Fun, fun, fun – Cardinals get to smile at the end of a wild one as they stop Centennial 47-44 in OT

By Steve Brandon

The Portland Tribune, Sep 17, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

If only the NFL would play preseason games this exciting.

After three hours of back-and-forth battling, Lincoln beat Centennial 47-44 in overtime Friday on an 18-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass from Blake Rudolph to Ryan Lacey.

“That was a 100-yard arena game,” says Lincoln coach Chad Carlson, who in the prep offseason coaches the Stockton (Calif.) Lightning in the Arena Football League 2.

Lincoln moved its record to 3-0 going into huge challenges the next two weeks – Sept. 19 at Jesuit and Sept. 26 at home against South Medford.

But it took some huge plays in the extra period on Friday, and a bit of good fortune, as the Eagles (0-3) put up a ferocious fight.

Centennial, down 41-33, tied the game at 41-41 with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter. The Eagles marched 78 yards in seven plays, scoring on fullback David Thames’ 11-yard blast up the middle and a two-point run by quarterback Nathan Wolf from the 1 ½-yard line after Lincoln committed pass interference on Wolf’s desperation heave on the first conversion attempt.

Moments later, the Cardinals averted disaster. Centennial defensive lineman Dexter Morrison intercepted a screen pass and had a mostly clear path to the end zone. Lincoln running back Nate Kirkpatrick tripped him up from behind at the Cardinal 10 with 10 seconds remaining.

The Eagles lined up for a field goal, but holder Brandon Thornton couldn’t handle the snap. Thornton was able to fall on the ball, though, and the Eagles called timeout with five seconds left.

Now their field goal was 29 yards instead of 22, though, and kicker Kevin Miller sent the potential game-winner wide right as regulation time expired.

Centennial got the ball first in overtime, but Lincoln’s defense stuffed two runs and held on a third-and-eight incompletion.

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