Suffocating Patriots Defense Shuts Down Centennial

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Page and their outstanding defense flexed their muscles early & often in their 24-12 win over Centennial Friday night, placing themselves one step closer towards winning a region title. </h2>     The atmosphere was ripe for an outstanding football game but the Page Patriots put an end to the excitement early as they flew out the gates on both sides of the ball to take a 14-0 lead that held up for a 24-12 win over region foe Centennial.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/20231020_210304.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1055603" style="aspect-ratio:1.7777777777777777;width:667px;height:auto" /></figure>   The opening possession showed where this game was headed as Cougars quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='148876' first='Elisha' last='Nieves'] fumbled the opening snap then did so again on their next possession after junior Patriots edge rusher [player_tooltip player_id='219439' first='Eric' last='Hazzard'] blazed past the offensive tackle to sack Nieves and dislodge the ball.    The offense did their job too as they capitalized on the Cougars early turnovers by scoring both times coming by way through the air of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='308770' first='Jonathan' last='Palmer']. Page was simply clicking on all cylinders in the 1st quarter on both sides of the ball and it would continue the rest of the 1st half.    If you were in attendance, what you would have seen in the 1st half was a dominant performance from the Patriots defense, spearheaded by their pass rush of Hazzard and junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='390716' first='Brenden' last='Anes'].    The duo of Hazzard and Anes was purely unstoppable. The Cougars offensive line could not block them nor had any answers to slow them down. The two junior linebackers took over the game in the 1st half, constantly putting pressure or sacking Nieves while also helping make plays against the run as well.    While the defense had things locked down on their end, the offense did a solid job as well in the 1st half maintaining drives and keeping Centennial on their side of the field. A lot of that was done by way of the run and stud back [player_tooltip player_id='277796' first='Ethan' last='Cunningham'].    The Patriots rushing attack was the X-factor in this contest that allowed Page to keep the clock in their favor and put themselves in position to score as they would take a 21-6 lead into halftime.    Much of the 2nd half was waiting for the inevitable and that was Page walking away with the victory. The 3rd quarter went scoreless and the next points would not go on the board till Mid-4th when the Patriots put a field goal on the board to push their score to 24-6.    Both teams had made adjustments in the locker room that slowed up what both teams were doing but as we got into the 4th quarter, both Page and the Cougars appeared to start running out of gas, however the road team had one last bar of power left in their tank to push back one more time.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/20231020_195105.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1055605" style="aspect-ratio:1.7777777777777777;width:580px;height:auto" /></figure>   Centennial did try to make a run things late in the 4th quarter where they scored on a wildcat run from the one by [player_tooltip player_id='316773' first='Dominic' last='Reed'] but the Cougars ran out of time as the home Patriots would go on for the 24-12 win and push themselves one game closer to another region title.    Much of this entire game was controlled and dominated by Page and I never thought the outcome was in doubt as we inched through the contest. It was an outstanding showing from the Patriots as a whole, showing me and others that the Patriots are a team you don't want to face in the coming playoffs, especially facing their defense.    Both of these teams will get better from this matchup and I believe both Page and Centennial will be formidable opponents in the coming playoffs that have ingredients to make it all the way to Chattanooga.   Player of the Game    It's tough to give player of the game honors to just one linebacker because both Hazzard and Anes were unreal Friday night. These two stud junior prospects wrecked havoc all night long, especially in the 1st half where both guys produced multiple sacks and forced some turnovers. Hazzard is your prototypical pass rusher that simply knows how to get into the backfield while Anes is your rangy linebacker that can make plays sideline to sideline. Both these junior backers are stalwarts, key leaders on this Patriots team that can take over ball games just like they did on Friday night and push their team deep into the playoffs.   Other Top Performers   (QB) [player_tooltip player_id='308770' first='Jonathan' last='Palmer'] - Page: Steady & efficient was the name of the game for Palmer on Friday as he did a good job of distributing the ball properly while also not giving the ball away. His performance at QB was a key factor for the Patriots offense in their victory over Centennial.    ‘25 (Ath) [player_tooltip player_id='310897' first='Kani'' last='Johnson'] - Centennial: Offense was hard to come by for the Cougars but Johnson was one lone bright spot as he hauled in several receptions, especially for 1st downs. He was also quite good on defense as well knocking away several passes at defensive back.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/20231020_193605-crop-2764x1815-1697914430.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1055602" style="aspect-ratio:1.5238095238095237;width:467px;height:auto" /></figure>   (RB) [player_tooltip player_id='277796' first='Ethan' last='Cunningham'] - Page: The X-factor for the Patriots offense in their win, Cunningham ran around and through the Cougars defense for most of the game while sustaining drives with several 1st down runs.    (LB) [player_tooltip player_id='277761' first='D.J.' last='Curll'] - Centennial: Curll was an active participant throughout the entire game, even though he was targeted for double teams for most of the night. The Cougars showed excellent closing speed along with the ability to stay in coverage. He also displayed good hands and speed on offense at tight end as well.    ‘25 (OL/DL) [player_tooltip player_id='808035' first='A.J.' last='Johnson'] - Page: Johnson has been missing in action for most of the season but he looked in prime shape last night as he went both ways for the Patriots, making several key blocks on offense to spurn the run game while also holding up well on the D-line, stuffing ball carriers.    ‘25 (DE/LB) [player_tooltip player_id='301403' first='Aidan' last='Wright'] - Centennial: This was the one guy who the Patriots offensive line had a hard time blocking throughout the game. Wright displayed excellent burst and speed along with the ability to finish hard and violent. He needs to continue adding more weight but the pass rush upside is there!