Center Point coach George Bates said his team isn’t satisfied with a secure spot in the Class 6A playoffs and wasn’t intimidated by Pinson Valley, despite the fact that the Indians had won four straight over the Eagles and have won three of the past five state championships.

“We just wanted to be aggressive,” Bates said after his team knocked off visiting Pinson Valley 29-22 on Friday night. “We weren’t going to play scared or coach scared. We want more, we weren’t satisfied with just making the playoffs. We want more.”

The Eagles (7-1, 4-1 in Region 6) hung onto the ball for more than 31 minutes and scored the game’s first three touchdowns. Wide receiver Deon Moore cut against the grain and raced 50 yards on a reverse for the first score.

Center Point caught the Indians (4-3, 2-2) off guard, recovering an onside kick after the TD. A roughing the passer penalty moved the Eagles into scoring position and quarterback Jabari Collier kept around end to push the lead to 14-0.

After forcing a punt, Collier orchestrated another drive capped by another QB run for a score. A missed point-after kick made it 20-0.

Pinson Valley scored 15 unanswered points after intermission, but Center Point’s ball-control offense – that rolled up 342 yards on the ground – kept the game under control.

Star of the game: Senior quarterback Collier finished 9-for-15 through the air for 131 yards. However, most of his damage was done on the ground, as he gained 180 yards and scored two touchdowns. He also averaged 11.3 yards per carry.

Play of the game: With their opportunity to put the game away deep in the Indians territory, the Eagles would turn to standout running back Troy Bruce. They lined Bruce up at wide receiver and brought him in motion. As soon as he caught the snap, Collier would pitch the ball to Bruce, who used his vison to find an opening and get into the end zone.

“We run the ball well, so we knew they were going to load the box. It was pressure on our O-line and stepped up to the challenge,” Bruce said of his game-sealing touchdown, “It was a power, stretch right play everyone blocks right, I find a hole and get in the end zone.”

Stat sheet: Center Point – The Eagles had the ball for 31:12, almost twice the time the visitors were in control. “We knew that we wanted to keep their offense off the field as much as we could,” Collier said, “so taking time off the clock was the game plan all along.” Pinson Valley – Junior quarterback Cameron Jennings completed 11-of-18 throws for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

By the numbers: 59 – Number of offensive snaps for Center Point. … 42 – Number of snaps for Pinson Valley. … 42 – Rushing attempts that yielded 342 yards for the winners. … 200 – Combined penalty yards, 13 against the Indians and 12 for Center Point.

Coachspeak: “For a long time, Center Point was looked down upon. They had some rough times before the new coaching staff got here. We got it turned around in 5A, then we moved up to 6A. A new eastside means, Center Point is part of the eastside now, in big boy ball!” – Bates

“Basically, not doing our jobs. You don’t wrap up, you don’t fit your gaps and we give them extra yardage. But, they wanted to finish harder than we wanted to tackle and bring them down on defense.” – first-year Pinson Valley coach Lee Guess

What’s next? Pinson Valley host 5-2 Shades Valley next week. Center Point has an open date before playing at home against Oxford on Oct. 21.