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Squandered opportunities hurt Centennial
Centennial unable to cash in on Redwood's turnovers; Kessler passes for 331 yards in debut at quarterback
| Saturday, Sep 13 2008 11:27 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Sep 15 2008 7:48 AM
With only four returning starters and minus one of them, senior Bryan Maxwell, the inexperience and youth of the Centennial High football team showed Friday night in the season opener.
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Centennial quarterback Cody Kessler is brought down by Redwood's Brent Pitman in the first half Friday at Centennial.
Centennial's Cody Kessler,looks for a receiver as he is chased down by Redwood's George Taylor.
Centennial's Cole Hallum returns an interception deep into Redwood territory Friday.
Centennial's Adam Clayton brings in a pass for a long gain Friday against Redwood.
Centennial High quarterback Cody Kessler drops back to pass as he gets some protection from Shawn Johnson during a Sept. 12 game against Visalia-Redwood. The Golden Hawks are one several local teams who pass the ball often.
Playing without Maxwell — who can at best be listed as week-to-week after being diagnosed with valley fever earlier this week — the Golden Hawks didn't exactly resemble the team that reached the Central Section Division I semifinals last year, losing 34-31 to Visalia-Redwood at home in a non-league game.
Centennial failed to capitalize on opportunities in the first half, when the Golden Hawks forced three turnovers but only had three points to show for them.
The biggest missed opportunity came midway through the second quarter. Centennial's Cole Hallum came up with an interception that gave the Golden Hawks a first-and-goal at Redwood's 5-yard line. But two plays later, Centennial (0-1) gave it right back as sophomore quarterback Cody Kessler threw an interception to the Rangers' Joseph Marquez at the goalline that he returned to Centennial's 14.
Instead of potentially taking a two-touchdown lead, it led to running back Josh Ramos' first touchdown and tied the game at 7-7.
Kessler did look sharp running the offense, though, completing 34-of-45 pass attempts for 331 yards and two touchdowns.
After rushing for just 14 yards in the first half, Ramos ran all over Centennial's defense in the second half, gaining 153 yards. He finished the game with 167 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries.
Ramos' biggest run of the game came in the fourth quarter. After Kessler finished long drive with a two-yard touchdown run to pull within 27-24, Ramos answered on the first play of Redwood's ensuing drive with a 66 yard run to Centennial's 14 yard line. It eventually led to a Ramos one-yard touchdown run that helped the Rangers pull away 34-24.
For Centennial, Matt Castellano had six catches for 111 yards, including a third-quarter touchdown for 65 yards.