Playing it safe is not in Central coach Cortney Braswell's DNA.
So with his Purple Pounders facing a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line down three points with 5.6 seconds left, Braswell trusted his players to win the game.
They did just that, as Trey Owten came down with a jump ball from quarterback Jaheim Jones in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown as time expired, giving the host Pounders a 45-42 victory over Sullivan South in the first round of the TSSAA Class 4A playoffs Friday night.
"We go to fourth down and my offensive coordinator looked at me and said, 'Hey, let's just kick the field goal,'" Braswell said. "I'm like, to heck with that, we're going to Greeneville next week. We're going for it."
Owten, a junior, caught two touchdown passes after not having a touchdown reception all season.
"I just told them to give me the ball," Owten said. "They wanted to run the ball, but he gave me a shot, and I took it."
"Trey is just so athletic, I just have to get it in the area," Jones said. "That game was thrilling. It was back and forth all game; it was crazy."
The offenses came out on fire in the first half, combining for 62 points and 483 total yards before the break.
Sullivan South (7-4) scored first on a drive that took nearly four minutes. The Rebels' ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, but Braswell decided to have them re-kick instead of taking the yardage.
The decision paid off, as Rashun Evans took the kick back 80 yards to tie the score.
Neither team could stop the other, as each defense forced only one punt in the first half. Central (7-4) had trouble stopping the Rebels' run-pass option, with quarterback Ethan Ward accounting for all six Rebels touchdowns, three each on the ground and in the air.
The Rebels scored just before halftime to go up 35-27, prompting a clear message from Braswell to his defense in the locker room.
"Our message was just to callous up and play ball," Braswell said later. "We came out after the half and hit them in the mouth and got momentum."
Central carried the defensive momentum over to the offense and took the lead 39-35 midway through the fourth quarter. The Rebels drove back down the field, however, and reclaimed the lead 42-39 with 3:04 left, setting up the Pounders' winning drive.
"That's the kind of football game we've been trying to win," Braswell told his team in an emotional postgame speech. "Every single loss, every single workout, everything we've been through up to this point is for a game like that. I'm so proud of you."
Central's Michael McGhee ran for 164 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns, while Jones threw for 127 yards and three touchdowns.
Central will travel to Greeneville (11-0) next week for the second-round game.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.