A strong offense gave Central a 42-16 home win against out-of-district opponent Walker on Friday.

Wide receiver Kylen Thomas set up a touchdown for District 4-5A Central (3-0) on the second drive of the second half, burying Walker under a three-point lead in the third quarter.

Walker’s offense showed flashes of strength in the first half, but couldn’t string together enough shots on goal to keep up.

In this decisive attack, Central quarterback Jackson Firmin, who was signed to Nicholls State, managed a 74-yard catch-and-run with Thomas.

First, Thomas secured a contested catch in double coverage. Then he ran to Walker’s 13-yard line and set up his own touchdown pass, which he caught in the corner of the end zone two plays later.

“We were so inconsistent offensively,” said Central coach David Simoneaux Jr. “It was really good to finally find a variety of things that worked.”

In the first half, Central scored touchdowns on four of its first six drives, but Walker’s defense forced a safety and intercepted a pass from Firmin near the goal line at the end of the second quarter.

These plays gave the Walker offense, which punted on five drives in the first half, a chance to get back into the game in the second half.

Central was only two points ahead at halftime, even though its offense was almost twice as efficient as Walker’s in the first and second quarters.

Then Central punted on its first drive of the third quarter and then botched a punt deep in its own territory a few plays later. That miss gave Walker the opportunity to cut into the lead.

But Walker (2-1), of District 5-5A, missed the chance on the ensuing series. On a third-and-2 attempt, Central senior defensive lineman DK Mays, who was signed to Houston, stopped Walker running back Cayden Jones behind the line of scrimmage for a two-yard loss.

The Central defense applied pressure on fourth down, forcing Walker quarterback Troy Sylve to throw an incomplete pass out of bounds.

“Just not nearly enough consistency,” Walker coach Chad Mahaffey said. “We had a really nice drive. Another one was a big play. We had some opportunities in the red zone but didn’t capitalize on them. To beat good people, you have to take advantage of those things.”

After Thomas’ touchdown, Central completed an eight-play scoring drive. Thomas started it off by picking up a first down on a quick screen pass. Sophomore Marvin Joseph capped it off by following a block, diving to the outside and scoring a 7-yard touchdown that sealed the win for Central.

Unofficially, Firmin completed 13 of 21 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Central’s best runner – sophomore Otis Granville – scored two touchdowns, one on a 5-yard run up the middle and another on a 12-yard run out to the front pylon.

Firmin and Thomas, two of three players who sat out Central’s season opener after a car accident, combined for five receptions for 109 yards and a score. The third player injured in the accident, senior running back Manny Williams, sat out his third straight game.

“The fact that they’re playing such great football now is really great,” Simoneaux said. “And I think the continuity, the knowledge that these guys are back and getting some playing time, was evident tonight.”