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Interceptions key in Panther rout
November 5, 2009 By John Finlay of Centralia High School
After 2 weeks of districts, the Centralia Panthers already have the district championship won. Week 3’s opponent, the Hermann Bearcats, was already out of the playoff picture. The Bearcats were sure to play tough. They had nothing to lose, it was their senior’s last game and they were playing the undefeated Panthers ranked number one in the latest Class 2 poll. Good news for the Panthers, no mud this week! Hermann has artificial turf.
The Panthers started the night off on defense this week and it didn’t take long for the tone to be set. On the kickoff, Anthony Underwood came down the field untouched and pounded the Hermann return man. 3 plays later the Bearcats would be forced to punt. However, Centralia’s first drive would be about as productive. After a screen pass to Matt Rusch netted the Panther’s first of many first downs, the drive would stall on an incompletion, and the Panthers would be forced to punt as well. At first look, both defenses came to play.
Centralia’s next possession would bear fruit. Set up by several Dakyn Dollens runs and a nice catch by Holden Meyers, the Panthers moved the ball downfield towards the end zone. Dollens would crash in from a yard out to score the first TD. PAT by Ethan McCoy was good, Centralia up 7-0.
Another big hit on the kickoff, this time by Joel Bohlmeyer, would start the next Bearcat drive. This one ended almost as quickly as it started, as Nic Ford would intercept a pass attempt to regain possession. Scott Rodgers found Rusch on the right sideline for a 16-yard gain. Again Dollens would score from 1 yard out and with the PAT by McCoy good, the Panthers would lead 14-0.
The next Hermann possession would again see them try out our pass defense. This time a pair of deflections, one by Ethan Massey and another by Mike Schmidt, would end the Bearcat possession. This time a series of runs by Rodgers and Dane Bramon would efficiently move the ball downfield. Rodgers and Bramon would execute a “Statue of Liberty” play that would result in a 10 yard TD run by Bramon. The PAT was no good, Centralia 20 Hermann 0.
Centralia would show their versatility on the next possession, by using pass plays to move the ball. Rodgers would find Schmidt for 15 yards, Meyers for a gain of 26 and a shovel pass to Dollens for a 19-yard TD. The 2-point pass to Hunter Brumley was good making the score 28-0 Centralia.
The Bearcats would put together a little drive the next time they got the ball. They would move the ball downfield on 11 plays with most of the yards coming on pass plays. However, Matt Rusch would end the drive with an interception on the 10-yard line. This would start a 9 play, 90-yard drive for the Panthers. The key plays on this drive were an 11-yard pass to Nic Ford, Rusch coming open for a completion of 16 yards and ended with Bramon running in from 20 yards out for a TD. PAT by McCoy was good, Centralia up 35-0.
Heading into the half, the one thing that stood out to me was Centralia’s ability to make Hermann one-dimensional. Pretty much the only thing that was working for the Bearcats was throwing the ball deep. They had completed 3 long passes in the first half, but had not scored. I have got to think it is hard to throw deep all game, knowing how much speed there is defensively. Centralia had already intercepted 3 passes, the last one coming from Caleb White, things weren’t looking good for the Bearcat passing game.
Centralia would start the second half much the same as the first half was played, they moved the ball efficiently. A series of short passes and runs moved the ball downfield in 7 plays. Rodgers would run the ball in from 2 yards for the TD. PAT by McCoy was good, Centralia up 42-0.
The next Bearcat possession was short. A pass attempt was deflected by Bramon and Anthony Underwood would intercept the pass and take it back 27 yards for a TD. The PAT was no good, Centralia leads 48-0.
The Hermann passing game would continue to struggle when after an incompletion, Holden Meyers would intercept another Bearcat pass. After a series of Bramon runs moved the ball downfield, Rodgers would plunge in from 2 yards out for a TD. PAT by Nic Ford was good, Centralia 55 Hermann 0.
Hermann decided to get tricky the next time they had the ball. They threw a short pass to a wide receiver who then threw a pass downfield to another receiver who was wide open for their only score of the game. Their 2 point conversion failed making the score 55-6.
The last possession for the Panthers saw a combination of QB Dax Dollens and RB Caleb White move the ball downfield behind their offensive line. This 13-play drive would cover 62 yards and end with a Dollens to Holden Meyers TD pass from 12 yards out. The 2 point conversion was no good making the final score 61-6.
The Panthers would throw the ball well on the night, completing 12-17 passes for 179 yards and 2 TDs. Receiving for Centralia looked like this, Meyers 3 catches for 72 yards, Rusch 4 for 54 yards and Schmidt and Dollens 2 each for 24 and 18 respectively. The running game was quite dominant itself as the Panthers amassed 347 yards on the ground. Bramon would have 126 yards on 13 carries and Rodgers would gain 88 yards himself.
Defensively, the Panthers were quite stifling. Joel Bohlmeyer would lead the team in tackles with 8. Hermann had no room to run the ball as they gained -9 yards on 18 carries. Then when they tried to throw, there was pressure everywhere. Josh Thorp had a sack of 12 yards and Michael Mahieu had one for 7 yards. When the passes were thrown under that pressure, it resulted in 5 Centralia interceptions on the night.
Well, the regular season is over. Here we sit, 10-0 again. It is a great feeling of pride for not only the players and coaches, but for the town as well. Time to look forward to the playoff games, but do so only 1 game at a time. This is a time when miracles happen; make sure they are our miracles. South Callaway is next on the list. Make sure they get crossed off then move on. Get to the game on Wednesday! It looks like a great night for football.
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