Centennial’s impressive second half keeps the Cougars rolling

Brian Jerzak

October 8, 2021 @ 12:13 AM

It has been an impressive run for the Centennial Cougars. After dropping their first two games – by a combined ten points - the Cougars had won three games in a row. The last two wins were over then-undefeated and ranked teams Wayzata and Maple Grove. Next up for the school from Circle Pines was the rival Blaine Bengals. The Bengals were coming off a win and were no slouch themselves with three wins on the season. After a tightly played first half, the Cougars got rolling and won their fourth in a row with a 26-14 victory. Both offenses came out of the locker room firing. Blaine faced a third and long near midfield, but quarterback AJ Kaul threw a strike – off his back foot – to receiver Jordan Reynolds. Again, facing a third and long, Kaul connected with tight end to keep the drive alive. Inside the ten-yard line, the Bengals had to pick up two yards on fourth down. They not only picked up the first down, but Blaine’s Preston Meyers hit a cutback run for an eight-yard touchdown run. Down a score early, Centennial quarterback calmly moved the offense down the field. He picked up two big chunks on the ground early in the drive. The Cougars’ Lance Nielsen Jr. came across the formation, took an end-around, cut into the middle of the field, and tied the game with a 28-yard touchdown run. After two scoring drives, it looked like we were in for a shoot-out, but both defenses got themselves right quickly. Lined up one-on-one with Reynolds, Centennial corner had perfect coverage on third and long. He forced an incompletion and a Bengals’ punt. Then, Emslander – who plays both ways - stuffed a second-down run forcing a third and long. The Cougars couldn’t convert and punted the ball back to the Bengals. Although they punted, the home Cougars won the field position game, and after a second three and out, Blaine had to punt from their end zone. Quick’s 20-yard punt return set his offense up at the Blaine 30. Then Blaine helped out the home team when they jumped offside on a fourth and five. The penalty gave the Cougars a first down, and a few plays later, Nielsen scored his second touchdown of the first half. Blaine rode the legs of Meyers to even up the game. The senior ground out first downs on the ground and caught a pass on a wheel route for big yardage. He would finish off the drive on a run up the middle for a 28-yard touchdown run. The game would remain tied at 14 into the second half. After both teams’ offenses would sputter early in the half, Centennial got the running game going again late in the third quarter. Cummings was the catalyst of the offense but running back Lance Liu started to find room between the tackles, and his running put the Cougars in scoring position again. Then Nielsen took a handoff and started to the outside. He had hurt the Bengals with this same action earlier in the game, so the Bengals’ defense swarmed him. This time, Neilsen would loft a pass over the defense to a wide-open Luke Clark for a 28- yard touchdown and a 20-14 lead. Blaine hurt themselves with penalties again. A holding penalty negated a big gain for Blaine. Instead of first and ten at the Cougars’ 20, they were looking at a third and 26. After punting the ball back to the Cougars, Centennial’s offensive line and Cummings took over. Cummings was tasked with deciding when to handoff, when to run, and when to pitch all game. The time-consuming drive seemed to wear out the Bengals’ front seven. Nearing the red zone, the Cougars converted on a fourth and two – running Liu right up the middle. The Cougars would put the game away when Cummings converted yet another fourth down, setting up first and goal. Liu would score one play later from eight yards out. Leading 26-12, the Cougars played some softer coverage allowing the Bengals some yards, but Reese Neudahl and Nielsen made big plays in the secondary, forcing a fourth and long. An overthrown pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the Cougars – allowing them to run out the clock. The 26-12 win was Centennial’s fourth win in a row and moved them to a record of 4-2.