Matt Kuivinen threw for 224 yards and Connor Pearce hit a 26-yard field goal with just four minutes left to lift Franklin to a 23-20 dogfight win over Centennial last Friday night.

“Centennial has improved vastly in two weeks,” said Craig Clayton, the Rebels head coach. “After being on the wrong end of one-point games, I like the three points on our side.”

For the second week in a row, Centennial’s fate rested on the foot of a kicker. This time it was Franklin’s Connor Pearce who lined up the winner, booting it through his ninth point of the night with 4:02 on the clock to break a 20-all tie.

“I just go out there and try to focus on the ball and I just hit it. On the last kick I actually told my holder, Riley (Manion), that I was nervous. He told me to calm down and just kick the ball like it was practice. That helped,” said the junior kicker.

Early on it looked like Franklin would control the contest, forcing the Cougars to punt from near their own goal line. But a roughing the kicker penalty kept the opening drive alive, helping Centennial drive more than 50 yards before being forced to punt again with the snap sailing over the kicker’s head.

Franklin’s Lane Hostettler scampered for 17 yards and Kuivinen hit Maxx Young for a 12-yard gain before Manion took a reverse 4 yards for the first score of the night. Two minutes later, Kuivinen tossed a five-yard pass to Steve Junghans who weaved his way 40 more yards to put the Rebels up 14-0 in the first quarter.

Kuivinen finished the night 13-25 with one touchdown and one interception, scattering his throws among five different receivers.


Brian Junghans
Rebel running back Lane Hostetler runs through a hole created by David Page and Logan Tucker.

Centennial served notice this contest would be different than past matchups two plays later when T.J. Leach hit Dusty Lee on a quick in route at the Cougar 28. Lee dashed across the field twice, breaking two tackles and avoiding the rest of the Rebel secondary for a 77-yard score.

The Cougars scored again less than three minutes later when Lee, following a Franklin punt, swept to the right side and used his blockers and speed to score from 36 yards out. The extra point was blocked, leaving Franklin ahead 14-13.

Centennial had a chance to take a lead midway through the second quarter when Franklin fumbled the ball away. But an 11-play drive stalled at the Franklin 11 when the Rebel defense stiffened then ended the threat by blocking a 35-yard field goal attempt.

Pearce hit a 27-yard field goal with .6-second remaining in the first half to stretch the Franklin lead to 17-13.

Franklin’s chance to break the game open to start the second half was snuffed by a Spencer Zehring interception in the end zone. The Rebels did increase the lead to 20-13 when Pearce hit his second field goal, a 36-yarder, with 2:41 remaining in the third.

T.J. Leach evened things at the start of the fourth quarter, hitting H.B. Thompson on a 37-yard strike, capping a 10-play, 82-yard drive. Pearce’s field goal on the very next drive, along with a solid Rebel defense over the last three minutes, gave Franklin the win.

Despite the positive showing, Centennial Coach Mark Matykiewicz was not happy with a “moral victory.”

“Special teams got us. I’m proud of the effort, but we’ve got to fix a lot of things. I’m not happy with the overall product.  We’ve got to start winning these games,” Matykiewicz said.

Posted on: 9/9/2010 By Joe Williams, for the Williamson Herald
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