Contributing writer
The Goessel Bluebirds played Centre in a non-district game Friday at home. The visitors got on the board first with two touchdowns to take a quick 14-0 lead.
Miguel Guerrero picked up a first down for the Bluebirds mid-field, and Chase Flaming found himself open on the left side of the field and sprinted for the first score for the Bluebirds, covering 34 yards. Guerrero lunged for the goal line on the extra points and Goessel trailed 14-8. Centre scored again in the first period.
In the second period, Kellen Froese went through a hole up the middle and bounced off tacklers at the goal line to score his first touchdown of the season. Goessel trailed 14-22.
The Cougars rattled off 22 more points before halftime as the senior-laden visitors took advantage of the inexperience on the Bluebird team. Although Goessel had decent blocking along the line, ball carriers were unable to pick up many yards out of the backfield. Michael Rhoades was able to punt deep into Cougar territory several times, averaging 40.5 yards per kick.
Centre did all the scoring in the second half. The game ended at 11:21 in the fourth quarter by way of the 45-point rule: Centre 62, Goessel 14.
Guerrero picked up 43 yards on the ground, Froese 40 yards, and Flaming 38 yards. Zach Showalter caught 4 passes for 56 yards. Brian Hiebert led the team with 7.5 tackles, followed by Lucas Hiebert with 5, Showalter 3.5, and Froese 3.
Goessel will be at Canton-Galva on Friday in another non-district game.