DANVILLE, Ky. – Centre football improved to 7-2 on the season and stayed in a tie atop the Southern Athletic Association as the Colonels enjoyed their best offensive performance of the season in a 49-20 victory over the Rhodes Lynx at Joe McDaniel Field at
Andy Frye Stadium.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The visiting Lynx took the ball first and marched down the field with the help of a 47-yard run, but the offense stalled in the red zone and Centre held Rhodes to a field goal.
- On Centre's first drive of the game, the Colonels used a mix of run and pass to reach the red zone, capping of the drive after
Jack Gohmann found
Carter Chandler in the corner of the end zone for an eight-yard score to put Centre on top.
- To end the second quarter, Rhodes got the ball after a tipped interception and advanced into Centre territory after a fake punt. Rhodes went with some more trickery on the first play of the second quarter as a wide receiver pass resulted in a 26-yard score that put the Lynx on top.
- Now trailing by three points, the Colonels marched into Rhodes territory and faced fourth down at the Rhodes 24. It was Centre's turn to unleash the trickery as the Colonels ran a fake field goal. Holder
Zane Cartwright fired a strike to Nik Herakovic, who raced to the end zone to make it 13-10 after Rhodes blocked the extra point.
- Following a three-and-out, the Colonels quickly reached the red zone again thanks in large part to a 40-yard completion to
Dant Bowling. Gohmann then hit
Scotty Brown on a quick post pattern for a touchdown and Centre went up two scores at 20-10.
- The Lynx added a field goal near the end of the second quarter, but they left enough time on the clock for Centre to drive one last time. Gohmann and
Blake Busson advanced 39 yards on two completions and
Cam Tegge converted a 42-yard field goal with six seconds left to give Centre a 23-13 edge at the halftime break.
- The Colonels got great field position to start the second half as Brown returned the opening kickoff into Rhodes territory. Centre faced a fourth down at the Rhodes 6 and
Will McDaniel fought off a tackler to dive into the end zone to give Centre a 30-13 lead.
- Rhodes wasted little time cutting into the Centre lead as a pass that was nearly intercepted turned into a 77-yard touchdown for the Lynx, quickly making it a ten-point game again.
- Centre again went on a long drive to continue the third quarter.
Damon Edwards and
Jakei Tarter caught long passes for first downs and Gohmann threaded the needle to Busson from 12 yards out to make it 36-20.
- The two teams traded interceptions at the end of the third quarter, with
Nick Grant's 64-yard interception return giving Centre a short field.
Tyler Blythe made a fantastic individual effort on an outside run for a hard-fought four-yard touchdown to give Centre a 43-20 lead.
- The final drive of the quarter for the Colonels saw the Centre offense take over nine minutes, running on 12 of their 13 plays. After springing Brown free with two big blocks on kick returns,
Luke Hammons finished off the drive and the scoring with a ten-yard scamper to put the final points on the board.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Centre outgained Rhodes 488-361 on the day and enjoyed a 28-12 advantage in first downs. Gohmann threw for 305 yards and the Colonels ran for 170 yards.
- The Colonels did not take a sack or punt in the entire game.
- Centre enjoyed over 36 minutes of possession. The Lynx, who entered today's game on top of the SAA in third down conversions, were held to 2 of 12 on third down, their worst output of the season.
- A dozen different Centre players caught passes, led by Busson with four catches for 62 yards and a third quarter score.
- Defensively,
Evan Elder and
Mario Brewer Jr. led Centre with five tackles each.
NEXT UP
Centre will have a chance to clinch a share of the SAA title on Nov. 16 as they host Sewanee on Senior Day.
