Angel catches game winning score as Wildcats go to 7-0

Central rallies past former coach Aric, Portland

By JEFF NEAL

Correspondent

GLADEVILLE — Gabe Angel caught a game winning 45-yard pass from quarterback Jordan

Roundtree with 95 seconds remaining Friday night as Wilson Central won its seventh straight 28-24 over Portland.

"We faced some adversity for the first time this season and came through it," Wildcat coach Brad Dedman said after Central moved to 7-0 for the first time in five seasons. "We had way too many penalties and that will be corrected next week."

Wilson Central was flagged for 11 penalties for over 100 yards.

WCHS' opening possession began at midfield. The drive covered seven plays and was capped by a 2-yard run by Roundtree. The point after was missed and the score was 6-0.

Portland began its next possession on its 18yard line. The Purple Panthers began to bleed over eight minutes off of the clock. as the drive lasted 17 plays and ended on a bad snap which was recovered in the end zone by Todd Akins for the touchdown and took the lead 7-6 less than a minute into the second quarter.

Wilson Central answered back on its own drive as the Wildcats drove the ball down the field. The key plays were a 25-yard run by Alex Price and a 17-yard run by Roundtree.

Tim Fitzgerald took the ball the final 13 yards for a touchdown. Fitzgerald finished the game with 12 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Portland scored 10 points in the last eight minutes of the half to grab a halftime lead.

The touchdown drive lasted seven plays covering 80 yards. The key play was a pass from Taylor Toney to Dylan Daniels covering 26 yards. Toney took the ball in from 5 yards out to tie the score with 4:11 on the clock.

Right before the half, Portland drove the ball into field goal range. A 32-yard field goal was attempted and made by Peyton Aric and the halftime score was 17-14 in favor of Portland.

Wilson Central got the ball to open the second half and made a mistake. Roundtree lofted the ball into the secondary and was picked off by Toney, who raced the ball down to the 17-yard line.

From there, the Panthers took their time and drove the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard run by Toney, his second score of the night, and Portland had a 24-14 lead that lasted into the fourth quarter.

On the first play of the last stanza, the Wildcats scored on a short run by Trey Givens, cutting the margin to 24-21.

Portland got the ball back and moved the pigskin near the 40-yard line. The Panthers went for it on fourth down and the Wildcat defense stiffened to get the ball back.

Wilson Central ran two plays and fumbled the ball back to Portland as the Panthers received the ball on the 25-yard line. The Wildcat defense held them to a three and out.

On Central's next possession, a couple of personal foul penalties left the Wildcats behind the chains and forced them to punt.

Portland took over on the Wildcat 43-yard line and moved the ball inside the 20. On a fourth down and 3 from the 18, instead of kicking a field goal, the Panthers went for it and a low snap left them short and gave the ball back to Roundtree and the Wilson Central offense.

Roundtree threw two completions to Chris Lee, putting the ball near midfield. On third and short, Roundtree ran for 6 yards and a first down leaving the ball at the Portland 45-yard line.

Roundtree then went back to pass and fired a long bomb over two members of the Portland secondary for a catch by Angel, in his first game after missing two games with a sprained ankle, for the winning score.

Roundtree finished the game 12-of-18 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown with an interception.

Angel finished with three catches for 60 yards and a score. Lee supplied six catches for 81 yards. 

Portland had one last opportunity. On a fourth-and-long play, Toney went back to pass and was sacked by the Wilson Central defense with 15 seconds left. The Wildcats ran out the clock and got the huge district win.

"Our players are fighters. They did not go down." said Portland coach Traye Aric, the Wildcats' coach for four seasons, including that '07 campaign which reached the state quarterfinals. "I am proud of how they represented Portland High School and their community,"

Portland (3-4) (0-4) will play host to Lebanon next Friday while Wilson Central (7-0) (4-0) entertains Beech in a game for possibly the District 9-AAA championship. The Buccaneers, Class 5A's top-ranked team by the Associated Press, remained perfect by knocking off crosstown rival Hendersonville 28-21 Friday night.