Central boys dominate with pair of hat tricks in 10-0 win over Northeast

Central’s offense rolled and romped its way to a win Tuesday night, snagging a 10-0 victory against Northeast thanks to a pair of hat tricks and a focused defensive showing.

Team captain Adam Guerrero had one hat trick, while up-and-comer Javon Hodges — wearing his brother Justin’s No. 4 jersey instead of his own — scored the other, all three of his goals coming in the first half. 

“We had a pretty good night. We had watched this team play before so we knew what to expect. Yesterday spent most of the practice time with our attackers focusing mainly on shooting and passing,” Central head coach Eric McDonald. “In the first half it wasn’t perfect, we missed a few easy chances early on, but I’m grateful. We played well.”

The win brought the Chargers to 3-8-1 on the year in ringing fashion, a step up in McDonald’s first season at the helm after Central failed to win a game last year.

“We’re a team that’s in a rebuild phase. I’m new to Central. We’re trying to build something here, it will take time,” McDonald said. “This year is a building year, I’m learning the culture. Change doesn’t have to be drastic, it takes time… When we look at what we’ve achieved in the last year, we have seen some growth. Is it perfect? No. But it is a stepping stone to build something greater.”

The Raiders were in a similar situation, as their program has not played a full season since the 2021-22 year and only took the field sporadically even before that season.

“We got a team back together this year. We’ve been growing a lot, I’m proud of them for sticking with it,” Northeast head coach Rayon Griffiths said. “There’s a lot of honor in coming out and making an effort.”

The Chargers looked dominant in the first half, never letting the Raiders get past midfield and firing plenty of rockets into the box, though most of them sailed over the crossbar.

Central needed only a few minutes to strike first, as team captain and striker Adam Guerrero booted one in from close range to make it 1-0.

After a brief lull in action, the floodgates opened and Hodges took control of the game. He scored the next three straight goals to net himself a hat trick. 

The last of the three was perhaps the most impressive. Hodges turned his body toward the ball as it fell to him about 15 yards from the goal and blasted a kick in one smooth motion, sending the ball into the upper left corner of the net to give the Chargers a 4-0 lead and leaving the Northeast keeper no chance.

The real gem came with only a few minutes left until halftime, however, when Central got a corner kick. After Carlos Cadena belted it in from the left side, freshman forward Sam Howard put in a perfect header, caroming the ball cleanly into the net to make it 5-0 just before halftime.

The Central bench had stayed composed for the four prior goals, but Howard’s header sent the Chargers into a roaring celebration as Howard and Cadena ran down the pitch and embraced near midfield.

“We’ve practiced corner kicks a lot, it was fantastic to get that perfect corner,” McDonald said. “Sam has been a ringer, a great player all year. He played that one quite well.”

The second half had a similar celebratory tone, with Guerrero netting a second goal and Cadena scoring one of his own on a penalty kick to make it 7-0.

Central’s back line, led by captain Ellis Veal, continued its scorching defense in the second half, although Northeast did get its best look of the night with about 30 minutes remaining. The Raiders got a corner kick that team captain Jaden Travet nearly netted with a neat bending strike, but Central keeper Patrick Henry smothered it.

“We had better looks in the second half, we created a few chances for ourselves,” Griffiths said. “Those were good plays, but on the whole we lost focus sometimes in this one. The second half had things to build on.”

Guerrero got his hat trick and even scored a fourth goal down the stretch, and a 10th goal gave the Chargers the mercy rule with about 10 minutes left.

“It was a good night. It’s not about winning a one-off game, but it helps. The goal here at Central is to restore a winning program, compete for region and state championships. But we also want these boys to grow into men of honor and be better when they leave this program. That’s more important.”

Central will face ACE next in a road game April 8, while the Raiders take on Tattnall County on the road that day.