Friday the 13th seemed to be filled with more tricks than treats for the Central High football team.

The Bobcats fell 54-14 to the Cesar Chavez Champions in a game that left spectators feeling as though they were in the twilight zone. 

The team was riding a five-game winning streak and seemed to have turned a corner in the season, beating each opponent by at least nine points.

Head coach Jon Clanton acknowledged the impact the previous week’s Fall Break had had on morale and effort at practice. “They can’t expect to not show up to practice and still win a football game,” Clanton said.

Injuries and penalties plagued Central all night contributing to the abnormally long game that lasted over three hours. But Clanton doesn’t attribute the loss to either. “Do I think that we would have won if it hadn’t been for the injuries? I don’t think so.” Clanton said. “Our defense was a disappointment, and we didn’t play the best we are capable of.”

The most successful play of the night by Central was a trick play which involved four lateral passes that confused the defense and put Central in position to score.

“Did you see that?!” exclaimed athletic director Gilbert Jones at the time.

On the next play, Central scored its initial touchdown. The Bobcats then capitalized on their momentum with a two-point conversion to close the gap to 14-8.

It looked like a potential opportunity for the Bobcats to change the trajectory of the game, but squandered any chances they had.

Despite the frightening performance, don’t count the team out. If Central can pull off wins in their next two games, it will be the best record it has had since it went 7-4 in 2009.

The team is hoping to get back into its groove as it faces rival North (5-3) this week.