Tigers entertain Panama tonight in District A-8 showdown

The Central Tigers took a grasp of District A-8 two weeks ago when they defeated the Gore Pirates at Tiger Stadium.

Tonight, the Tigers can pretty much lock up the district title when they entertain the second-place Panama Razorbacks at 7 tonight at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers (8-0 overall, 5-0 in district play) are the only undefeated team in the district. Whenever there’s been a big game, the Tigers seem to step up.

“We’ve talked about it all year,” Central coach Jeremy Thompson said. “The games continue to get bigger. Playoffs are around the corner, and they’ll be bigger ones to come. This team has responded in every big game. They’ve played in a lot of them. This will be the biggest one so far. It makes you take it week by week and focusing on what they have to do. If they do, we’ll be in good shape.”

Winning such games takes strong play in all facets of the game — offense, defense and special teams, all of which so far has been happening for the Tigers.

“We’re playing well on both sides of the ball,” Thompson said. “Offensively, we’ve got things going. Our offensive line is playing very well, and they continue to gel together. At the skill positions, we continue to make plays. In a lot of big games, your third-down conversions are huge. To be positive (in making yards) on first and second downs are big for us. Defensively and on special teams, we’ve had blocked punts and created turnovers, and that gives your offense that more of a chance to succeed and put points on the board. We have to continue to do that.”

The Razorbacks (5-3, 4-1) put themselves in line to possibly win the district title with last week’s 28-8 shocker over the Pirates at Panama’s George Ollie Stadium. The win put them a game behind the Tigers.

“They are big up front,” Thompson said about the Hogs. “They run the ball between the tackles. They stay behind that offensive line. They really have three good running backs, including their quarterback. He’s running the ball more this year, and he’s running well. They do what they do very well. They’re another team that continues to get better on both sides of the ball. We definitely have to come into this week’s game mentally prepared for a physical football game.”

Thompson said his team needs to continue playing well in all phases of the game, but with an emphasis on scoring each time the offense gets inside the opposing team’s 20–yard line.

“On the defensive side of the ball, we need to create second (down) and long against them,” he said. “Offensively, we have to finish drives. The past two weeks, we’re moving the football and not getting points out of it. That’s a big thing for us this week. We have to come in and get points out of those drives. When we get into the red zone, we have to get points out of it.”