Win or lose, the Centennial Knights had second place in Region 7-AAAAAA and home-field advantage through at least the first round clinched heading into the regular season finale against the Northview Titans. Though the Knights won 38-28, they may have lost their starting quarterback, Max Brosmer, to what appears to be a serious injury suffered to his left knee.
The Knights (7-3, 6-1 in 7-AAAAAA) will host No. 4 Allatoona (7-3), the No. 3 seed from Region 6, next week in the first round.
Brosmer, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior committed to New Hampshire, went down late in the third quarter, with the Knights leading 35-28, after rushing for a 1-yard gain. The game was delayed as he stayed down for several minutes, eventually being helped off to the sidelines. He could not put weight on the leg and he did not return to the game.
“It’s bad,” second-year Knights coach Michael Perry said. “We don’t know (the extent of his injury), but it’s bad.”
The Knights finished the game with senior running back Cal Dickie behind center in the wildcat formation. He did not attempt a pass.
“We’ve got great coaches and a great staff that can figure a bunch of stuff out,” said Dickie, who led all rushers with 156 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. “We have plenty of talented players and we’ll get it figured out and get ready for the playoffs...I’m very confident. This team can really fight. We’re going to do our best and we’ll be ready.”
Though the game ultimately served as nothing more than a tune-up for Centennial, Perry doesn’t second-guess the decision to play his starters through the tightly-contested game in which Northview (5-5, 4-4) was fighting for a playoff spot.
“Every game, we play to win,” Perry said. “We’re not going to sit out and coast, no sir.”
Now, with the strong possibility of playing the rest of the season without Brosmer, the Knights will turn to Parker Sperier, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior who’s received most of his playing time in fourth quarter mop-up duty, and for the JV squad.
“I’m extremely confident,” Sperier said. “I know we can do good and we can win...I feel so bad for (Brosmer) because I know how hard he’s worked.”
It’s up to Perry and the Knights to make the adjustments without Brosmer. They’re in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and advanced to the second round last year.
“Obviously we’re going to have to change some things,” Perry said. “But we’ll be fine. We’ve got a lot of great skill players.”
For the Titans, it was win and qualify for the playoffs, or lose and see their season come to an end. They were seeking their first playoff berth since 2015 and the first postseason win in a program history that dates back to 2002.
The Titans came out playing like their playoff lives depended on it, recovering a squib kick to open the game, then scoring five plays later to take the early lead. The games’ first three possessions ended in touchdowns and then Northview got a defensive stop and stayed on the aggressive, using 14 plays to move 81 yards, scoring on Travis Buchanan’s second touchdown to take a 21-7 lead with 5:09 left in the first half.
On the drive, the Titans converted a fourth-and-2 from their own 27, and later scored on Buchanan’s 10-yard run on fourth-and-goal. The Knights quickly answered with a two-play, 11-yard drive capped by Dickie’s second touchdown run of the game, from 4 yards out, to pull the Knights to within 21-14. The drive was set up by Rock Mathis’ 60-yard kickoff return plus a Titans 15-yard personal foul penalty for a late hit, which came the first time Northview didn’t attempt a squib kick.
The first half ended in chaos, with three touchdowns scored in 30 seconds. Centennial tied the game with 58 seconds left on a 20-yard pass from Brosmer to Richard Shaw. On the next play from scrimmage, Titans running back Will Caylor ran up the gut for a 70-yard touchdown, stiff-arming defenders down the sideline for the final 20 yards of the run. On the next play from scrimmage, Brosmer hit Mathis on a 65-yard touchdown pass, which tied the game at 28 with 28 seconds left before halftime.
The Knights took the lead on their first possession of the second half, moving 72 yards in five plays, with Dickie running up the middle untouched for a 32-yard touchdown. They would put the game away with 2:15 remaining on Denilson Silva-Banda’s 22-yard field goal.
Brosmer was 11-for-18 passing for 188 yards and two touchdowns and rushed seven times for 30 yards. Shaw had five catches for 60 yards.
Titans quarterback Beau Lark was 20-of-30 passing for 115 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and rushed 16 times for 49 yards. Caylor had 148 yards on 16 carries.
Northview 14 14 0 0 - 28
Centennial 7 21 7 3 - 38
N - Travis Buchanan 3 run (Cole Michel kick)
C - Cal Dickie 5 run (Denilson Silva-Banda)
N - Zach Billings 3 pass from Beau Lark (Michel kick)
N - Buchanan 10 pass from Lark (Michel kick)
C - Dickie 4 run (Silva-Banda kick)
C - Richard Shaw 20 pass from Brosmer (Silva-Banda kick)
N - Will Caylor 70 run (Michel kick)
C - Rock Mathis 65 pass from Brosmer (Silva-Banda kick)
C - Dickie 32 run (Silva-Banda kick)
C - Silva-Banda 22 FG
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
