Extra points make difference in Centre win
Centre Cougars football team came out on top Friday in a hotly contested game at Centre.
Both teams scored three touchdowns, but Centre had three PATs for six additional points and White City had one. The final score was Centre 24 White City 20.
White City had 17 first downs compared to eight for Centre. White City also carried the ball 46 times for 206 yards. Centre had 31 carries and 128 yards. The Bulldogs covered 123 yards passing and Centre had 91 yards.
The evenly-matched teams were scoreless at half-time. Then, with 6:32 left in the third quarter, Curtis Gutsch ran for 19 yards to score the first touchdown. Eric Peterson added two extra points on a pass from Gutsch.
At 1:17 in the third quarter, White City answered with a touchdown of its own on a one-yard run by Nick Morgan. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful.
Early in the fourth quarter, Gutsch ran 36 yards to score the second Centre touchdown. A pass to Todd Stahlecker resulted in a successful PAT attempt.
Less than two minutes later, White City scored again on a 46-yard run by Morgan, but the PAT attempt failed.
The Cougars once again worked their way down the field. Mark Pagenkopf caught a pass from Gutsch and ran nine yards for another six points. The PAT attempt on a pass from Gutsch to Stahlecker was successful.
The Bulldogs continued to fight, and, with three minutes to go, scored another touchdown on a pass from Morgan to Lawrenz, who ran 21-yards. The extra-point attempt was successful, but White City trailed by four points and never caught up.
"It was a really good game with a good team," Coach Bud Peterson said. "We were fortunate to get out on top, but we hung in there and did what we had to do."
Team statistics
First downs: Centre 8, WC 17; rushing: Centre 31/128, WC 46/206; passing: Centre 7/12/1/91, WC 14/30/123; punts: Centre 4/166, WC 4/93; punt returns: Centre 0, WC 2/22; kick-offs: Centre 4/168, WC 4/147; kick returns: Centre 3/32, WC 4/68; fumbles: Centre 1 lost 0, WC 0; penalties: Centre 7/49, WC 6/39.
Individual statistics
Tackles unassisted/assisted: Travis Burns 12/5, Gutsch 11/4, Peterson 7/8, Luna 6/8, Stahlecker 5/4, Pagenkopf 6/5, Derek Belton 4/6, Keenan Geissert 1/3.
Rushing: Pagenkopf 16/58, Gutsch 11/56, Kyle Luna 4/14.
Passing: Gutsch 7/12/1/91.
Pass receptions: Stahlecker 4/56, Pagenkopf 2/34, Luna 1/1.
Kick-offs: Stahlecker 4/168.
Kick returns: Peterson 2/14, Stahlecker 1/18.
Punts: Gutsch 4/166.
