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Wildcats Defeat Herndon 35 to 21

Valuable Victory

Published November 5 200

Wildcats hosted the Herndon Hornets and dominate the game, secure an important victory, and experience a little taste of controversy before the final whistle. Wildcats work hard to stay in the playoff race with a 35 to 21 victory over the Hornets. The evening of Friday night football saw hard hits, wacky refs, battle scars, and more! We have photos of the honored seniors from Fall sports, cheerleaders, and marching band, along with pics of the half time show, and loads of football action.

The evening started with a celebration (see the photos). A presentation of football players, Fall athletes, cheerleaders and members of the marching band that all proudly represent the Class of 2006. Then the football squads took to the field, with Centreville understanding this to be a crucial game in their playoff hopes. The Wildcats enter the evening in a three-way tie for fourth place in Division 6.

The action started slow compared to previous Wildcat contests. Centreville received the kick off and started a long drive down the field, which ended with an incomplete pass that smelled suspiciously of pass interference, but no flag was thrust onto the turf. Herndon gets their first possession on downs. Hornets have the ball for a three-and-punt drive.

Are You Ready?

Wildcats have had enough silliness, now it's time to play some football. They drive the ball downfield with a nice recipe of running and passing, mixing it up into a tasty treat ending with a few exciting plays. Plays that take them to the 7 yard line, then the 3, a first down, and into the end zone. The excitement isn't over yet! There's icing for this little treat. Hornets line up to attempt blocking Matt Spencer's extra point. Van Chew is there to hold the ball for the kick. The ball is snapped, into Chew's hands... and he jumps up, runs around the right side and into the end zone! A magnificent tricky play making the score Centreville 8, Herndon zero.

With three minutes and six seconds left to play in the first-quarter, Wildcats boot the ball to Herndon. Centreville's defense is completely in control, with bear hug stops like that of Colin Miller's that just wrap-up the Hornet offense. The only real forward progress the Hornets gain is through penalties. This takes them into the second-quarter, where they end up surrendering the ball on downs. Wildcats begin another long drive, with three first downs (two on consecutive plays) and a final run by Brandon Davis into the end zone. With seven minutes and forty four minutes left in the second-quarter, Spencer's kick is good making the score Centreville 15, Herndon zero.

Herndon received the ball from Centreville's kick and begins a long trek downfield. They find themselves within scoring range. Will the Hornet offense get the best of the Wildcat defense this time? One valiant attempt by the Hornets sends the ball into the air over the end zone, where Cam Dohse prevents the catch and a touchdown. Two more plays defeated by the Centreville defense bring their offense back on the field to take over on downs.

It's a blooper of a series for the Wildcats, as they go three-and-punt. On the punt, Herndon fumbles the return and Centreville recovers! Wildcats take the ball at the 53 yard line, but their drive ends with another questionable call by the officials, as they rule a reception out of bounds. Many folks on the sideline thought it was good (see our gallery for a photo) but Herndon gets possession on downs. With just a few seconds left in the half, Wildcat defense forces a fumble and recovers, but the clock runs out, ending the first half with a score of Centreville 15, Herndon zero.

Marching Into Halftime

The Wildcat Marching Band takes the field in a powerful presentation of Night on Bald Mountain. It is, after all, the final halftime appearance for the Senior members of the band at Trussell Stadium. They want to put on a great show, and it works. The dance team follows with a perky routine that gets folks in the bleachers fired-up (see our gallery for pics!).

The football squads return to the field and Herndon receives the kick. The Wildcat defense is following the lead of Colin Miller as they flex to prevent Hornet success. Their offense goes three-and-punt... wait a minute. A flag on the punt gives Herndon new life, further fueled by a pass interference call on Centreville. Seems like the little yellow flags fly freely against Centreville. Perhaps it's an illusion caused by the excitement, but that's just the way it appears. As the Hornets move down field you'd better fasten your seat belt—it's gonna get tweaky out here.

A long Herndon pass into the far-left corner of the east end zone (see our gallery!) is bobbled by the Hornet receiver as he flies out of bounds. Did he have possession? Was he already out of bounds? The official's hands shoot up and point to the stars declaring the play a touchdown.

Outta Here

The din from the Centreville side of the stadium was deafening as they express their displeasure with the ruling. The ruckus on the sideline so incensed the officials, they eject some of the fans (see our photos!) from the sideline—outta here! That far-left corner of the end zone has become quite the hot spot for controversial calls (recall the Westfield game). With eight minutes and nine seconds left on the clock, the extra point is finally kicked, it's good, and the score is now Centreville 15, Herndon 7.

