MADISON, Ind. – Centre football began its 2026 season with the traditional week 1 matchup against the Hanover Panthers. Hanover snapped a two-game losing streak against the Colonels with a 17-0 victory.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- After a three-and-out on the first defensive series,
Zane Cartwright moved the Centre offense into Hanover territory using the short passing game. In what proved to be a sign of things to come, the offense stalled once inside enemy territory and was forced to punt.
- On Hanover's third drive of the game, the Panthers connected on a big play as they hit a deep ball for a 76-yard touchdown to crack the scoreboard first.
- Hanover looked to score again as the second quarter began after a long drive put them in the red zone, but
Mario Brewer Jr. came up with a timely sack and
Brooks Sapone picked off a pass on the next play to turn the ball over.
- The Colonels were unable to take advantage of the turnover as they soon punted again, and Hanover took five minutes off the clock with a long drive that resulted in a short touchdown run to make it 14-0.
- Centre's best offensive series in the first half came at the end of the second quarter as Cartwright converted three third downs, the last one with a 13-yard scramble, to cross midfield. Just like on the first drive of the game, the offense was unable to move the chains in plus territory and Hanover got the ball back after a failed attempt on fourth down.
- On Centre's first series of the third quarter, a short kickoff produced a short field and Centre quickly crossed the 50 once again. Cartwright converted a fourth down on a quarterback sneak, but when faced with a similar play later in the drive, Hanover's defense got the stop.
- The two teams traded punts for the rest of the third quarter until the last series for the Panthers, which rolled over into the fourth quarter and eventually took nearly eight minutes off the clock, ending with a field goal to make it 7-0.
- Halfway through the fourth quarter, Centre caught a break when All-American
Cree Ross fell on a muffed punt to set the Colonels up in the red zone. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Hanover 4, but Centre failed to get the ball into the end zone, with Hanover breaking up the fourth down pass.
NEXT UP
The Centre football team will have their bye week in week 2 and will return to action with the home opener against LaGrange on Sept. 19.
