CENTRAL HEIGHTS — Central and Wilson have played plenty of exciting games over the years, but Friday’s matchup between the two rivals will go down as one of the best.

Dylan Hogue scored on a 1-yard run in overtime to give Central a 19-13 victory over the Warriors in a huge Class 4A, Region 8 showdown.

Central earned the win after Wilson had fought back from a 13-0 deficit to tie it with 5 seconds remaining. But the Warriors (4-3, 3-2) missed the extra point to send the game into overtime.

The win kept Central in position to earn homefield advantage in the playoffs, while the loss ended Wilson’s four-game winning streak.

“Both teams just gave tremendous effort tonight,” Central coach Heath Wood said. “This game is so big in both communities. There’s an Alabama-Auburn type atmosphere when we play each other and our kids are so excited to get this win.”

Trailing 13-7 after three quarters, Wilson mounted a late drive and reached the Central 3 with just over six minutes remaining. Facing a fourth-and-goal at the 3, Wilson was stopped on downs when Central’s Braxton Gilbert made the tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

Wilson fumbled away another possession before getting one final shot with under two minutes left. The Warriors drove to the Central 38 when Hunter Thorp found Jason Futrell on a short pass and the sophomore running back ran through two tackles and dove into the end zone for the tying score with 5 seconds to play. Central, however, got new life when the extra point sailed wide and the two teams headed to overtime. The Warriors got the ball first in overtime and reached the Central 1 before a penalty moved them back five yards. On fourth-and-goal from the 6, Thorp’s pass fell incomplete.

Central then got its shot from the 10. The Wildcats got a first down on a Wilson penalty and Hogue later went over from the one to give Central the victory.

“Our defense came up with some big stops, including the one in overtime,” Wood said. “This was a huge win for us because we were coming off two tough losses. I’m proud of the way we played against a really good Wilson team.”

The Wildcats got a early score on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Patric Langston to Zach Anthony. Kyle Duncan added a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put Central up 13-0.

Wilson cut the margin to 13-7 early in the third quarter on a 1-yard scoring run by Wilson Cook. Futrell finished with 119 yards rushing on 32 carries for Wilson.

Central defeats Wilson