Career highlight: Central’s Jake Jarreau has First Pick-Six in Wildcats’ 24-6 Win Over Woodlawn
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
They’ve increasingly become popular on respective sidelines to reward game-changing plays from defensive players.
Enter the ‘turnover chain’ that was first introduced by the University of Miami and has since filtered down to the high school ranks where they’ve become increasingly prevalent.
The beauty of seeing Central’s junior linebacker Jake Jarreau with his first such emblem after Friday’s 24-6 victory over Woodlawn was that his contribution to the team’s success had taken place midway through the third quarter.
Jarreau stepped in front of a pass from Woodlawn Ahmad Price and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown to touch off a 17-0 showing in the second half and helped the Wildcats (6-0) make their first step in the District 4-5A race a successful one.
Further adding to the significance to the moment was that it was Jarreau’s first career interception, befitting the ‘turnover chain’ and a hearty smile afterward.
“I’ve never had a pick … ever,” said Jarreau, the team’s middle linebacker. “My eyes were wide. I knew I was getting to that end zone no matter what it took.”
Jarreau was part of another outstanding defensive effort where Central limited its fourth opponent to a touchdown or less. The Wildcats allowed a 61-yard touchdown run to Cayden Randall on a fourth-down direct snap in the second quarter but held the Panthers (2-4, 0-1) to 104 rushing yards and 135 total yards.
Senior defensive end DK Mays, a Houston commitment, had two of the team’s three sacks and Woodlawn recorded 12 tackles for loss in the game.
“We prepare all week, and we’ve got a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball,” Jarreau said. “Every play we’re going after the quarterback. That’s our job to take him out of the game.”
The game was scoreless until Randall’s long-distance touchdown with 3:36 to go before halftime. The son of former Woodlawn coach and LSU quarterback Marcus Randall set up the score with a strip and fumble recovery.
“He’s a guy we rely on a lot,” Woodlawn coach Scott Pellegrin said of Randall. “He’s able to come in the wildcat situation, take some snaps in short yardage situations. He’s always giving great effort on special teams and especially on defense. He noticed they were kind of carrying the ball a little soft right there and he saw an opportunity to in for a strip. That’s the kind of player he is. He thinks the game really well.”
Central answered on its next-to-last possession of the half, driving 56 yards after Blaysen Stoken’s 35-yard kickoff return. Quarterback Jackson Firmin (10 of 20 for 93 yards) completed two of three passes for consecutive first downs and on second and four, rolled to his right on a bootleg, and connected with tight end Jaydon Garnett.
Garnett, who added a team-high 40 yards on eight carries in the second half, turned upfield and was met at the goal line by a crunching hit. He absorbed the hit and continued into the end zone for a 19-yard score and Nathan Zimmer added the extra point with 1:45 showing before halftime.
“I was really proud of the run that Jaydon Garnet made to score that first touchdown,” Central coach David Simoneaux said. “That was a physical run, and we want to be all about that.”
Tyrann Williams and Keithon Womack led the Wildcats with three catches apiece for 25 and 30 yards, respectively.
Woodlawn’s defense stood tall throughout the first half, and behind the play of senior defensive end Chase Walker, had five tackles for loss and a pair of sacks of Firmin. Running back Jay’Cob Jolla led the offense with 22 carries for 62 yards.
“You expect that when you play a great team,” Pellegrin said. “They’re undefeated for a reason. They’re holding guys down. They’re playing amazing defense. We’ve just got to do better. We’ve got to get back to the drawing board with our guys and play better. We didn’t think we couldn’t compete. We have to make sure we execute because when you play good teams you can’t make mistakes.”
Woodlawn picked up a pair of first downs on its first series of the third quarter when a high snap over Price’s head for an 18-yard loss threatened to derail the possession with the Panthers facing a second-and-28.
Jarreau dropped back into coverage and immediately jumped the route Price had his eye on and went into the end zone untouched for a 14-6 lead.
“We were in a man-to-man (coverage) and my man went out,” Jarreau said. “I read the No. 1 receiver and when I peeked back, I saw the quarterback open his arms. I broke on the pass and when I caught it, it was end zone.”
Return specialist Steven Ranel made up for an earlier fumble with consecutive punt returns of 31 and 32 yards that paved the way for 10 points and helped Central score the final 24 points of the game. He returned four punts for a 24.7-yard average.
“It was more about staying the course,” Simoneaux said of his team’s second-half effort. “I liked the way that we were playing and thought we could do it for longer than they could. I was proud of the way our competitive fight raised up in the second half and the way we were able to finish.”
Firmin capped a 35-yard drive with a 3-yard score on second-and-goal with 1:57 showing in the third quarter and Zimmer, who had four touchbacks and a punt downed at the 3, hit a 23-yard field goal with 2:50 remaining.
“We feed off each other’s energy,” Jarreau said. “After that big play, it just sparked our team and we just wanted to finish.”
Central 24, Woodlawn 6
Score By Quarters
Woodlawn 0 6 0 0- 6
Central 0 7 14 3 – 24
Scoring summary
WHS – Cayden Randall 61 run (kick blocked)
CHS – Jaydon Garnett 19 pass from Jackson Firmin (Nathan Zimmer kick)
CHS – Jake Jarreau 22 interception return (Zimmer kick)
CHS – Firmin 3 run (Zimmer kick)
WHS CHS
First Downs 9 13
Rushes-Yards 38-104 28-106
Passing Yards 32 93
A-C-I 5-16-1 10-20-0
Punts-Avg. 6-44 5-32.8
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 6-48 7-60