Centre Cougars stomp White City on the road
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Bud Peterson, coach of the Centre High School Cougars, was concerned the Huskies would be a tough opponent in Friday's match-up at White City.
He needn't have worried because the Cougars beat the Huskies handily, 49-0.
"We were aggressive and turned it on good," he said. "Our boys responded very well."
The game came to an end with eight minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, due to the 45-point rule.
The Cougars scored three times in the first quarter. Seth Jirak ran for 50 yards to score, then scored again on a 51-yard punt return. Lance Diepenbrock scored on a two-yard run.
The PATs failed, but Centre led, 18-0.
In the second quarter, quarterback Dustin Burnett passed the ball 33 yards to Bryant Gutsch for the Cougars' fourth touchdown. Diepenbrock ran for the two-point conversion.
A last-second, 57-yard pass from Burnett to Thieen Antoszyk resulted in another touchdown. After the two-point conversion on a pass from Burnett to Scott Peterson, the score was 34-0.
The Cougars got a safety in the third quarter, and Jirak ran one yard for a touchdown. He kicked for the extra point. Centre led, 43-0.
Diepenbrock put the icing on the cake in the fourth quarter with a 22-yard run for the final score of the game.
Statistics tell the story. Centre carried the ball 35 times for a gain of 180 yards. White City carried it 30 times for 67 yards.
Both teams completed seven passes, but Centre gained 163 yards in the air and White City gained 47.
Jirak led rushing with seven carries and 73 yards, followed by Gutsch with 10 carries for 46 yards. Diepenbrock was 14-for-46.
Antoszyk was leading receiver, catching the ball two times for 67 yards.
Jirak led defensively with six unassisted and nine assisted tackles. Aaron Bowman provided five unassisted and four assisted tackles. Steven Hageberg was 3-5.
The Cougars are 3-2 on the season.
Junior varsity
The junior varsity's game was much more of a contest. The Cougars took the lead near the end of the fourth quarter, only to see it slip away. The final score was 26-22 in favor of White City.
White City scored one touchdown in the first quarter and neither team scored in the second. White City led, 6-0, at halftime.
The Huskies scored two times in the third quarter. It looked like Centre would remain scoreless until Ben Krause ran 11 yards into the end zone with no time remaining on the clock. White City led, 20-6.
The Cougars finally got it going in the fourth quarter, outscoring White City 16-6.
Kevin Mueller caught a 26-yard pass from Krause for a touchdown. Then a bad punt snap by White City resulted in a safety for Centre.
With 30 seconds remaining in the game, Mueller accepted an 18-yard pass for the Cougar's third touchdown. Krause ran for the two-point conversion.
Centre led 22-20, and it looked like the Cougars had it in the bag.
However, the Huskies refused to quit. They scored again with four seconds remaining, to win the game, 26-22.
Matt Leach was Centre's leading rusher with seven carries for 80 yards. Others were Krause, 10-35, Jeremy Kristek, 3-4, and Josh Olsen, 3-3.
Krause was 4-11 in passing, and Mueller was 3-49 in receiving.
Defensive tackles, assisted-unassisted were: Leach, 2-16; Ethan Forsberg, 2-11; Mueller, 3-9; Tye Remy, 3-7; Ryan Richmond, 3-4; and Bryant Brunner, 2-5, and one interception.
