Running backs power Central to 5A semifinals

• By SCOTT HOTARD
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Dec 4, 2008 - UPDATED: 7:22 a.m.

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Central’s running back has rushed for 593 yards, caught 34 passes, scored 16 touchdowns and amassed 1,050 all-purpose yards.

He is a senior. He aspires to play college football. He is having the time of his life.

If you’d like to meet the player who carries Central’s rushing load, be prepared to shake two hands, learn two names and hear two stories.

Antonio Dunn and Nick Giglio, after all, come as a package deal.

“They’re both 1,500-yard rushers,” Central coach Sid Edwards said, “if we give it to them enough. There’s no way we’d be playing today if it weren’t for both of them.”

And there is no way Edwards, who has Central enjoying its best season in three decades, can distinguish the value of the two.

Giglio, a four-year letterwinner, has carried 64 times for 219 yards and made 20 catches for 178 yards. Dunn, who rushed for 1,000-plus yards as a junior, has carried 90 times for 374 yards and made 14 catches for 239 yards.

Throw those numbers together. Find a Central team with 11 wins, a district championship and a date with Destrehan in Friday’s semifinals.

“They’re our Dalton-James Gang,” Edwards said, referring to LSU’s famous mid-’80s rushing tandem of Dalton Hilliard and Garry James.

Dunn, who wears 28 on his jersey, prefers comparisons to — you guessed it — Warrick Dunn, the Baton Rouge native. They aren’t related, but the Central back emulates the Tampa Bay Buc’s running style.

Giglio prefers comparisons to Jacob Hester, the former LSU star. He is that tough and versatile, he likes to think.