Staff writer

What a season! The Centre Junior High School football team is celebrating a 2008 record of 6-1 after defeating Prairie Heights, 38-14, Monday on the road in their final game of the season.

Coach Stan Wiles was pleased with the effort put forth by the players.

“It was a great year,” he said.

Centre started with a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Houston Svoboda caught a short pass from Justin Deines to score.

Both teams scored eight points in the second quarter. Svoboda caught a four-yard pass for the touchdown and Ty Simons caught a pass from Kendall Harding for the extra points.

Centre led 14-8 at halftime.

The Cougars shut out the Huskies in the third quarter while adding three touchdowns.

Svoboda caught 10- and 48-yard passes for two scores and Harding ran for the third.

Both teams added six points in the fourth quarter, Centre on a four-yard run by Harding. The result was a 24-point win for Centre.

Centre accumulated 149 yards rushing and 171 yards passing, compared to 75 yards rushing and 75 yards passing by White City.

Harding was Centre’s leading rusher with 87 yards, and Svoboda was leading receiver with 86 yards.

Harding and Dylan Svitak led the defense. Harding had eight solo tackles and seven assists. Svitak had five solo tackles and 10 assists.

Centre vs. White City

The team bounced back Thursday from their only loss of the season Oct. 9 to Luckey Junior High School, Manhattan, defeating White City, 50-22 at Cougar Field.

The only first-quarter touchdown was scored on a two-yard run by Harding. Svoboda caught a pass from Deines to add two extra points.

Centre added three touchdowns in the second quarter while keeping White City from scoring.

The touchdowns came on a nine-yard run by Kyle Methvin, and 37- and 16-yard runs by Harding. Harding caught a pass from Deines for an additional two points.

The Cougars led 28-0 at halftime. The remainder of the game was a dead heat. Both teams scored 14 points in the third quarter and eight points in the fourth quarter.

Methvin found the end zone twice in the third quarter, the first time on a 46-yard pass reception, the second time on a 40-yard run.

Methvin also scored the final Cougar touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard run. Cory Brunzell added the extra points on a pass reception from Deines.

It was the team’s last home game of the season, and the 28-point win was sweet for fans and players alike.

Centre rushed for 234 yards compared to 185 by White City. Deines passed for 90 yards. White City gained no yards in the air.

Methvin was Centre’s leading rusher with 10 carries for 134 yards. He was followed closely by Harding with 12 carries for 127 yards. Methvin had 46 receptions and Harding had 44.

Harding led the defense with four solo and six assisted tackles. He also had one interception. Svoboda had three solo and six assisted tackles, and Methvin had three solo and five assisted tackles.

Other tacklers (solo-assists) were Ty Simons 2-6 plus one fumble recovery, Solomon Brunner 3-2, Brunzell 1-2, Deines 2-3 plus one fumble recovery, Chad Mueller 1-1, Kodey Johnson 1-1, Braden Pagenkopf 1-4, and Dylan Svitak 1-6.

The final game of the 2008 season was played Monday at Prairie Heights.