Braves like home cookin'

Central coach Joey Mangum knows all about his team’s next opponent.

And he’s not calling that an advantage.

That’s because the Eagles must travel to region and county rival Cheraw, home of the defending Class 2A state champion Braves, for Friday’s lower state championship game.

Cheraw has won the teams’ last four meetings, including 17-0 on Oct. 19, and the last three 2A lower state titles.

“Anytime you have to play Cheraw, it’s a negative. They’re that good,” Mangum said. “Until somebody shows they can beat ’em, they’re still state champions. That ain’t never a good thing when you draw them.”

It’s a particularly tough draw when the Braves (11-2) are at home.

They’ve won 15 straight playoff games at Meiklejohn Field, and last year’s 28-24 victory over Newberry at Williams-Brice Stadium has only added to their confidence.

“I think the biggest thing the state championship did for us is it just increased our confidence,” said Cheraw coach Johnny White, who’s 20-2 at Meiklejohn in the playoffs. “I think our players expect to win. ... ”

“I think these players have the confidence that they can win, and they’re just hungry to do that.”

After going 15-0 last season on the way to the school’s third state championship, the Braves stumbled to start the season.

But they’ve won 10 straight since a 1-2 start, including four shutouts from a defense that’s allowed 10.5 points per game.

Central (9-3) has been even stingier, allowing an average of 8.8 points per game.

Both teams sport a run-first offense, though the Braves have a bigger 1-2 punch.

Morning News Preseason Player of the Year Travis Small has rushed for 1,645 yards and 18 touchdowns this season, while Montrell Evans has 865 yards and 16 scores.

The Eagles cycle four or five backs into their wishbone offense, led by tailbacks Travis Rivers and Tyler Price, who each have around 800 yards rushing. Willie Clyburn has almost 600 yards at fullback.

Finding space against Cheraw, however, has proved difficult for Central. The Braves have posted two straight shutouts in the series with their Chesterfield County neighbor.

“Every year, it’s almost a repeat of the game before,” Mangum said. “We get two or three first downs and start gaining yards. Then we might lose a yard on the next first down, and then they’ve got you in a situation you don’t want to be in.”

That would be a passing situation, which isn’t either team’s specialty, though both have had success throwing the ball.

Cheraw has thrown for 955 yards and 16 touchdowns on 111 passes, led by Josh Henderson’s 817 yards and 14 scores. Henderson is 51-of-98 (52 percent) with four interceptions.

Central quarterback Steven Smith has 960 yards, 13 TD passes, three picks and 53 completions on 100 attempts — a number so unexpected at Central that Mangum’s coaches felt the need to jokingly write him a note this week letting him know of the milestone.

The Eagles’ biggest concern, however, is finding running room and scoring opportunities against a team they haven’t beaten since 2003.

“They’ve just really defensed us,” Mangum said. “The thing is they know what we do, and they really stack their defense to stop what we do.”

It’s a sense of familiarity that neither coach is entirely comfortable with.

“Nobody really likes to play people more than once (in a season),” White said. “But it’s a situation right now where that’s who we’re playing.”