By Robert Wilson

Warren Central scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the winning touchdown with 3 seconds to play, for a 27-24 victory over Germantown Friday night in a battle between two undefeated MHSAA Class 6A teams at Warren Central.

Junior quarterback Jack Wright completed a 7-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Trey Hall on third and goal with 3 seconds for the game-winner. Warren Central drove 57 yards on 10 plays in the final three minutes for the game-winning drive.

Germantown had taken a 24-20 lead when sophomore quarterback Jackson Hood connected with senior wide receiver Tony Knight for an 83-yard TD pass with 2:58 to play. Knight caught the ball around midfield and outraced a Warren Central defensive back to the end zone.

Warren Central improved to 4-0. Germantown – playing without Under Armour All-American senior running back Branson Robinson and starting linebackers Devin Arrington and Austin Ghoston (all out with ankle injuries) – dropped to 3-1.

Germantown led 17-5 after three quarters before Warren Central came storming back. Hartley Sullivan completed a pass to Hall for Warren Central’s first TD. Then, junior running back Mark Gray ran for a 12-yard TD and Wright completed a two-point conversion pass to senior Preston Lynch for a 20-17 Warren Central lead, its first lead of the game, with 3:32 to play. On the previous play, Wright completed a 38-yard pass to Lynch on fourth-and-8 from midfield.

“We needed a spark and when Trey scored our first touchdown in the fourth quarter it gave us some life, some hope that we could come back,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “And it kind of snowballed from there. We got some momentum. We changed quarterbacks and Jack did a great job and answered the ball. He was poised in an intense moment and threw a great ball to Trey for the winning score. Rob (Josh’s older brother and Warren Central’s offensive coordinator) did a great job calling plays.”

It was the third straight year Germantown, in its third year of Class 6A football, had lost to Warren Central. “I just hate to lose that way, but our I was very proud of our kids and the way they played,” Germantown interim coach Scott Brown said.

Germantown lead 7-3 at halftime, took a 14-3 lead on Hood’s 90-yard TD pass to Tykwon Wade, led 17-5 after three quarters and didn’t trail until 3 ½ minutes left in the game.