Cougars Hungry for a ‘W’ in Last Game of the Regular Season

By David Wells

Since the beginning of the year, Centennial fans have never escaped the question of whether or not their team would reap the reward of extra games in November.

The same team that started out 0-2 became the team that beat Brentwood for the first time in school history, beginning a four-game win streak that put the Cougars right in the hunt for the District title.

That same squad took Ravenwood to the wire in Week 6, but ultimately falling to the eventual District champions. And those same Cougars floundered against Independence and narrowly escaped 1-9 Dickson County in its final home game.

While it is neither inconceivable nor unprecedented for a 5-5 team to make the playoffs, a win over Franklin High School Friday night would no doubt put that question to rest.

Franklin is currently sitting at 7-2 after an undefeated run through the first eight weeks of the year. In the past two weeks, the Rebels have fallen to both Ravenwood and Independence in close games.

Nevertheless, it’s a much different Franklin team than the 4-6 Rebels of 2012.

It’s no secret that the Cougars will once again rely heavily on star running back Deon Sanders, who despite coming off his lowest single-game rushing of the season is just 57 yards shy of a 1,500-yard season.

But against Dickson County, the Cougars opted for a more pass-oriented approach, throwing more times than it had all season with 27 pass attempts.

Should Franklin stop Sanders, Centennial has other viable options in receivers Emmanuel Hall and Bailey Wisniowki and running back B.J. Griffin.

Hall has 30 catches for eight touchdowns and 539 yards, along with 289 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. Wisniowski, meanwhile, has 404 total offensive yards, and Griffin is averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

The Cougars’ greatest weakness against Franklin will no doubt be its defense. Centennial has had a tendency to give up big running plays, no matter the opponent: two of its worst games on run defense game against teams that are 5-4 and 1-9.

Franklin may not pose as big a threat in the running game, as the Rebels have opt for more pass plays behind quarterback Joe Critchlow, who has gone 106-for-171 with 1,617 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions.

But if the Rebels opt for more of a rushing attack against Centennial, they have two fully capable backs in Colton Black and Malik Grimes, who have combined for 1,202 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Friday night’s game kicks off at 7 p.m.