Strong defense leads Centennial to a 43-14 win over Durango

Jummel Hidrosollo/Special to the Home News

Durango’s Thomas Flanagan brings down Centennial’s Chris Henderson during the football season opener at Centennial High School.

By Brent Hinckley (contact)

Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008 | midnight

Centennial's defense forced six turnovers to lead the Bulldogs to a 43-14 win against Durango Friday night.

"It's a signature of our defense to hit hard and fast," Centennial coach George Baker said.

Centennial had three interceptions, three fumble recoveries and a safety from an intentional grounding call. It held Durango to 247 yards of offense and two third-quarter touchdowns.

Durango coach Gary Maki said those mistakes came because of his team's youth and inexperience and hopes to eliminate them before playing Arbor View on Sept. 5.

"We self-destructed. Half of their points, because of our miscues," Maki said. "If we eliminate those, we'll be an OK team."

Durango sophomore quarterback Chase Roberts led both of the Trailblazers scoring drives and finished 13-for-27 for 220 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

"I was jittery in the beginning, but I picked it up in the third quarter and had fun," Roberts said. "It was great when everything comes together."

Centennial receiver Matt Holley had two first quarter touchdowns to give Centennial the early lead. He caught passes of 9 and 14 yards from junior quarterback Chris Henderson and finished with six catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned an interception 36 yards in the second half.

"That interception set things up for us," Holley said. "Coach told us we needed to score, and that helped spark us."

Neither team scored in the second quarter as Centennial maintained its 15-0 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs also found success on the ground as sophomore running back Brandon Wright rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns, both in the third quarter. Centennial scored 26 points in the third quarter to pull away.

"It came together, when we started working together," Wright said. "We made a lot of mistakes. We were too tired and we need to pick up the intensity."