Christmas Comes Early for Centennial Cougars

school headerDefense Does It For Centennial

On Friday night in the second round of the TSSAA Class 5A playoffs, Christmas came early for Centennial (11-1). (For all local action check out our Scoreboard)

TEAM 1 2 3 4 TOTAL
Centennial 3 15 0 7 25
Brentwood 0 0 0 7 7

The Cougars, cheered on by their Santa-themed student section, beat their Region 7 rival Brentwood 25-7.Centennial Cougars

Brentwood (6-6) turned the ball over five times- with two first quarter interceptions by Cougar Devious Christmon delivering an early edge that the Bruins never overcame.  Centennial, beating Brentwood for the second time this year, moves on to the Class 5A quarterfinals next week when they will host another Region 7 rival in No. 2 seed Henry County (10-2), who the Cougars beat 28-20 two weeks ago in the last game of the regular season.

“I just think we did a better job of staying in coverage and keeping the quarterback in the pocket than we did last time,” said Brian Rector, Centennial head coach. “This time we just had better ball skills, playing the ball in the air a whole lot better. So I am really proud of those guys for doing that and the up-front dudes for putting the pressure on the quarterback.”

Brentwood forced a Centennial three-and-out to start the game, and was driving within the Cougar 20-yard line. Bruins quarterback Carson Croy rolled left and threw a ball up into the left corner of the end zone. Devious Christman just jumped higher than intended receiver John Robertson, picking off the pass in the end zone with 7:49 left in the first quarter.

Centennial got a  35-yard Peyton Pisacane field goal out of the deal to take a 3-0 lead.

Christmon’s second interception,with 1:49 left in the first quarter, however, is the one that swung momentum totally in favor of Centennial.

The Cougars drive began on the Brentwood 48-yard line. A 31-yard catch by Ra’Sean McLemore ended the first quarter and brought the ball down to the 15-yard line. A couple plays later, Tristan Pisacane (12 for 18 for 139 yards, TD, INT) found McLemore for a 10-yard leaping touchdown catch. Centennial converted the two-point attempt- caught by Austin Waddell- to go up 11-0, with 9:49 left in the second quarter.

The Cougars called an onside kick, and recovered it, which with the interception, the touchdown and the two-point conversion combined to collectively take the breath from the Bruins. The game never seemed the same afterwards.

Brentwood went for it on fourth-and-five on the next possession at midfield, failing on a quarterback keeper. With 4:50 left in the first half, Centennial, with a healthy combination of Mondu Sawyers (31 carries, 147 yards, TD) and Tyrel Dodson drove the ball down to the 15-yard line. With less than a minute left, Dodson tore off a break-tackle 15-yard touchdown run that gave the Cougars an 18-0 lead going into halftime.


In the second half Croy (13 for 25 for 119 yards, 4 INTs) threw two more interceptions- one of which his knee was clearly down on before he threw- and the Bruins lost a fumble. Warren Jones and Peyton Pisacane had the interceptions. Jackson Hill had an interception for the Bruins.

In the fourth quarter Ahmad Arnold scored for the Bruins to avoid a shutout.Brentwood Bruins
The Bruins, who beat Memphis Central 55-7  last week in the first round, did not get all they wanted but can feel good about their first playoff berth in three years.

“We made some progress this year,” Ronald Crawford, Brentwood head coach, said. “We are proud of the fact that we earned our way into the playoffs, proud of fact that we got a playoff win, disappointed in the way we played tonight but we are not disappointed in the season as a whole.”

(For a look at all the playoff match-ups check out our Playoff Bracket.)
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More Brentwood High News Here
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