Central Bobcats Seek First 2-0 Start Under Mark Smith Against Mansfield Lake Ridge

SAN ANGELO, TX — Fresh off an impressive 28-23 win over rival Abilene High, the Central Bobcats face a unique opportunity to start off 2026 2-0 for the first time under head coach Mark Smith.

To do that, Central will have to go on the road and beat the Mansfield Lake Ridge Eagles.

Central Bobcats (1-0) @ Mansfield Lake Ridge (0-1)

• When: Friday, Sept. 4
• Where: R L Anderson Stadium, Mansfield, TX
• Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Mansfield Lake Ridge faltered in its first matchup this season, falling to Walnut Grove 49-28 last week. Despite the loss, Lake Ridge will be a tough opponent and should be an excellent measuring stick for the Bobcats, who have historically struggled against DFW teams.

However, Central proved last week that this team is capable of taking on talented opponents. The Bobcats never trailed against Abilene High, and every time the Eagles crept back into the game, Central always had an answer.

Coach Smith says that it's the maturity and growth of the veteran players on this team that makes the Bobcats successful.

"I was very proud of the way we played," Coach Smith said at his press conference on Tuesday. "We have not played well in the opening game in the last two years, so that was a point of emphasis for me...this team is a more mature group. I think that it goes back to three years together. There is a lot of trust that has developed between the players, the coaching staff, and myself. I think that trust really kicked in against [Abilene High]."

The Bobcats will lean on junior running back Zey Johnson to carry most of the load on Friday. Johnson had an excellent game against Abilene High, finishing with 18 carries for 119 yards in the win. But it is Johnson's leadership that may be the biggest asset to the Bobcats on Friday nights, leadership and talent that were cultivated early on.

"He is, in my mind, what player development is all about," Smith said of his running back. "His freshman year, he obviously had this size and strength to him, so we played him on the JV, which is not the normal thing to do. He was the only freshman, and he played up. That was intentional. I wanted him around more mature guys, and that kept him in the class period with the JV and Varsity. He got a lot of work as a scout team back that year. That led to his development."

Johnson was one of the few sophomore players on Varsity last season, and continues to get bigger, faster, and stronger the longer he plays.

"Go back to this opening game last year; he had a fumble in that game," Smith continued. "Something bad happened, but to be able to learn from that and grow; to go through the fire, so to speak, and come out refined on the other end, I think that's what you see from him now. The way that he's handled himself in meetings, in the locker rooms, and the professionalism on the practice field, I love it. I don't worry about that group because he has that squared away."

It has been a while since the Bobcats had a true "bell cow" type back, but Johnson put in the work and should be able to handle that workload this season and on Friday night.

If the Bobcats win the battle at the line of scrimmage, that success will open up the passing game for quarterback Micah Smith, who finished with over 200 passing yards and two passing touchdowns a week ago. A balanced Central offense is an incredibly difficult offense to stop, and that only aids the guys on the other side of the ball.

Despite giving up 23 points to a stat-ranked Abilene High squad, the Bobcats' defense did not allow a single touchdown in the first half. In fact, the Eagles only really found success by capitalizing on Bobcat mistakes on offense.

"They have been the story to me from watching our team since we finished last season to now," Smith said of his defense. "Just the level of experience that is back at certain key spots on that side of the ball. Then the game plans come into effect, and again, you see the maturation of the guys. We did not give up any of what I call 'walk-offs'; easy one or two-play [touchdowns]. That did not happen."

The Central defense will need another performance like that against a talented Lake Ridge squad that features a senior quarterback in Deshawn Edwards. Edwards threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns against Walnut Grove and added another 76 yards on the ground. If Lake Ridge executes a similar game plan against the Bobcats on Friday night, it seems like Edwards will be the focal point on offense. He rushed the football 26 times last week on top of the work he did through the air.

The Bobcats need to shut Edwards down and play disciplined football on both sides of the ball. If they do that, Central has a great chance of walking away 2-0.