Wildcats receive Herndon's kick and begin to struggle. Take a breath, shake off that last Hornet drive, and focus. That worked, as Centreville drives to one first down, then another, and then... well, we'd better get a measurement. The officials drag the chain gang out on the field and, sure enough, a third Wildcat first down is confirmed. Two plays later Brandon Williams bursts through the goal line for another Wildcat touchdown. Spencer's extra point is good, making the score Centreville 22, Herndon 7 with one minute and fifty six seconds still to play in the third-quarter.

Herndon begins another drive receiving Centreville's kick. They orchestrate a running play that seems to break out of the pack, but Tom Waters makes a huge stop. Uh-oh, there's a little yellow flag, but this time the ruling is against the Hornets. That moves them back and now it's first-down with 20 yards to go. Two plays later it's a rumble. Centreville's Colin Miller slams into the Herndon offense and rolls his ankle. It's a bad one, as he's helped off the field. Nothing like a downed comrade to pump-up the defense, and on the next play Donnell Carpenter grabs an interception for the Wildcats and their offense returns to the field. The get on play off as the third quarter ends with a the score Centreville 22, Herndon 7.

A Big Little Something Different

It's late in the game, and that's when Wildcats like to shake things up. They keep action on the ground, working their running game. Beau Warren is a beast as, play after play, he's clearing a path for the Wildcat runners. This helps Brandon Davis finish a big gain to the four yard line. But Van Chew gets walloped and has to be helped off the turf and back to the bench. With the offense on fire, they give the ball to Andrew Morgan who crosses the goal line for a Wildcat touchdown. There is some confusion during the extra point attempt, Centreville earns a delay-of-game penalty, and the next attempt fails. With ten minutes and thirty three seconds left in the fourth-quarter, the score is now Centreville 28 to Herndon's 7.

Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

Herndon answers with a long drive ending in a touchdown and successful extra point. There's still almost a full six minutes of game time left. With the score Centreville 28, Herndon 14, Wildcats again take the ball from an onside kick. They work the ball down the field. After two first-downs, Drew Dudzik runs the ball into the end zone giving the Wildcats 6 more points. Spencer's extra point is good and the score is now 35 to 14. With just one minute and twenty nine seconds left on the clock, Herndon takes the ball. It takes the Hornets only 46-seconds of game time to run four plays and the ball into the end zone. A successful extra makes the score Centreville 35, Herndon 21. With just 43-seconds left on the clock, Wildcats grab the on-side kick, and patiently run-out the clock. Centreville achieves a valuable victory toward their playoff opportunities with a final score of Centreville 35, Herndon 21.

Lemme Take Your Photo

We have a few photo galleries to help remember the evening. Gallery 1 is focused on the Senior Night celebration before the game. Click here to see Gallery 1 of Seniors, and click here to see Gallery 2 by Tammi Duble. Click this to see our next gallery of football and halftime action. Another gallery from Tammi Duble covers football action on the field and on the sideline. Click here to see that collection of photos. We might even have more galleries in the near future, stay tuned!

Count On Me

Centreville Varsity statistics for the Herndon game are below. Check-out our new page of year-to-date statistics, totaling numbers for the varsity games of this season. The page also includes standings for the Concorde District.

RUSHING
	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Fmbl
Dudzik	14	64	4.6	1	0
Chew	0	0	0	0	0
Morgan	12	47	3.9	2	0
Fisher	0	0	0	0	0
Davis	24	122	5.1	1	0
Dunegan	0	0	0	0	0
Williams	1	2	2	0	0
Denby	0	0	0	0	0
Ferguson	0	0	0	0	0
Total	51	235	4.6	4	0
PASSING
	Att.	Comp	Yds	%	TD	INT
Dudzik	26	20	148	76.9	1	0
Chew	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dunegan	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	26	20	148	76.9	1	0
RECEIVING
	Yds	No.	Avg	TD
Dohse	56	10	5.6	0
Chew	37	4	9.3	0
Williams	45	4	11.3	1
Bankert	0	0	0.0	0
Davis	0	0	0.0	0
Basalyga	10	1	10.0	0
Denby	0	0	0.0	0
Total	148	19	7.8	1