20 for 150 yards in the passing department, and Holt had five receptions for 86 yards. Tight end Kolton Remy caught four passes for 55 yards and Lineberry, Central’s H-back, had one reception for nine yards. Walker was 13-of-23 for 117 yards, and Barr had six catches for 66 yards.

“We did a good job on defense, and I felt a lot better after watching film,” Couch said. “I was pleased and ultra-proud of how they played.

“We worked on our conditioning last week in practice, and it paid off. It was exciting and real good work by everybody.”

Central improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the district with the victory while Savanna fell to 1-1 and 0-1.