Contributing writer
One year ago, Centre only won two games and did not make it to the playoffs. On Saturday, the Cougars were 8-1 heading into the regional match in Hanover against the 2008 state champion in 1A eight-man District II.
The 9-1 Wildcats overpowered the Cougars and won, 48-0.
“They were extremely fast,” Coach Kelly Steiner said. “If things had gone right, we probably could have scored first. We had a couple of opportunities but were not able to take advantage of them because of a couple of fumbles and dropped passes.”
The Cougars won the toss and chose to receive the ball first. Starting on Centre’s own 29-yard line, quarterback entre’n theStarting on theirby heir turn-around season.” quarter.ats moved down the field and scored another touchdown. and droTanner Brunner threw two deep passes to Alex Hajek and Zach Antoszyk; both failed to receive them and the Cougars were forced to punt.
Starting on their 10, the Cougars stopped the Wildcats at the line, and they went 3-and-out. A few plays later, Trevor Troutt found a gap when running the ball, but it was stripped by Hanover and recovered by them, which gave them field possession at the Cougar 38-yard line.
On second down, Brunner sacked the quarterback for a 3-yard loss. Hanover’s halfback converted a third down with a 14-yard run to the outside.
The Wildcat’s quarterback Jerod Diederich then pitched the ball to Trevor Jueneman for a 5-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful.
As the Cougars tried to get something going, Rustyn Kerbs caught a sweeping pass, but Hanover intercepted it on the Cougar 27. The interception resulted in another Hanover touchdown and two extra points.
The Cougars could not get any momentum and were shut down, going 3-and-out. Hanover scored again, giving the Wildcats a 22-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Starting on their own 25-yard line, the Cougars were forced to go 3-and-out once again.
The Wildcats scored again in their next two possessions and added two points to increase their lead to 36-0.
Troutt and Brunner tried to make some good runs but were stopped. On fourth down, Brunner threw a pass but it slipped through the hands of his receiver.
Hanover took over and scored a 65-yard touchdown just before halftime. The score was 42-0.
The game ended early in the third quarter, when the Wildcats moved down the field and scored another touchdown to end the regional contest at 48-0.
“The players were sad after the game,” Steiner said, “but they also were happy about their turnaround season.”
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Tanner Brunner, 9-7; Trevor Troutt, 6-25; Rustyn Kerbs, 1-3.
Passing: Brunner, 3-12 for 36; Kerbs 0-1 and 1 interception.
Receiving: Zach Antoszyk, 2-22; Alex Hajek, 1-14.