Archives > Sports > Schools
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Familiar place: Centennial climbs district standings with defeat of Wakeland
BY Chris O’Dell, codell@starlocalnews.com
FRISCO – Friday night's contest between Centennial and Wakeland had plenty of district implications on the line with both teams entering the game at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco with a 2-1 mark against 9-4A counterparts.
The Titans found themselves in a familiar position following the game after earning a 24-20 victory and climbing back up the district standings.
"We knew it would be a good game and a close game," said Mark Howard, Centennial head coach. "It's always like that when we play Wakeland."
"You can't go three-and-out against these teams," said Marty Secord, Wakeland head coach. "You have to get first downs."
However, the Titans struck first in the second frame and took a 7-0 lead after senior quarterback Lamar Jordan found junior receiver Kelly Cordova for a 1-yard strike at the 11:18 mark of the quarter.
Jordan had relatively quiet game with 65 yards on 13 carries and another 89 yards and a touchdown through the air after completing 8-of-16 attempts.
"[Jordan] made some throws when he needed to," Howard said.
The Wolverines were then able to find some holes in Centennial's stingy defense and marched into the red zone before junior quarterback Jackson Lamb threw an interception to senior safety Josh Garrett in the end zone.
"Our guys stepped up on defense," Howard said. "I can't say enough about the job our defense did tonight."
The turnover set up Centennial's second scoring drive of the night after the Titans dialed up a bit of trickery.
Cordova found a wide-open Cody Bagwell after baiting the defense on a reverse for a 34-yard touchdown pass that made it a 14-0 game in favor of Centennial.
The Wolverines were able to build off their previous drive and move the ball against Centennial. Badly needing a score before the break, Lamb delivered a 37-yard touchdown pass to senior Jonathan Weisheit after taking a wide receiver screen the entire distance.
Weisheit finished the game with eight catches for a game-high 96 yards and one touchdown. Lamb completed 26-of-44 pass attempts for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Weisheit's long score trimmed the Centennial lead to 14-7 with just 1:21 left in the half and neither team was able to do anything else before heading into their respective locker rooms.
"We needed that score," Secord said. "One we scored, we knew we could score again and tie it up."
Wakeland did exactly that in the third frame, forcing a punt on Centennial's opening drive before marching 66 yards to the end zone. It was junior running back Tyler Carver who capped the drive with a 1-yard run to make it a 14-14 game with 4:33 left in the quarter.
The Wolverines then stole all the momentum on the following kickoff by recovering a fumble to set up a shortened field at the Centennial 29-yard line.
Carver punched it in for Wakeland once again with a 2-yard run to give his team a 20-14 lead with 3:01 left in the third.
"That was big," Secord said. "The kids really responded well after halftime."
Wakeland would take the 20-14 advantage into the fourth, where Centennial showed why it's the defending district champion.
The Titans followed Carver's 2-yard touchdown run by moving into the red zone and adding a 27-yard field goal from senior kicker Austin Shoemake. The kick trimmed the Wakeland lead to 20-17 with 11:50 remaining in the game.
Centennial then clamped down on defense and forced three straight punts, including back-to-back three-and-out drives.
"To me, that's a character thing," Howard said. "We've been in that situation before with Prosper and it showed."
Following Wakeland's first punt of the quarter, the Titans marched 60 yards before scoring on a 6-yard run from junior running back Kamari Burnett. A 24-20 Centennial lead with 7:28 remaining in the game was the end result of the drive.
The Titans never gave Lamb and the Wakeland offense a chance to regain the lead. A three-and-out punt was the end result of Wakeland's ensuing drive that allowed Centennial to burn more time off the clock.
"In a big ball game like this, you can't afford to have three-and-out drives like that," Secord said.
After Centennial forced another punt with just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Wakeland defense came through with a crucial stop to give its offense one last shot.
The Wolverines took over possession at their own 27-yard line, needing to go 73 yards for the win.
Despite moving the chains near midfield, Lamb was brought down on the final play of the game to give Centennial a 24-20 victory.
"This was a total team effort," Howard said. "The entire team came through in this one."
Centennial (6-1, 3-1) now enters tonight's game against first-place Frisco (4-0) with the inside track at a repeat title.
"The winner of that game should move into the driver's seat," Howard said. "We expect the same kind of game next week that we had tonight."
Wakeland (5-2, 2-2) looked to rebound with a Thursday night meeting against The Colony. However, results were not available as of press time.
"The good news is that we turn right around and play again Thursday," Secord said. "There is still a lot of football left."
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Frisco Centennial «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
