Centennial rallies late against Cheyenne to earn No. 3 seed in playoffs

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 | 12:16 a.m.

Jacobi Owens’ 8-yard touchdown run and Matthew Kane’s extra point with 2:38 remaining Thursday gave the Centennial High football team a 21-20 victory against Cheyenne and the No. 3 seed from the Northwest Division for next week’s playoffs.

On the winning touchdown, Owens showed why he is considered one of the Northwest’s most physical players in dragging several Cheyenne defenders into the end zone.

“We thought the play was over because he was all stacked up,” Centennial coach Leon Evans said. “Then you saw the pile moving and moving. He was dragging everyone into the end zone.”

That tied the score at 20 and Matthew Kane did the rest by drilling the extra point. He had missed a 35-yard field with about seven minutes remaining, but was able to redeem himself.

“I told him to keep his head up because I had a feeling he was going to win the game for us. And he did,” Evans said.

Cheyenne took the lead in the fourth quarter on a special teams touchdown when Centennial punt returner misplayed a punt, allowing a Cheyenne defender to grab the fumble and score for a 20-14 lead. But Cheyenne missed its second 2-point conversion of the game to give Centennial hope.

Centennial plays at Desert Oasis, the No. 2 seed from the Southwest, next week in the Sunset quarterfinals. Cheyenne, meanwhile, has the tough task of traveling to face two-time defending state champion Bishop Gorman.

Centennial beat Desert Oasis last year in the playoffs, also in the quarterfinal round.