Staff writer
Goessel played host to Centre on a cool Friday evening and won 50-42 in a back-and-forth contest.
Goessel jumped out to a 3-touchdown lead in the first quarter. Miguel Guerrero sprinted 61 yards up the middle of the field for the first touchdown with 10 minutes, 38 seconds to play. On their next drive, Josh Schmidt carried in from 4 yards for another score, with Guerrero converting the extra points.
Less than one minute later, Guerrero intercepted a Cougar pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, with Chase Flaming converting the extra points. The first quarter ended with the Bluebirds leading 22-0.
Centre got into the end zone with 9:48 remaining in the half, then Goessel fumbled and the Cougars had the ball on the Goessel 16-yard line. It did not take Centre long to move the ball toward the goal line, and with a 1-yard plunge Centre trailed by ten points, 22-12.
Deep in their own territory, the Bluebirds called an off-tackle run. Behind the good blocks of Luke Unruh and Kenny Hammond, Guerrero went 64 yards untouched for the score to give the Bluebirds a 28-12 half-time lead.
In the third period, Josh Schmidt zig-zagged for a 63-yard touchdown, and Trevor Beisel caught a pass for the extra points. Goessel enjoyed a short-lived 36-12 lead.
Centre answered with an overwhelming 5-touchdown barrage, with the stunning reversal putting the Cougars ahead 42-36 with 10:18 left in the game.
Goessel struck back, with Schmidt connecting on a pass to Jordan Griffin for a 38-yard touchdown. Schmidt ran in the extra points to regain the lead, 44-42.
With 6:30 to play in the game, Goessel recovered an onside kick. Again, Schmidt got away from defenders for a 43-yard scoring run to give Goessel a 50-42 lead with 1:08 to play in the game. The extra point failed, allowing Centre the opportunity to tie with another score.
For the fifth time in the game, Goessel’s defense stopped Centre on fourth down to preserve the 50-42 victory.
Goessel ended with 422 yards of total offense to Centre’s 363 yards.
Guerrero led the Bluebirds with 158 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Schmidt ran for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns, and threw for 101 yards and 1 touchdown. Griffin caught five passes for 70 yards with one of them going for a touchdown.
The Bluebirds are now 1-2 for the season with their next game at Sylvan Lucas (2-1) on Friday.