KERNERSVILLE
On the final play, pressure came up the middle, causing Glenn quarterback Tajvio Walker to scramble. He went right, then left, dodging and looking for an open receiver. Running out of room near the sideline, Walker flicked the ball out of his left arm toward the end zone, where 6-4 tight end JeVante Crump stood surrounded by three defenders from High Point Central. They jostled for position on the jump ball. But the pass sailed beyond all of them, and as it landed in the grass, the final second ticked off.
Central hesitated to celebrate; Glenn hesitated to concede. Coach Dick Cline of Glenn protested for a minute, hoping for pass interference, hoping for one more play with one of his favorite teams in his long coaching career. But there would be no more. Central had won 14-13, advancing to the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-A playoffs and ending Glenn's season last night.
"My contention was that there was pass interference, which would have allowed us one more play," said Cline, whose team finished 8-4. "(The official) said they were bumping into each other."
The view of the final play, which started from the 25-yard line, obviously looked better from the standpoint of Central (9-3).
"I thought it was a good no-call," Coach Wayne Jones of Central said. "Our guys did a good job of staying back."
The close finish wasn't a surprise. The two teams, both members of the Piedmont Triad 4-A conference, played a 14-7 game three weeks ago, with Glenn winning. This time, a blocked extra-point attempt by Central's Roger Greene near the end of the third quarter wound up being the difference. Otherwise, the two teams answered each other all game.
After Walker hit Dallas Steelman on a 63-yard scoring bomb to put Glenn up 7-0 at halftime, Central opened the third quarter with a 10-play drive, culminating in a 12-yard pass from Mark Smith to Akeem Langham.
Glenn fumbled on its next possession, setting up Central at the Bobcats' 41. Smith promptly hit Langham on a 39-yard pass play, and Central running back Al-daquan Teasley powered in on a 2-yard score to make it 14-7.
"Our guys got the jitters out in the first half," Jones said. "We kind of got a rhythm going."
Then it was Glenn's turn. The Bobcats followed with a nine-play drive that Josh Hawkins, who had a game-high 35 carries and 157 yards, finished with a 4-yard run. But that's when Central's Greene blocked the extra-point attempt.
Central 0 0 14 0 -- 14
Glenn 0 7 6 0 -- 13
G -- Steelman 63 pass from Walker (Thomlinson kick)
C -- Langham 12 pass from Adams (Miller kick)
C -- Teasley 2 run (Miller kick)
G -- Hawkins 4 run (kick blocked)
Records -- High Point Central 9-3; Glenn 8-4.
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