Tough defense leads to Centre blowout victory at Cuba-Hillcrest
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The Centre Cougars traveled Friday to Cuba and defeated Cuba-Hillcrest, 50-20.
According to Coach Bud Peterson, his team's strong defense contributed to the big win.
"Cuba had a couple of excellent halfbacks, but we handled them well," he said. "Every time we needed to hold, we did."
The Cougars started out with a bang, scoring two touchdowns before Hillcrest got on the board.
Dustin Burnett scored first on a three-yard run. Scott Peterson received a 20-yard pass from Burnett for the second touchdown. Burnett ran for the two-point conversion, putting Centre up, 14-0.
Hillcrest scored with 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter. As time ran out, Seth Jirak ran for 62 yards to give the Cougars another touchdown. A pass from Burnett to Thieen Antoszyk provided the extra points. Centre led, 22-6.
The second quarter was a little tougher, as Hillcrest held Centre to one touchdown.
Hillcrest scored with less than three minutes remaining in the half. Tad Remy recovered a fumble in the end zone to give Centre another six points. The score at half-time was 28-12.
Lance Diepenbrock scored the only eight points of the third quarter. He ran six yards for a touchdown and also ran for the two-point conversion.
The Cougars added 14 points in the final quarter, compared to eight by Hillcrest.
Burnett threw a 70-yard pass to Antoszyk for a touchdown, and Jirak ran for the extra points. Jirak scored the Cougars' final touchdown on a seven-yard run.
Centre compiled 276 yards rushing and 166 yards passing. Hillcrest compiled 269 yards rushing and 52 yards passing.
Jirak was leading rusher with seven carries for 70 yards, followed by Burnett with eight carries for 64 yards.
Burnett threw six completed passes for 166 yards. Peterson was leading receiver at 2-25.
Jirak led defensively with six unassisted and 12 assisted tackles. Steven Hageberg, Remy, and Alfonse Klenda each had a fumble recovery.
Centre is in second place in district play with a record of 2-1. Bern is in first place.
Coach Peterson said the Cougars need to defeat Axtell Friday to be assured of a chance to compete in bi-district.
"We're feeling pretty good about our game right now," he said. "We'll see what happens."
