By: Seth Stogsdill, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications
Centre Colonels (5-4, 3-4 SAA) vs. Berry Vikings (7-1, 5-1 SAA)
Date: Saturday, November 9
Site: Danville, Ky.
Stadium: Farris Stadium
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Centre:
Schedule |
Roster |
Stats
Berry:
Schedule |
Roster |
Stats
On Tap
- Centre plays its regular season finale against the Berry Vikings and will also be celebrating Senior Day.
Series History
- The Vikings hold a 3-2 series lead over the Colonels since resuming their football program in 2014.
- Berry has won the last three meetings with the Colonels, each of them with playoff implications.
- Last season, the Colonels and Vikings shared the Southern Athletic Association regular season title, with both teams making the NCAA playoffs and advancing to the round of 16.
The Last Meeting
Berry 38, Centre 35 (9.22.18)
- Centre and Berry played one of the best games of the 2018 Division III football season in their last meeting.
- The Vikings jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening minutes after scoring on their opening drive and then recovering a Centre fumble in the end zone.
- Centre rallied to tie the score and took their first lead at 28-21 on a touchdown catch by
Davis Kannapell.
- Berry answered back with two long scoring drives to retake the lead, but Centre tied the game on a 4
th down reception from
Jaylon Hibbs and the game went to overtime.
- In overtime, Berry converted a field goal on their opening possession and Centre missed the tying field goal as the Vikings prevailed 38-35.
-
Tanner Young threw for 314 yards and three scores for the Colonels, while
Colin Burnam and
Trevor Carnell each rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown.
Last Time Out
Centre 42, Rhodes 27 (11.1.19)
- The Colonels bounced back from their previous home loss with a convincing 42-27 win at Rhodes last week.
-
Jordan Gunter finished with 216 all-purpose yards in the win, including a 76-yard punt return touchdown and a 27-yard touchdown catch right before halftime. Gunter was named SAA Special Teams Player of the Week and earned a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week.
- Returning from injury,
Zarian Hunter Cure finished with a career high 106 rushing yards.
-
Andre Evans had the game of his life on defense, finishing with 23 tackles for the game, two shy of the single game program record. The junior linebacker also finished with 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Evans was named SAA Defensive Player of the Week and, like Gunter, landed on the D3football.com Team of the Week after his career performance.
Scouting the Vikings
- Berry comes in with a record of 7-1 on the year and sits in a three-way tie with Trinity and Birmingham Southern atop the SAA standings with a 5-1 mark in conference play. The Vikings can secure a share of the SAA regular season title with a victory on Saturday, having already beaten Trinity.
- The strength of the Vikings for the last several seasons has been on defense and the 2019 Berry defensive unit has been fantastic. The Vikings lead the SAA in nearly every defensive statistical category and are only allowing 11.3 points per game. With 31 sacks on the year, the Vikings are the only team in the conference that has gotten to the quarterback more than the Colonels, who have sacked the quarterback 28 times.
- Berry reached as high as seventh in the nation before suffering their lone loss at Birmingham Southern on Oct. 19. No other Berry opponent the rest of the season has scored more than 14 points against the Vikings.
- Offensively, wide receiver Mason Kinsey is the top pass catcher in the conference, averaging over 100 yards receiving per game and leading the league with a dozen touchdown receptions. Kinsey caught five balls for 135 yards and a score in last season's matchup with the Colonels.
