Jamaal Evans runs wild, lifts Centennial over Green Valley
It’s not often that a quarterback is more deadly with his legs than he is with his arm, but that’s just what Jamaal Evans was Thursday night.
Evans ran for 146 yards and four touchdowns, and added 241 yards and two touchdowns in the air to lead fifth-ranked Centennial to a 49-31 home victory Thursday night over Green Valley.
“I made the plays I needed to make,” Evans said. “Things broke down and I made plays when I needed to.”
Evans spent the first half of the game looking seemingly exclusively at receiver Savon Scarver. At times Evans would look Scarver’s way and if he wasn’t open, tuck the ball and run.
While Evans insisted that was not by design, it worked. Scarver caught five passes for 90 yards and a touchdown and also ran in another score.
“When you see the advantage, you have to take advantage of those kind of situations and get him the ball because he’s a great athlete,” Evans said.
When Evans either didn’t see Scarver or when he saw a running lane, he ran. And ran a lot. He rushed 23 times, more than the rest of his team combined. He had TD runs of 7, 15, 5 and 32 yards.
The teams traded blows early, but Centennial (1-1) started to take control with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to take a 35-24 lead. Just when it looked like Green Valley was building momentum, Centennial’s Bryce Hampton nabbed and interception late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
“That kind of helped us out,” Centennial coach Leon Evans said. “We made a play late that was big.”
While Leon Evans was pleased with the offense, he said he prides himself on building his team on defense, which he bluntly said “stunk” Thursday night.
The Bulldogs’ defense has struggled to start the season. After giving up 44 points in a loss to Desert Pines in Week 1, Centennial allowed 478 yards against Green Valley.
“They keep us in it,” Leon Evans said of the offense, which has scored 90 points in two games. “I tell them they better score 60 a night until we figure out a way to stop somebody.”
Running back Julian Hulse rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries to lead No. 8 Green Valley (1-1). Quarterback Kalyia Waialae completed 24 of 33 passes for 273 yards and three TDs, but was intercepted twice.
Justin Emerson can be reached at jemerson@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @J15Emerson