Jeffrey Watkins Jr. leads fast start for Notre Dame [photos]

Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Chattanooga Central quarterback Kelvin McGhee (8) looks to throw a pass during the Notre Dame vs. Central football game Friday, August 23, 2019 at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Chattanooga Central quarterback Kelvin McGhee (8) looks to throw a pass during the Notre Dame vs. Central football game Friday, August 23, 2019 at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Senior running back Jeffrey Watkins Jr. ran for 152 yards and scored three touchdowns as Notre Dame opened its season with a 27-6 win over Central in a game that took more than three hours to complete.

Penalties and stoppage of plays for injuries - primarily leg cramps for both teams - caused the game to run until almost 11 p.m.

The Fighting Irish did all their damage in the first half as Watkins scored on runs of 3, 42 and 2 yards. Watkins finished with 27 carries as Notre Dame raced out to a 27-0 halftime lead, then held off a Central team that scored on its first possession of the second half and drove the ball into Irish territory three more times without scores.

"I don't think I have ever had a game with so many leg cramps," said Notre Dame coach Charles Fant. "First games are always tough because they get tired. We needed pickle juice, Pedialyte and mustard tonight with all the cramping."

Central coach Curt Jones was encouraged by the Purple Pounders' second-half performance, shutting out the high-powered Irish running game.

"I'll tell you, we started getting a little confidence in the second half and played better," Jones said. "We didn't have any to start the game, and they hit us quick. But we hung in there. If we can start getting a little more confidence, we are going to be fine."

Notre Dame took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards in seven plays with Watkins scoring from 3 yards out with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Jalen Hagood made it 14-0 when he scored from 23 yards on the next Irish possession.

Watkins scooted around right end and went 42 yards with a little over a minute remaining in the first quarter for his second touchdown of the game. A 2-point try failed and the Irish led 20-0. In the closing minutes of the half, Notre Dame drove 81 yards in 10 plays with Watkins scoring from 2 yards out.

The game was marred by more than 20 penalties.

"I want to say that Central played really hard after getting way down," Fant said. "Both teams were tired. I thought I was going to get a cramp there in the fourth quarter."

Contact Davis Lundy at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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