Sports

Centennial Vs. Hammond

Jackson Palich|September 16, 2022

Photo from the Centennial and Hammond High School football game

This past Friday, September 9th, the Centennial Eagles varsity football team took on the Hammond Golden Bears in their home opener.

The Eagles were coming off of a tough loss the previous week against Oakland Mills where the team displayed determination after staying competitive with the Oakland Mills team that outsized the Eagles in most aspects of the game.

Centennial opened the game with a turnover, which Hammond shortly returned. The Eagles took care of the short field opportunity and converted, giving them the early lead, Hammond answered quickly, tying the game up at six. However, Centennial responded well, scoring before the end of the quarter and giving themselves a 13-6 lead heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter was relatively quiet up until around the one minute mark. In that final minute, Centennial and Hammond traded turnovers.Once the Eagles took possession back, they didn’t waste their opportunity and scored right before halftime, taking a 19-6 lead into the break.

Coming out of the half leading by multiple scores, the Eagles needed to focus on retaining the lead while also consuming as much time as possible. Not only did they eat up almost half of the 3rd quarter time before scoring, but they also forced a turnover late into the quarter that set them up for a score into the next quarter. At this point, the game was all but over. Centennial tacked on one more score in the fourth making the score 34-6, which was eventually the final.

When asked what he thought was a key factor in the win, starting quarterback Sammy Klein credited two things: running the ball and no huddle offense. “Hammond didn’t seem to have an answer to the run all game so we just kept on pounding the rock. Also we got our offense moving with the no huddle, and that really took a toll on the Hammond defense. Everyone on offense did what they had to do” Klein elaborated.

Klein also explained that the mentality held by the team throughout the game was beneficial, while their negative mindsets were the main reason that they fell behind last week. “We put our heads down and they retook the lead and I think that’s what really messed us up. This week we stayed composed and just played the football we knew we could,” explained Klein. “Don’t be surprised if we make some noise this year.”