Friday night proved to be a tough matchup for the Crimson and it was to be expected.   We had the opportunity to play the defending 6A State Champions from Centennial in their home opener.  They had an electric crowd with an incredible band.   It provided a tough atmosphere in which was a highly anticipated matchup.  Centennial did a great job from the beginning of the game providing us with aspects of the game that they hadn’t shown on film to that point.

We chose to start the game on offense because we wanted Centennial to be on their heels from the beginning.   We did a good job getting into Centennial territory, but then a tipped pass ended up becoming an interception for the Cougars.   This is when we saw their game plan.   On the second play from scrimmage, the Cougars offense came to the line of scrimmage ready to snap the ball with about 20 seconds left in the play clock, but their quarterback watched the play clock get under 5 seconds before deciding to snap the ball.   At this moment, I knew the game was going to get shortened.  The Cougars did a good job moving the chains for many of their drives.   They were able to get themselves into third and shorts and then able to convert.   Our defense gave up a touchdown on the opening drive which hadn’t happened yet this season.   Needless to say our guys were taken a back by the success of Centennial and the lack of ours. 

If a team scores on us, our objective is to keep the defense off the field for awhile to regroup.   Offensively, we need to get a few first downs.   Our offense did better than that on the next drive, they marched 80 yards on plays and capped it off with a Kaden Harney sneak.   We were back in the ball game.  Both teams had only one more possession before Centennial found an opening and bounced off a missed tackle to go 35 yards for a touchdown.   This was with approximately 1 minute left in the first half.   Our offense didn’t fret at all though as we’ve practiced many opportunities with a 2 minute drill.   Sure enough our offense successfully found the end zone with nearly no time remaining in the half.   We went into halftime with a 14-14 score.

Centennial started the second half with the ball and our defense took a long drive that gained minimal yardage and we forced a punt.   Centennial decided to fake the punt which provided our offense great starting field position, but we turned the ball over 3 plays later.   It was back to them having the ball and the opportunity to take the lead.   Our defense stood firm again though and forced a punt.   This is when our offense took over again.   The finished the 3rd quarter and started the 4th quarter with this drive and drove down the field on 5 plays for 77 yards.  Chuck Langama found paydirt from 22 yards out to put us up 21-14.   This ended up being the last of the scoring.   Our defense played a great second half keeping Centennial and their run first attitude out of the end zone the entire second half.   Our offense did just enough to put us on the right side of the scoreboard.   Centennial’s game plan to slow the game down proved to be a great tactic as both teams only had possession of the ball for 7 possessions. 

This game was great for our young men.  The guys had to fight back from a deficit twice and show resilience.  The coaching staff needed to adjust and learn to trust one another as well.   The game showed that we still have things that we need to get better at going into the remainder of the season.   I am very happy for the guys that they were able to overcome all of the adversity in the game.   I didn’t see any panic by the players and coaches on the sideline which was awesome to see.   Games like these are why the players work as hard as they do in the off-season for moments like this.  This is where the memories of waking up on a Tuesday morning becomes a heck of a lot easier knowing that the game ended up victorious.  An ugly win is better than a loss at any point in football.   We are aiming to ensure two home games in the playoffs and wins are crucial.

We need to play better this upcoming week against Anoka as they have a very senior laden team with a ton of talent on it.   We hope to have a raucous crowd which can help bring tons of energy to the boys.   The entire goal of this week is to go 1-0.   Leave No Doubt!

                                                                                                                   Coach Spurrell