JACKSON, Miss. – Centre football improved to 3-2 in the Southern Athletic Association as the team used a balanced offensive attack and an unforgettable day on special teams to cruise to a 59-20 victory over the Millsaps Majors, their second in a row.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- A sack by
Carson Combs and
Dallas Douglas derailed the Majors' opening drive, after which the Colonels embarked on their longest drive of the day.
- Centre took over half of the first quarter to march 92 yards down the field. In sixteen plays, the Colonels ran eight times and passed eight times, converting two third downs and a fourth down and capping it off with a seven-yard strike from
Jack Gohmann to
Christian Billiter to put Centre on the board.
- The Majors threatened at the start of the second quarter as they approached the Centre red zone, but a mishandled handoff fell to the ground and Centre's
Evan Elder pounced on the ball to turn Millsaps away.
- A long reception by Billiter accounted for most of the yardage on the ensuing Centre drive, culminating in a
Cam Tegge field goal from 34 yards out to increase the lead to 10-0.
- A bizarre play happened next as Tegge's kickoff hit the turf and bounced in Centre's direction. The Colonels took advantage as
Luke Hammons fell on the ball to give the offense a short field. Gohmann and
Will McDaniel each had 10-yard runs and then the sophomore quarterback snuck it in from the goal line for a 17-0 Centre lead.
- Millsaps got on the board to cut it to 17-7, but Centre took advantage of another special teams mistake as a bad snap on a punt led to Centre getting the ball back on the Majors' 8 right before halftime.
Keaton Martin plunged in from three yards out to put Centre on top 24-7 at the half.
- Centre used the ground game to reach the Millsaps red zone on the first drive of the second half, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Majors, who put together another scoring drive to cut the deficit to 24-14.
- With momentum going against them, Centre calmly drove down the field as Gohmann kept the drive alive with a quarterback sneak on fourth down. A connection to
Blake Busson put the ball right by the goal line and Martin picked up his second touchdown of the day to swing momentum right back in Centre's favor.
- Right before the start of the fourth quarter, another bad snap on a Millsaps punt attempt gave Centre the ball with goal to go. Three plays later,
Gabe Walker scored from a yard out and the lead increased to 38-14.
- Yet another big play on special teams went to the Colonels on the ensuing kickoff. In a near repeat of the second quarter play, the ball bounced Centre's way and
Tayden Mounivong fell on the ball for another Centre short field.
Nick Osterman delivered a 14-yard touchdown pass to
Joey Deshler for the second score in as many minutes for the Colonels.
- Leading 45-20, Hammons and Mounivong connected for Centre's longest pass play of the day as the freshman streaked by the defense for a touchdown.
- In a fitting end to the day, the final score of the game for the Colonels came on special teams as
Harris Phelps blocked a punt and
Wyatt Fowler fell on the ball in the end zone.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Centre outgained Millsaps 514-327 on the day as the Colonels had 279 yards through the air and 235 on the ground, their highest total of the season. The Colonels also dominated ball control to the tune of over 39 minutes of possession.
- It was a day of milestones for the Centre running backs. In addition to Martin's two scores, McDaniel reached the 1,000-yard mark for his career and Walker picked up his first career rushing touchdown. Freshmen Mounivong and Fowler also picked up their first career scores in gold and white.
- Advantageous special teams plays from the Colonels directly resulted in one touchdown on the blocked punt and led to short fields four different times, all of which were converted into Centre touchdowns.
NEXT UP
The Colonels will return home on Oct. 28 as they host the Sewanee Tigers and look for their third win in a row.
