Memphis Central football beats Cordova, sets up rematch with Germantown

Khari Thompson
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Memphis Central's Dylan Ingram runs in for a touchdown against Cordova during their TSSAA playoff game on Friday, November 2, 2018.

For the second year in a row, Central beat Cordova by one point in the first round. The Warriors won 21-20, setting up a Class 6A second-round rematch with undefeated region foe Germantown.

The hero of the night for Central (8-2) was Dylan Ingram. He rushed for two touchdowns. His second touchdown made the score 14-13 in favor of Cordova (7-4). And then, trailing on the road with 6:28 to go, Central went for a two-point conversion. Ingram ran it up the middle and scored, putting the Warriors ahead 15-14.

"It was just a lot of hard work, following blocks, and fighting to the end," said Ingram. "I saw the creases and hit the holes hard."

"Me and Dylan have been playing together since 6-years-old, pee-wee, to middle school at Bellevue," said Memphis commitment Trevis Hopper. "There's a lot of chemistry between me and him. He's a great player and when we were down and I knew we needed a touchdown we all looked at Dylan and he got the job done for us."

Cordova's Justin Lynn is sacked by Memphis Central's Micah Boyland during their TSSAA playoff game on Friday, November 2, 2018.

Falandis Norry hauled in a touchdown pass to swing the lead back to Cordova, 20-15. But then, with less than two minutes remaining, Central's Darin Turner caught the go-ahead touchdown.  

"When somebody makes a big play, we come back and try to return one," said Hopper. 

Germantown beat Arlington 51-14 on Friday. Germantown defeated Central 28-7 the last time the two teams met on Oct. 19. The two teams will meet again on Friday at 7 p.m., with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line. 

Both teams are led by Memphis commitments. Hopper, a three-star DT, decommitted from Arkansas and turned down Clemson, Georgia and Tennessee before committing to the Tigers. Germantown's Cameron Baker skipped his freshman football season to focus on cross country before coming back to develop into a playmaking wide receiver. 

Both teams lost in the second round last year. Whitehaven shut out Central 35-0, and White Station beat Germantown 17-14. The winner of Germantown-Central will play the winner of Houston-Whitehaven in the quarterfinals.