The Centre football team kept its perfect record intact, moving to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 28-14 homecoming victory over Sewanee on Saturday at Farris Stadium.
It was Sewanee (3-5, 0-4 SCAC) which scored first, but Centre took control of the game by rolling off 28 consecutive points, holding Sewanee to 202 yards of total offense and keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard until halfway through the fourth quarter.
Sewanee got on the board by taking advantage of a short field from a Dave McKeithen interception and turning it into a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Zeke Wilson and a 7-0 lead.
It was all Centre after that, however, as the Colonels marched 87 yards in nine plays on the next series, capped by a 30-yard touchdown strike down the right sideline from Tyler Osterman (Monroe, Ohio) to his brother Jason Osterman (Monroe, Ohio).
Two plays later, Centre linebacker Jared Ferguson (Monroe, Ohio) stripped Sewanee's Sergio Acosta at the Tigers' 24. Centre moved the ball down to the 7-yard-line where junior kicker Jordan Gay (Danville, Ky.) ran for a touchdown on a fake field goal and followed with the extra point for a 14-7 lead.
With time running down in the second quarter, the Colonels stopped Sewanee on a 4th-and-1 from its own 36, then punched the ball in three plays later when Tyler Osterman hooked up with Rob Melillo (Louisville, Ky.) on an 11-yard touchdown for a 21-7 halftime lead.
Centre built on its lead in the second half as the Colonels took advantage of another turnover in Sewanee territory when defensive end Cooper McGuire (Danville, Ky.) recovered a fumble at the 30. Five plays later, Jonathan Pinque (Athens, Ala.) was in the end zone on a six yard run to give Centre a 28-7 lead.
Sewanee would reach the end zone one more time, but with the Tigers trailing by three touchdowns, it took 17 plays and 9:05 before Barrett Goodson scored from two yards out. With 7:05 remaining in the game, Centre was able to pick up four first downs on the ensuing possession to run out the clock and secure the victory.
Tyler Osterman went 13-of-23 for 149 yards and two touchdowns on the day while Pinque led the way on the ground with 20 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown. Jason Osterman was the Colonels' leading receiver with two catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Ryan Gallas (Prospect, Ky.) was the top tackler with 10, followed by Thomas Kent (Cincinnati, Ohio), who made six stops, two of which were for loss.
The Colonels' next test comes on the road next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Millsaps (4-3, 3-1 SCAC). Centre remains one of two undefeated SCAC squads, along with Trinity, which defeated LaGrange 14-10 on Saturday.