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Photo Credit: Steve Bubalo/PrepsKC

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Complete Stats and Box Score

Through three quarters of Friday night’s game against Oak Grove, Center running back Jacorey Love was already having an impressive game with three rushing touchdowns and 200-plus all-purpose yards. But in what was a back-and-forth battle, it was only translating to a 41-40 Yellowjacket lead.

Love would save his best for last, though.

The sophomore running back went off in the fourth quarter, scoring three more touchdowns – two rushing and one as a receiver – as Center pulled away for a 62-40 victory.

“He’s a special player,” Center head coach Bryan DeLong said. “I’d like to say 60-to-70 percent of those plays were well-blocked runs on those big ones where he just took over. He’s a top two or three all-around player I’ve ever coached. He’s coming into his own. He’s a great kid. He gives love to his coaches and his line, and it’s not fake.”

Love’s stat-line reads like a video game. He ran the ball 15 times for 272 yards and five touchdowns, while adding three receptions for 97 yards and another score.

Not bad for a sophomore.

“I feel like that’s one of the best games I’ve ever had,” Love said. “I’ve got to thank my O-line. Without them I wouldn’t have six touchdowns or those yards.”

The two teams traded scores for the first half with Center taking a 28-26 lead through two quarters. That continued into the third quarter with Oak Grove reclaiming the lead, only to have the Yellowjackets take it back less a minute later on a 60-yard touchdown run by Love. But the Panthers answered once again when Carson Smith rumbled 31 yards for a score to make it 40-35.

“We bounced right back and kept going. Big credit to the kids,” Oak Grove head coach Pat Richard said. “They’d score quick, and we’d go score again. They’d score quick, and we’d go score again. It was one of those games. It was a crazy game.”

The Yellowjackets would take control from there. With less than a minute left in the third quarter, quarterback Joseph Vick found Armand Russell on a short pass to the sideline and Russell did the rest. He made multiple Oak Grove defenders miss and found the end zone from 49 yards out for a 41-40 lead.

After the Yellowjacket defense forced a turnover on downs, it only took three plays for Center to strike again, as Vick found Love on a screen pass and Love did his thing. He cut to one side of the field and then went streaking down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown.

“He (Russell) was down, but I was telling him that one was going to come his way, and it did,” Love said. “On my run, in my mind, I just had to score. I had to put the team on my back.”

Center iced the game a few minutes later, recovering an Oak Grove fumble and on the very next play, Love struck again, making several defenders miss on his way to a 76-yard touchdown to make it 55-40.

“The defense bent,” DeLong admitted. “That’s a credit to Oak Grove. We were just trying to guess at times. We’re going to be sore in the morning. But (the defense) showed some resolve. They hung in there and fought. We knew if we got some stops here and there in the second half, we’d be OK.”

Despite the loss, Richard remained positive about the way his team played.

“Our kids played very hard. They grinded,” Richard said. “We did what we do. We just had a few big mistakes. …We have something to build on tonight.”

Oak Grove, now 1-2, will host rival Odessa next week, while Center will take its undefeated record on the road against Excelsior Springs.