Tyner's football program continued its hot streak Thursday night with a 34-0 shutout of Central in a nonregion matchup of teams that will be hosting first-round state playoff games next week.
Quarterback Martavius Ryals accounted for three of Tyner's five touchdowns - leading the Rams to 386 yards of total offense as the Region 3-2A champions pushed their winning streak to nine games. The Purple Pounders from Region 2-4A were held to 186 yards of offense as penalties, fumbles and missed fourth-down conversions plagued their night.
"This game meant a lot to us because we know Central is a team that can run the ball well and we might get matched up in the playoffs with a team that does the same thing," Tyner coach Wayne Turner said. "We needed to man up and get tough, and I'm glad we were able to shut them down all night."
Senior running back Jevon Anderson broke a near scoreless first quarter for the Rams with a 14-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining in the period. Tyner's offense struck again late in the second quarter when junior Jeremiah Batiste took a screen pass 77 yards down the left sideline to double his team's lead.
Tyner's next score was on another long passing play when Ryals found Jerome Stoudemire wide open down the middle of the field for 35 yards. Ryals scored early in the fourth quarter on a 33-yard run, and Xavier Favors added the game's last touchdown with less than five minutes to play.
Late in the third quarter the Purple Pounders pushed their way to Tyner's 1-yard line, but a negative running play on fourth down nipped the scoring chance and summed up their entire night.
"We had four opportunities inside the 25-yard line, and every time we found a way to mess things up," Central coach Curt Jones after his team totaled five fumbles and 12 penalties. "When you get matched up against a team with a lot of players back from a state-championship run, you can't afford to make mistakes, and that's what we did pretty much all game."
Central is slated to host Sullivan South from Kingsport, while Tyner's first-round visitor is yet to be determined.
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com.