Central is frightening, vastly improved and with question marks. What that means for the postseason, who knows, although we'll learn a lot more after the No. 4 Grizzlies visit No. 1 Buchanan next week.
This is what we do know, and it's mostly impressive:
** A year after going 1-9 in coach Casey Quinn's first year, they are 6-2 and have outscored their opponents 336-166. Most of their scores against common opponents from a year ago have been reversed emphatically. Examples: a 48-13 loss to a 41-27 win against El Diamante; a 27-21 loss to a 73-7 win against Sunnyside; a 38-7 loss to a 24-3 win against Clovis West; a 56-14 loss to a 20-7 win against Clovis East. And, while losing both seasons to Edison, they reduced the margin from 70-27 to 25-17.
** They are the fastest team in the section, featuring running backs Brendon Bigelow (653 yards, 11.3 average, 8 TDs) and Robert Johnson (442-6.6-6), and receivers Ernest Carter (28 receptions, 475 yards, 17.0 average, 3 TDs) and B.J. Kelley (23-450-20.0-5).
** They have a sophomore quarterback, Michael Baker, who's acting more like a senior with 1,437 passing yards, 71% accuracy and 14 TDs against only 4 interceptions.
** They outgained Clovis West 311-134, but were outgained by Edison (344-222) and Clovis East (323-148), who controlled the tempo with efficient running games.
** Nobody wants to engage in a track meet with the Grizzlies, but Buchanan may find one.
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