Central Fellowship gets 51-19 win on Senior Night

If you were not looking closely Friday night, you might have thought Central Fellowship running back Judson Walls simply had copious amounts of athletic tape on one arm.

It was actually a cast.

“We got him back after he had sat out for two weeks with a broken elbow. The doctor said he could play as long as we had that cast firmly in place,” Judson’s dad and CFCA head coach Jake Walls said.

Judson didn’t seem to notice the cast either, as he regularly charged right into the teeth of the defense and led a furious rushing attack for the Lancers on Senior Night to defeat the Heritage Hawks 51-19 in south Macon.

“It was nice to have him back, he gives us a spark on offense. Hopefully he can build on this, shake off some of the rust from being out for a little while,” Jake Walls said. 

Judson was one of five seniors honored — the others were Mason Crowley, Josiah Phelps Lewis, Levi Pierce and Brandon Hubbard — and one of three different players to score a rushing touchdown for Central Fellowship along with Shepherd Tanner and Terrell Coley Jr.

Walls scored two touchdowns and seemed to gain chunk yards on almost every play, even embracing contact from the defense despite his injury.

“Nah, Judson’s crazy,” Jake Walls said of his son showing any tentativeness with a hurt arm. “He loves contact — he’s my son, so I can say that. Broken bones or not, he loves the contact. Probably his greatest trait as an athlete is his toughness.”

Judson’s dad hesitated.

“But he does make me a little nervous,” he said with a laugh. “Like, ‘Don’t go and break another bone.’”

Judson was just one piece of a red-hot CFCA offense which helped the Lancers improve to 4-4 on the year. Tanner, Coley and fellow rusher Cole Bemis spelled Walls very well to keep things consistent for the Lancers, and the linemen dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The lopsided performance gave Central Fellowship a 48-12 halftime lead.

“I’m proud of the whole team tonight, especially those seniors on Senior Night,” Jake Walls said. “Anytime you have Senior Night and you’ve spent four years with these kids, they’ve given you a lot. You just hope they can have a rewarding night — sit back and smile, laugh and cut up. I was proud of them for that.”

Perhaps the most memorable play of the night came from Bemis, who had a solid night as a running back but made an impact on special teams when he scooped an onside kick up near the end of the first half and returned it for an unexpected score.

“Someone on our sideline said that was the most instinctual play they’d seen anybody on our team do, and it really was,” Walls said. “He just picked it up in stride and took off. He missed summer workouts or he’d be a more significant part of our plan. He’s started the last three games on defense, so he can work his way into our offense, too.”

Heritage looked fairly solid on its first drive of the game, getting an impressive catch from wideout Tyson Hamaker and a few rushes for a pair of first downs before CFCA formed a punt near midfield.

That was the high point of the first quarter for the Hawks, as Central Fellowship was off to the races as soon as it got the ball. Walls and Coley fueled a drive from about 60 yards out before Coley punched in the first score of the night to make it 7-0.

The Lancers stuffed Heritage on its next drive — the Hawks called a strange fake punt on fourth down that gave CFCA great field position — then needed only two plays the other way before Tanner scored his first touchdown of the night to make it 14-0.

The same formula repeated a few times from there, with the Lancers smothering the Hawks offense before scoring with ease on the other side of the ball. Tanner scored again before Walls reached the endzone twice to make it 35-0.

Heritage put up more of a fight from there, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the last five minutes of the half to put 12 points on the board. Central Fellowship answered right back, though, capitalizing on two turnovers for points. Cole Bemis also made a stellar play on an attempted onside kick from Heritage, scooping up the ball and zooming past the Hawks’ kick coverage team for a surprising touchdown.

Despite the zany back and forth in the final five minutes of the half, the Lancers maintained firm control of the contest with a 48-12 score at the break.

The coaches had a running clock in the second half, allowing CFCA to run down the third quarter clock with a single drive. Both squads tacked on a few more points to make it a 51-19 final.

The Lancers will face cross-town rival Windsor on the road next week.