The Georgia High School Association football state championship tournament is underway and for the first time since 2017, the Centennial Knights advanced to the second round of the playoffs, however found themselves having to fend off the Locust Grove Wildcats in order to do so.
"Hats off to our defensive staff," Centennial head coach, Adam Miller said following the Knights 28-21 win over the Wildcats, who trailed by 21 points early in the third quarter, however scored 14 unanswered points to get within seven points and was positioned to potentially tie the game with :04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
"Those guys came out and they coached their tails off. They do it every week but tonight, with how dynamic their [Locust Grove] quarterback was, the way they like to throw the football, their game plan was phenomenal," Miller said of the Centennial defensive coaching staff as the Knights were able to keep the Wildcats from tying the game.
"The biggest thing is our kids bought in and believed and fought through it all," Miller said of the Knights, who scored on the first play of the game when quarterback, Landon Brown connected with Preston McMichael for Brown's first passing touchdown of the game as Centennial took a 7-0 lead.
In the second quarter, the Knights extended their lead to 14-0 following a defensive score as a pass by Locust Grove quarterback, Armond Parker would be tipped and land in the hands of a Centennial defender who would return the ball for a touchdown.
Later in the period, Parker would score on a quarterback keeper to finally get Locust Grove on the scoreboard as they trailed 14-7, however, Brown would throw two more touchdowns, as Jake Hickox was on the receiving end of one and Mason Klein the other, which led to Centennial taking a 28-7 lead.
However, once the Wildcats pulled within a touchdown of the Knights and positioned themselves for a potential game tying score with :04 remaining in the game, the Centennial defense did not break despite bending some earlier. "It was a wild one, we made it a little more closer than it needed to be when we went up 28-7, but just proud of our fight," Miller said.
Centennial will now take on Lithonia in round two of the playoffs next week.