Centennial football defeats Edina on stuffed 2-point attempt in Class 6A Prep Bowl
MINNEAPOLIS — The Centennial Cougars (12-1) defeated the Edina Hornets (9-4) 28-27 in the Minnesota high school football Class 6A Prep Bowl on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. It's Centennial's first state title in school history.
Edina scored a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 28-27 but decided to go for the 2-point attempt. The Hornets lined up with three receivers to the left, and when they snapped it Chase Bjorgaard caught a reverse pitch, but he was met by multiple Centennial defenders.
The Centennial defense stopped the Hornets at the 1/2-yard line to take the Prep Bowl win.
"I thought that if we go into overtime with Centennial, with the way they were moving the football, the way that they can run the football and throw the football, I was not going into overtime," Edina head coach Jason Potts said. "It was a play we had been working on all year long. We’d never showed it."
Centennial jumped to a 14-0 lead halfway through the second quarter. Marcus Whiting rushed in a 1-yard touchdown to cap off a 13 play, 73-yard drive.
Edina quarterback Mason West threw an interception on the next drive, and the Cougars capitalized with a 15-yard touchdown run from quarterback Daylen Cummings.
Edina answered with a much needed touchdown drive. The Hornets drove 76 yards and finished with a 1-yard touchdown run from John Warpinski.
After the Centennial defense forced a turnover on downs, the Cougars drove 75 yards in three seconds to score five seconds before halftime. Twice the Cougars converted on fourth down to keep the drive alive, including a conversion on their own 35-yard line.
Cummings fit two passes where only his receiver could grab it on the drive, and one of the throws was the touchdown pass to Josh Lee to end the first half.
"A lot of the receiver and I get out on Sunday mornings and work on those exact passes — those sideline passes," Cummings said.
Once again, Edina scored a touchdown to keep the game close. The Hornets drove 65 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the second half. Warpinski scored another 1-yard touchdown, and Centennial led 21-14.
Centennial took a 28-14 lead in the fourth quarter when Whiting ran up the middle for an 11-yard gain.
Edina, needing to score quickly, drove 65 yards in one minute as they diced the Cougar defense through the air. West ran in a 6-yard touchdown on a scramble to cut the lead to 28-21 late in the fourth quarter.
Edina forced Centennial to punt with 44 seconds remaining, and the Hornets drove 68 yards in five plays and 28 seconds to cut the lead to one. West found Sonny Villegas for a 21-yard touchdown pass.
"A lot of us go two-ways, and that up-tempo, for me at least, that up-tempo goes a little fast, and I was having a little trouble getting to the quarterback because of that," Whiting said of Edina's late offense.
For Centennial, its the first state title in school history.
"These guys have been such great players, and they’ve believed in our dreams and our goals," Centennial head coach Mike Diggins said. "We thought this was possible in June, to be honest with you. … When the lights come on, they're winners."
