Staff writer
In what coach Tye Remy dubbed an “unexpected” easy victory, the Centre Cougars defeated Wilson Friday 54-8. They now are 3-1 in district play and will play their final district game Thursday at home against Sylvan-Lucas.
Five Cougars scored touchdowns in a game that ended early in the third quarter because of the 45-point mercy rule. Remy was ecstatic afterward.
“It was the first time we played with confidence for the entire game and we played like we were going to win,” he said. “I’d been talking all week about controlling the front line on defense and offense, and that’s what we did.”
Fullback Barrett Smith scored the first touchdown on a 7-yard run. Running back Max Svoboda caught a 21-yard pass from quarterback Cole Methvin for a touchdown and caught another pass for the extra points.
After Wilson scored near the end of the first quarter, Centre led 14-8.
Centre scored four more touchdowns in the second quarter. Wide receiver Dylan Deines caught a 55-yard pass from Methvin and Smith ran for 10-yards. With time running down, freshman Xavier Espinoza intercepted two consecutive passes by Wilson and returned them for touchdowns, one for 27 yards,and the other for 60 yards. All four conversion attempts were successful, and Centre led 46-6.
Centre’s final touchdown came on a 3-yard run by Methvin. Smith’s conversion run ended the game with a 48-point victory for the Cougars.
Smith had 16 carries for 133 yards. He has compiled over 700 yards rushing this season. Methvin completed 5 passing attempts for 95 yards. Deines was the leading receiver with 2 catches for 66 yards. Brendon Bina led defensively with 5 solo tackles and 1 assist.
“We are in really good shape going forward,” Remy said. “We hope to win the final game to give us an advantage heading into the playoffs.”
He wasn’t 100 percent sure, but was quite confident that, win or lose, Centre would play at Axtell next Tuesday. He said it would be the first time since 2011 that Centre had made it to the playoffs.
Parents’ Night will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.