Staff writer
In the final home game and coldest night of the season Friday, the Centre High School Cougars were defeated by White City, 37-14.
The Cougars led the Huskies, 14-7, at the end of the first quarter.
After White City took an early 7-0 lead, Nolan Brunner received a couple of passes from quarterback Ben Krause to help their team to the three-yard line.
They had a fourth-and-one when Krause ran for a touchdown. The conversion attempt failed and Centre trailed 7-6.
A White City snap that went over the head of the quarterback and was picked by the Cougars put Centre in good field position to score again.
A White City penalty propelled the Cougars to the 11-yard line, and Brandon Albrecht ran into the end zone on the next play. Konley Harding added the extra points on a pass from Brunner and Centre led 14-7 with two and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The second quarter was a disaster for the Cougars. Two pass interceptions and two fumble recoveries by White City gave the Huskies a huge scoring advantage.
White City scored at 8:21 and added two extra points to lead, 15-14. Two minutes later, the Huskies scored again after a pass reception at the one-yard line. The two-point conversion failed, but White City led 21-14.
A couple of possessions later, Krause threw an interception and White City capitalized by scoring another touchdown with 47 seconds remaining in the half. After a successful conversion play, White City led 29-14.
Centre strengthened its defenses in the second half, but the offense faltered. White City scored a touchdown in the third quarter and a safety on a blocked punt in the fourth to add eight points for a 23-point win.
Both teams were almost identical in yards gained on the ground. Centre had 25 carries for 94 yards and White City 46 carries for 93 yards.
The big difference was in the passing game. Centre compiled 38 yards in five pass receptions and White City compiled 217 yards in 16 pass receptions.
Albrecht was the leading rusher with 59 yards. Krause completed two of 20 passes and lost four for a total of 33 yards.
Brunner had one 25-yard reception. He also was the leading defensive player with 11 solo and 13 assisted tackles. Zach Antoszyk had seven solo and eight assisted tackles.
The loss to White City effectively ended Centre’s chances of going on to bi-district play. Centre is 2-2 in district play and faces 4-1 St. Paul on the road in its final game of the season.
St. Paul has clinched a spot at substate. White City and Waverly are 3-1 and both teams defeated Centre. They face each other this week, and the winner will be runner-up.