Senior Night Football vs Mojave
Jackson Froistad
Bark! Voice of the Bulldogs
Staff Writer
The Centennial Bulldogs entered the important Friday night showdown against the Mojave Rattlers looking to build on their win on October 10 and secure a win on Senior Night. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were not able to achieve this. The Bulldogs were set to receive the opening kick, but Mojave recovered their onside kick. The Bulldogs’ defense started well, putting pressure on the quarterback and making a stop on third down. Instead of punting, the Rattlers looked to establish an aggressive tone, going for it on fourth down. A sack from senior defensive back Jaden Williams, however, led to a turnover on downs and gave the Bulldogs the ball on Mojave’s 44-yard line.
Centennial’s first offensive drive started well with senior Brogan Church continuing where he left off in last week’s game against Palo Verde (17 carries for 172 yards and 3 touchdowns) with a powerful 23-yard run. The Bulldogs, however, could not maintain the drive and missed a 34-yard field goal. Centennial defense continued to come strong and get to the quarterback, but that was not the case on Mojave’s third offensive possession, where they threw a 63-yard touchdown.
The Rattlers kicked another onside kick, but the Bulldogs recovered the ball and took possession at their own 32. This drive was short lived though, as senior quarterback Ashton Hunt threw an interception, and the Rattlers eventually scored a touchdown, though the extra point was blocked.
It didn’t take much longer for Brogan Church to score his seventh touchdown of the season on Centennial’s next possession, hauling in a 24-yard reception and converting a two-point conversion. Junior free safety Maxwell Miles brought in his fourth interception in as many games, but was ejected after a targeting penalty shortly thereafter.
Mojave’s momentum continued after leading 13-8 at halftime, scoring another touchdown in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, a defensive pass interference on third down brought back an interception and gave the Rattlers an automatic first down. This continued their drive, which they took advantage of scoring a touchdown on fourth down, widening their lead to 27-8.
In Centennial’s last offensive drive, Brogan Church had a powerful 34-yard run. This was followed by an 18-yard run from the third Bulldog quarterback to appear in the game, sophomore Nehemiah Dunlap-Myvett, who finished the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown and scored the two-point conversion with 5:26 left in the game.
The Rattlers ran out the clock and won 27-16. Church said his success has come from the offensive line doing a great job and sacrificing themselves, but “At the end of the day, the team didn’t fight as hard as they should have.”
Head coach D.J. Campbell thought similarly, saying, “We didn’t focus on the little things, the tackling, the blocking, the catching, the throwing. We just didn’t focus on it.” He added, “My heart hurts for our seniors knowing that this could possibly be their last home game.”
The Bulldogs (4-4) take on Somerset Academy Losee (0-9) this Friday, October 24, at 6 P.M. in the last game of the regular season.
