Centerville junior Parker Johnson rushed for 140 yards and three TDs, junior Shane Cole rushed for 123 yards and a TD and junior Ethan Ireland also ran for a TD as the Elks improved to 7-3. They finished 6-1 in the conference, sharing the league title with Fairmont.
“That’s a really good football team across the field,” said Centerville coach Brent Ullery. “We have a lot of respect for them and a lot of respect for the rivalry. It’s a fun game to be a part of. We have a great senior class and this is a phenomenal way to finish out the regular season. We’re glad we could honor them with a win over win and a GWOC conference championship.”
Wayne senior Tyrell Lewis threw for 269 yards and two TD passes — one to sophomore Jamier Averette-Brown and another to senior Ka’maurri Smith — as the Warriors finished the regular season 5-5 and 4-3 in the conference.
“They did a great job and we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” said Wayne coach Roosevelt Mukes Jr.
Elks senior Leland Gantz kicked a 38-yard field goal and Cole followed with a 16-yard TD run to give Centerville an early 10-0 lead.
With 10 seconds remaining in the first half, Lewis found Averette-Brown on an 11-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 10-7 at the half.
The Warriors drove into Elks territory to open the second half, but Centerville sophomore Ziere Alston intercepted a pass to end the threat. A few plays later, Cole broke free for a 63-yard run and Johnson scored on a 3-yard run to make it 17-7.
“We talked at halftime that whoever turns the ball over is going to win the game,” Ullery said. “We wanted to keep possession and we also wanted to force turnovers. The defense did a heck of a job stepping up.”
With five seconds remaining in the third quarter, Ireland scored on a 1-yard run to increase their lead to 24-7.
Lewis hit Smith on a 27-yard TD pass with 6:57 to cut the lead to 24-14, but the Warriors wouldn’t get any closer.
“We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities, but we’ll bounce back,” Mukes said.
Johnson scored twice in the final five minutes — both on 2-yard runs — to seal the victory and the GWOC title for the Elks.
The Elks kicking game also played a key role in the victory, Ullery said. Gantz banged every kickoff into the end zone, keeping the Warriors from gaining any extra yardage on special teams.
“We made them go 80 and that makes it tough,” Ullery said.
Both teams had already qualified for the Division I, Region 2 playoffs. With the win, the Elks earned a top-four finish in the Region 2 standings, according to unofficial playoff rankings posted by JoeEitel.com, meaning they could host two playoff games. Wayne is likely to host a first-round game.
Neither team was looking past Friday’s rivalry game.
“We’ll figure it out tomorrow,” Ullery said of the playoffs.
Until then, they’ll celebrate a second straight GWOC championship.
“They played together,” Ullery said. “Elk pride to these guys means playing hard and playing together and that’s what they did tonight.”
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