13 October 2023
The Centennial offense has had a lot of success running the ball this season.
But even in miserable conditions Thursday night, the Cougars showed they’re pretty good at throwing it as well.
Senior quarterback Daylen Cummings rushed for one touchdown and threw for two more as Centennial rolled past Champlin Park 35-7 on the road in the pouring rain.
“We can throw the ball when we want to,” said Cummings after the Cougars, tied for sixth in the most recent Class 6A poll, improved to 6-1 this season.
The victory, combined with Maple Grove’s 14-13 loss to St. Michael-Albertville, wrapped up the Metro-North title for Centennial.
“Our motto is we’re physical,” Cummings said. “When we can keep driving and picking up four yards or five yards every single play, that works. But tonight goes to show we can throw the ball when we need to.”
The two teams punted the ball back and forth throughout much of the first quarter. But on their third punt of the night, the Rebels — who struggled with handling the ball in the wet conditions throughout much of the first half — mishandled the snap.
The result gave Centennial the ball at the Champlin Park 40, setting up a 16-yard touchdown run by senior Maverick Harper as time expired in the first quarter.
“We haven’t had bad snaps all year, but they really cost us tonight,” said Rebels coach Nick Keenan, whose team fell to 3-4. “They didn’t make any mistakes at all and we made a bunch of them. That made a big difference.”
The Cougars expanded their lead to 14-0 when Cummings scored on a 13-yard run with 5:14 to go before halftime. After a short punt gave Centennial the ball at the Rebels’ 30, Cummings connected with senior Ty Burgoon on a 17-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left in the second quarter, making the score 21-0 at the half.
The Cougars held Champlin Park without a first down in the first half after the game’s opening possession.
“Our defense has turned it around and they’re playing really well,” Centennial coach Mike Diggins said. “Our defensive staff deserves a lot of credit for that. And our kids have worked really hard to get to where they are.”
Cummings and Burgoon connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter to expand the Centennial lead to 28-0. The Rebels got on the board later in the third, but a six-yard scoring run by Harper with 6:54 remaining in the game again put the Cougars back on top by four touchdowns.
“It’s funny because the night we throw the ball more, it’s raining,” Harper said with a smile. “But we know we can always count on Gooner (Burgoon) making catches. We can always count on the line to make their blocks.
“And we can always count on Daylen throwing the ball well.”
Centennial closes its season with a non-sub-district home game against Rosemount at 7 p.m. next Thursday. It was the Irish who ended the Cougars’ season with a 27-0 victory in the Class 6A state quarterfinals a year ago.
This season, though, Cummings said his team has aspirations of making it even further.
“I believe this team is capable of going all the way,” he said. “We’ve got guys who want it. Guys who have been working hard all offseason. We know we still have a lot of work to do. But I feel like we can go a long way.”