Fourth-quarter flurry keeps Centennial atop the Mount Hood

MHC FOOTBALL – A late touchdown, safety and field goal lift Centennial past Gresham 16-14

By David Ball

The Gresham Outlook, Oct 23, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

David Ball / The Outlook

Gresham’s Brannon Dooley pulls down a catch, while being dragged down by Centennial’s Kevin Bannister and Jeff Tzeo.

Centennial supplied its own sequel to the Fast & Furious movie series, scoring three times in the fourth quarter Friday night to knock off Gresham 16-14.

Trailing 14-3 at the start of the fourth quarter, Centennial faced a 4th-and-1 at midfield. Gresham’s defense exploded into the middle of the line, but Centennial’s Kevin Bannister was going the other way, taking a pitch and racing 48 yards down the sideline.

Quarterback Nate Wolf added the two-point conversion, running over a tackler at the goal line, to bring the Eagles within a field goal.

Gresham botched the ensuing kickoff and a penalty on the first play from scrimmage pinned the Gophers inside the 5-yard line.

Centennial’s David Vieru broke through the line and stopped running back Justin Potter at the 2 before shoving him back into the end zone. Forward motion prevented the safety, but the Eagles did get the two points moments later when Tyler Hoecker sacked Gresham’s quarterback.

Centennial took the free kick and put together the winning drive, converting a key 3rd-and-21 play when Wolf launched a spiral down the right side to Tyler Pannell taking the ball inside the 5-yard line.

Gresham’s defense held strong, bringing Centennial kicker Matt Hopp off the sideline to try a pressure-packed 20-yarder with 6:47 to play.

“I just kept thinking I had to make this or we lose,” Hopp said. “I was nervous, but I knew I could do it.”

And he did. The kick split the center of the uprights to give the Eagles their first lead of the night.

Gresham had one more chance, moving into position for a go-ahead score when Zach Scherba hit Brannon Dooley for a 34-yard gain on 4th-and-21 from midfield. The Gophers remained on the edge of the 10-yard line before Vieru made another big play, sacking Scherba for a 7-yard loss and forcing a fourth down.

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