Earlier this season, Central-Phenix City head coach Pat Nix told his players’ families to keep Thanksgiving week open.

“I think it’s expected,” Nix said of playing through the holiday. “We’ve been here a lot of times playing on Thanksgiving. We’ve been talking about Thanksgiving week since the beginning of the year to make sure parents don’t make plans and all that. It’s one of those things … you expect it, you want it and it’s one of the most fun weeks out of the year, without a doubt. Because there’s a lot of teams that wish they were playing and practicing and we get to do that.”

And Central’s 49-21 win over Auburn High (9-3) in Friday night’s AHSAA Class 7A quarterfinal proved why. The Red Devils (11-0) will be spending Thanksgiving together next week after a complete and dominating performance over the Tigers at Phenix City’s Garrett-Harrison Stadium.

Coming into Friday night’s date with the rival Tigers, the Red Devils’ offense was averaging more than 46 points per game. And Central’s high-octane offense kept on par against Auburn with a mixed bag of explosive chunk plays and sustained drives.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils’ defense limited the Tigers, who entered the night averaging more than 32 points per game.

“Defensively, I thought we played really, really well on that side of the ball, too,” Nix said. “Pretty complete game. And you don’t beat a team like that without playing a complete game.”

STAR OF THE GAME: Central junior quarterback Andrew Alford threw for 429 yards after turning in a 25-for-32 passing performance, which featured four passing touchdowns. Alford’s 429 yards against the Tigers on Friday night was good for a season best.

“Excellent. I thought he played incredible,” Nix said of Alford. “He’s a competitor, finds ways to make play after play.”

PLAY OF THE GAME: Alford found fellow junior Daylyn Upshaw on a 66-yard touchdown to put the Red Devils up 21-3 midway through the second quarter. The one-play scoring drive came immediately after the Central defense forced Auburn to go three-and-out.

Upshaw finished his night with nine receptions for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

STAT SHEET: Central senior wide receiver and 5-star Texas A&M commit Cam Coleman turned in a 10-catch, 207-yard performance with a 30-yard touchdown, which came toward the end of the third quarter to put the Red Devils ahead 42-10. Come the fourth quarter, Coleman came away with an acrobatic 41-yard catch which likely would’ve landed itself on ESPN’s SportsCenter had it been made in a college game.

COACHSPEAK: “Thought it was a very good football game. Thought our guys executed really good. First half was really, really good on both sides of the ball. Second half, did not quite play the way that we needed to play, gotta learn to finish a little better and not let a team back in it. But give credit to them, they competed. They’re a very good football team, they weren’t going to roll over and die.” – Central head coach Pat Nix

WHAT’S NEXT?: Following Friday night’s win, Central-Phenix City draws a date with Mary G. Montgomery, which came from behind to beat Enterprise 13-10 Friday night. The Red Devils and Vikings will meet on Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. with a trip to state title on the line.