Centennial quickly grabbing attention

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Sept. 10, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

After sweeping its fellow new schools in year one, Centennial's football team spent last season in the shadow of peers Desert Pines and Foothill.

While the Jaguars and Falcons finished near the top of their divisions, the Bulldogs managed just two wins in 10 contests, falling to both of their second-year rivals.

When the 2001 season opened, Centennial found itself on the outside looking in again, with both Desert Pines and Foothill ranked and among the preseason favorites to represent Southern Nevada in this year's state tournament.

Last Friday night, however, the Bulldogs put themselves back on the map, defeating No. 6 Foothill 29-23 on the road, one week after dropping a close eight-point decision to No. 2 Desert Pines.

"We said, 'If you want recognition, you've got to come out on Friday night and produce each week,' " Centennial coach Greg Murphy said. "We play in a real difficult conference and we have a tough non-conference schedule, so we're excited about the win."

The Bulldogs (1-1) came out on top despite squandering a 23-7 second-half lead. Falcons' tailback John Ford pulled his team even with a pair of touchdown runs and two two-point conversions, but Centennial's Devin Patterson scored the game-winner on a 75-yard scamper in the fourth quarter.

"We think we can be a pretty good ballclub. We have a shot at being successful," Murphy said. "We were a little limited last year on offense, but this year we're more multi-dimensional."

Up next for the Bulldogs: Chaparral, which toppled Cheyenne 29-10 to improve to 2-0. Also remaining perfect on the young season were Desert Pines, which raced past Bonanza 33-6, No. 4 Palo Verde, which blanked Silverado 42-0, No. 8 Durango, which fended off Rancho 38-14, and Bishop Gorman, a 29-21 winner over Eldorado.

The Panthers looked particularly impressive, shutting down a Skyhawk offense that rushed for 466 yards in week one against Western. Palo Verde put on an offensive show of its own, scoring on its first six possessions before pulling its starters.

Quarterback Dayton Ponder, running backs Gerard Lawson, Darrel Brumfield and Ryan Worthen and receivers Martin Lane and Loren Perkins-Johnson all made significant contributions, as the Panthers built a 28-0 halftime lead and cruised from there.

"I was really pleased with the performance. It was probably the best game we've played in school history offensively," Palo Verde coach Darwin Rost said. "We weren't real sharp last week against Valley, but they worked hard all week and it showed."

No. 7 Las Vegas and No. 10 Cimarron-Memorial both bounced back from first-week losses to out-of-state opponents with lopsided wins in Week 2.