Coaches want their football teams at 100% when they play David City Aquinas. The Monarchs are always tough, big and well-coached.
Centennial came into Sept. 3’s game not at 100%. The Broncos were decimated by a flu virus that swept through the team during the week. Coach Evan Klanecky said he didn’t have the whole team for practice once.
But the Broncos played well in spite of that, holding the Monarchs to 14 points – one touchdown coming after a blocked kick and the other on a big play in the fourth quarter.
“It was a really good game,” Klanecky said.
Mistakes and penalties hurt Centennial. The Broncos had a touchdown called back because of a penalty and a short and inches play in the red zone came up short.
“When we made mistakes, they were at the worst time,” Klanecky said.
While the Bronco offense wasn’t at its best, the team still played hard and kept fighting to the end, he said. Now, CHS has to work on the little things.
“Watching film this week will be full of teachable moments,” he said. “It was frustrating, but I’m proud of them.”
Centennial finished the game with 91 yards rushing and 79 passing. Maj Nisly completed nine of 22 pass attempts and gained 60 yards on the ground.
Jake Bargen was his favorite receiver, catching five passes for 64 yards. The Zimmer twins – Lane and Levi – caught the other four.
On defense, Samuel Payne led the team with six solo tackles and four assists, and Carson Fehlhafer had six solo stops and three assists.
Despite the loss, Klanecky said the Broncos can take some positives from the game.
“It’s how life is,” he said. “We have a sign in our locker room that says ‘Nobody cares. Work harder.’ We played well enough to win, but we beat ourselves.”
Klanecky said Elijah Utter filled in on the line and did a great job. Fehlhafer had a great game on defense, as well.
“Carson was a beast on the interior defensive line,” Klanecky said.
Jarrett Dodson and Lance Haberman also had good games, and Connor Clouse played well on special teams.
The Broncos (1-1) will host Grand Island Central Catholic Friday, Sept. 10, for homecoming.
“There’s no homecoming without the football game,” Klanecky said. “We are the entertainment.”
The Crusaders run a spread offense and feature a big wide receiver, Klanecky said. They will bring a different defensive pressure than the Broncos are used to.
“We’ll need to set up where it’s based on rules and concepts,” he said. “They might give much different looks.”
