Golden Hawks soar past Stars
| Saturday, Nov 07 2009 12:06 AM
Last Updated Saturday, Nov 07 2009 12:06 AM
Quarterback Cody Kessler's return to action Friday night wasn't the difference in Centennial's 49-13 win at North, but it definitely put the Golden Hawks on a higher pedestal as the regular season winds down and the playoffs approach.
Playing his first game since suffering a left ankle injury on Oct. 9, Kessler was 12-of-21 for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
Centennial (6-3 overall, 3-2 Southwest Yosemite League) had too much firepower for North (1-8, 0-6).
Centennial concludes the regular season next Friday against potent Frontier, but the Hawks did not have any letdown against the Stars.
"Our kids were ready to play," said Centennial coach Bryan Nixon.
Myren Moore had 137 yards on 16 carries with touchdown runs of 5, 10 and 5 yards for the Hawks.
Thomas Grimes got the Hawks going with a 67-yard punt return less than two minutes into the game. It was 21-3 after one quarter and 35-6 at halftime.
"They were a scoring machine in the first half," North coach Mark Camps said.
Kessler did not enter the game until the Hawks' third possession when he took the field with a slight limp with 2:07 left in the first quarter. His left ankle was heavily taped and he wore a special brace.
"I'd say I was about 85, 90 percent when I first went in," Kessler said. "I've been practicing, but game speed is 10 times faster than practice speed."
Kessler's more impressive series started with 1:57 left in the second quarter from the Hawks' 18 and Centennial out of time outs.
He completed 7-of-11 passes for the 83 yards, capped by a 10-yard TD pass to Tyler Fries with 13 seconds left in the half. Kessler added a 10-yard TD pass to Cole Hallum in the third quarter.
"I just wanted to get back in and get into rhythm," Kessler said.
Said Nixon: "We just wanted to get his feet wet. Mark (Ritchie) has been doing a great job."
North had a 1-yard TD run by David Maciel in the fourth quarter and field goals of 38 and 30 yards by Arturo Patiño in the first half.
Shawn Johnson added a 60-yard TD run for the Hawks.
