Doyal D'Angelo is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Central High School for AZPreps365.com

Central assistant coach Juan “Buddha” Burciaga said before the game that he wanted to beat South Mountain 60-0, and the Bobcats nearly did that, allowing just one touchdown. 

“It was a fun game for us and right now the sky's the limit,” Burciaga said. 

Central dominated South Mountain at Ray Laing Field on Friday, 63-7, as they saw major contributions from a large pool of players, while the Jaguars struggled to get anything going. 

South Mountain’s first two drives generated minus-10 yards and Central wasted no time scoring back-to-back touchdowns midway through the first quarter, which set the tone for the rest of the game. 

Up 35-0 by halftime, the Bobcats already had the game in order. 

Central defensive assistant coach Edwin Redmond sees the team coming together nicely. 

“Overall the team performance today was really good,” Redmond said. “I feel like the camaraderie and teamwork from the team right now is at an all-time high.” 

It truly was a team effort as Central had seven different players score touchdowns. 

Central running back Khameron Athy rushed 13 times and caught one pass for 164 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Cam Allen completed 10 of 18 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Breon Ballard and Jose Cardenas made impactful appearances on both sides of the ball. 

Ballard had 90 all-purpose yards, a touchdown and an interception. Cardenas had a 10-yard TD reception, four tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles to go along with a great outing for Central’s defense, which forced three turnovers and generated 13 tackles for a loss.

“Everyone really played sound defensively and as a whole, we did exactly what we wanted to do,” Redmond said. 

It was an impactful season debut for Cardenas, who was not eligible to play the first five games of the season because of an Arizona Interscholastic Association rule that requires high school football players to sit out the first five games of a season after transferring.

“After having to sit out five games, I was ready to play and I was waiting for that first hit,” Cardenas said. 

Coming from Bourgade Catholic, Cardenas already feels at home with Central. 

“At (Bourgade Catholic), we were close but not this close,” Cardenas said. “I love these boys with all my heart and they welcomed me as soon as I came here.” 

As Central (5-1) puts South Mountain (1-5) in the rearview mirror, they look ahead to their next matchup against the Trevor G. Browne Bruins (1-5) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Ray Laing Field. 

Central coach Chandler Hovik has not yet beaten the Bruins in his five-year tenure but the team is eager to scratch that off this season's to-do list. 

“That’s a get-back game for us and we need to answer back,” Burciaga said. “We need to let them know that we’re still reigning region champs, we mean business, and we’re not done yet.” 

Central’s last four games of the season are all against region teams and those games will decide whether the Bobcats make the playoffs.  

“We know that every week from here is going to get tougher now because we’re in region play,” Redmond said. “We just want to keep the guys focused and playing at their best as we look towards the postseason.”