FRANKLIN - The game was over.
Centennial had won. Celebration plans were in the works.
Then an unthinkable and cruel situation played out for
Centennial last night. With 28 seconds remaining and the Cougars
aiming to run the clock out for their first-ever victory against
Brentwood, the football fell to the ground. Fumble.
"All I saw was a pile and our kids pointing," Brentwood
Coach Ron Crawford said.
The Bruins recovered. Three plays and a Kyle Willis 30-yard
field goal later, destiny was rewritten. Brentwood stole the game
25-23.
The defending Class 5A champions stood in the middle of
Centennial's field undefeated, still in awe of the reversal of
fortunes. Centennial players were bent over at the waist in
disbelief.
"It's just like last year," Centennial senior Philip
Bates said. "We collapsed at the end. It was a tough break. I
thought we had it. It was just a blown play."
On third-and-9 from the Centennial 28, the Cougars called a
counter run for Bates (20 carries, 127 yards). Before he could
take the handoff from quarterback Taylor Scott, Brentwood's
defense was in the backfield. Scott was hit. Bates was hit. The
ball came loose.
"Their linebackers were right there," Centennial Coach Greg
Gregory said. "The counter had been working good all night, but
they hit us in the back and fell on it. Hindsight is 20-20. We
could have taken a knee, ran the clock to 10 seconds, punted it
and taken our chances."
Willis, a senior kicker, had an extra point blocked and missed
another PAT earlier in the game. But he was perfect on the
game-winning attempt, which cleared the crossbar with five seconds
to play.
Less than a minute earlier, Centennial (2-3, 1-1 in Region
6-5A) had seemingly secured its 23-22 lead with an interception by
cornerback Grant Horton with 1:02 to play. Brentwood (4-0, 2-0)
drove the ball from its 20 to the Centennial 47 before quarterback
Thomas Welch threw the ball deep for Kellen Moore, only to see
Horton make the grab.
"I never felt like we had the game won," Gregory said. "I
never feel that way until the final horn blows. There's no
(consolation). We should have won this game."
"We were fortunate," Crawford added. "All they had to do
was run the clock out, so we were fortunate."
Centennial led 17-16 at halftime. Both teams scored a touchdown
in the third quarter but failed to convert the PAT.
The Cougars mounted a dominating drive that took 8:09 off the
clock in the fourth quarter, only to stall at the Brentwood 5 with
just over three minutes left. Jordan Owen, who booted a line drive
through the posts from 45 yards away as time expired in the first
half, barely missed the 22-yard attempt wide right.
Brentwood took a 7-0 lead in the game when Scott threw an
interception on the game's first play from scrimmage. The Bruins
then cashed in on Jared Fugate's 2-yard run.
Centennial settled down on its next drive, which measured 68
yards. The offensive line opened a wide lane for Curtis Steele to
score untouched from 13 yards out, tying the game 7-7.
Following a pair of punts, Brentwood retook the lead on a
40-yard field goal from Willis. The lead changed hands a twice
more on second-quarter touchdowns from Bates and Brentwood's
Matt Hobbs, who reeled in a nicely lofted 17-yard pass from Welch.
Centennial opted to push for the go-ahead score with 1:03
remaining in the half, and Scott went to the passing game for the
first time since his interception. He effectively moved the ball
40 yards to the Brentwood 28 to set up Owen's kick.