DANVILLE, Ky. – It was Homecoming Saturday for Centre football under the lights at
Andy Frye Stadium, and the Colonels took advantage of their final night game of the season as they defeated the Southwestern Pirates 19-16 in a wild game.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- On the second play of the game the Pirates went deep and
Ryan Steele made them pay as the freshman cornerback picked off the pass to get Centre the ball in a hurry.
- Centre's drive stalled after they crossed the 50 and were turned away one yard shy of the first down on a long fourth down attempt. Centre forced a punt on the next drive and on the very first play of Centre's second drive,
Jack Gohmann found a wide open
Blake Busson on a bomb for a 65-yard touchdown connection. On the extra point attempt, holder
Jake Carson called his own number on an option and ran it in for two point to make it an 8-0 Centre lead.
- The Pirates faced 4th & 5 just past midfield on their next drive and decided to go for it, but
Luke Cole and Temes Kahsai combined on a sack to turn Southwestern away.
- Centre came up with another huge play on special teams as the Pirates muffed a
Will Boehm punt and
Nehemiah Brown-Hamlin came up with the loose ball to set the Colonels up at the Southwestern 5.
- On second down, Gohmann ran his way out of a sack and found
Ethan Mays in the end zone for a touchdown. The Colonels again scored two points on the conversion attempt as kicker
Isaac Johnson took the option pitch and raced to the pylon for a 16-0 lead for Centre.
- The Pirates took advantage of a Centre special teams miscue as they recovered a muffed punt of their own and were set up inside the red zone, eventually settling for a field goal to get on the board at 16-3.
- Following a good kickoff return by
Tyler Blythe, Centre used a mix of run and pass to get into the red zone, where
Jack Kennedy booted a career long 31-yard field goal to give the Colonels a 19-3 lead.
- Near the end of the half, the Pirates got more good field position after an interception return and a personal foul. Southwestern eventually reached the end zone on a two-yard pass on third down, but on the Pirates' two-point attempt,
Will Zabel knocked down the pass and Centre went into the locker room up 19-9.
- Southwestern looked to chip away at the lead some more as they reeled off a 37-yard run to reach the Centre 9, but the defense held strong and
Seandre Maxberry blocked the short field goal to keep the lead at ten points.
- Centre's defense continued to make plays at the most crucial times, getting fourth down stops on three consecutive drives. Eventually they couldn't keep the Pirates off the board as Southwestern hit a long pass on a busted coverage to score and cut the lead to 19-16.
- Although Blythe recovered the Southwestern onside kick, the Pirates forced a Centre punt near the two-minute timeout. Boehm delivered a kick that went out of bounds at the Southwestern 2, putting the Pirates 98 yards away from the lead with one timeout in their arsenal.
- The Pirates reached Centre territory on a long quarterback run, but when they tried that play again two plays later,
Brooks Sapone caught the quarterback from behind and knocked the ball loose.
Carson Combs fell on the ball to secure the victory for the Colonels.
NEXT UP
The Colonels will hit the road next week to take on a Trinity squad ranked no. 23 in the nation in this week's AFCA poll.
