Gents Race Past 'Roos 41-21 On Homecoming

Shreveport - The Centenary football team earned a memorable 41-21 comeback victory over the Austin College 'Roos in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play in its Homecoming game on Saturday evening at Atkins Field.

The Gents (4-4, 4-2 SCAC) completed a season sweep of the 'Roos (1-7, 1-5 SCAC) after defeating them 36-17 in Sherman, Texas last month. Centenary trailed 7-3 after the first quarter and 21-19 at halftime, but shut out Austin College in the second half and scored 22 points to cruise to the win and even its record and move to two games above .500 in conference play.

How it happened:

The Gents won the coin toss and elected to receive. On third and 3 at their own 32-yard line, junior QB Zin'Tavious Smith (Coushatta, La.) was intercepted by Austin College's Brady Dygert and nine plays and 34 yards later, the 'Roos found the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run by Zyan Stewart. Caleb Balderas added the PAT for a 7-0 lead at the 11:02 mark of the first quarter.

Junior WR Kobe Chambers (Greenwood, Miss.) then returned the kickoff 67 yard down to the Austin College 27-yard line. The Gents were able to put points on the board as sophomore LB/P/PK Vance Feuerbacher (Plano, Texas) kicked a 38-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with 9:34 remaining in the first period.

The Gents then took the lead following an impressive drive that covered 83 yards in just nine plays capped by a 3-yard TD run by Smith. Feuerbacher's PAT made it 10-7 at the 13:34 mark of the second quarter. Smith broke free for a 37-yard gain on 3^rd and 5 at the Centenary 32 for the big play of the drive. Then on 3^rd and 6 at the Austin College 27-yard line, Smith hit junior WR Trent Smith (Shreveport, La.) for 17 yards and two plays later, the Gents were back in the end zone.

DQ Barnes returned the following kickoff 36 yards to set up the 'Roos around midfield, and Jaylon Talton connected with Michael Cress on a beautiful 48-yard TD pass on a 3^rd down and 6. Balderas' PAT made it 14-10 with 12:11 left before halftime.

Chambers again had a great return on the ensuing kickoff as he raced 57 yards to the AC 40-yard line. The Gents then reached the 9-yard line and faced a decision on a 4^th down and goal play. They opted to go for it as opposed to kicking a short FG and the AC defense stood strong and stopped junior RB Bobby Shanklin Jr. (Macon, Miss.) a yard short and took over near their own end zone.

The 'Roos moved quickly down the field and Talton and Barnes connected on a 22-yard TD and the PAT by Balderas gave the visitors a 21-10 lead with 2:48 remaining.

The Gents then reached into their bag of tricks as Chambers hit Trent Smith with a perfectly-executed halfback pass and Smith went 60 yards untouched to the end zone. Feuerbacher's PAT was blocked but the Gents were down just 21-16 with 2:30 left before intermission. Centenary's defense then stuffed the 'Roos on the next possession, forcing a punt after three plays resulted in -9 yards for AC. The Gents then moved 47 yards on 10 plays in 1:39 as Feuerbacher's 25-yard FG on the final play of the first half made it 21-19.

Each team went for it on 4^th down and failed to convert on their opening second-half possessions and neither team scored until Zin'Tavious Smith's 1-yard TD run and Feuerbacher's PAT gave the Gents a 26-21 lead with 2:08 left in the third quarter. Two possessions later, Feuerbacher's 34-yard FG attempt was blocked but after it was touched by an Austin College player and fumbled, sophomore TE Isaiah King (Weatherford, Texas) recovered it at the 8-yard line to cap a wild play. Two players later, Zin'Tavious Smith's third rushing TD of the game and Feuerbacher's PAT made it 33-21 with 9:01 left in the game.

On AC's next drive, freshman DB Delarrious Marshall (Shreveport, La.) stepped in front of a Talton pass for his second interception of the season. The Gents made it to the AC 19-yard line but were stopped on a 4^th down attempt, but on the next play, Talton was picked off again, this time by sophomore DB Bryan Washington (Wylie, Texas) as it was his third INT of the season. Zin'Tavious Smith then found the end zone on the ground for the fourth time and rushed for the 2-point conversion to make it 41-21 with just 3:04 left in the game.

Two players later, the pick party continued as Talton's pass found the open arms of freshman DB Jacob Wilson (Shreveport, La.) who hauled in his team-leading fourth INT of the season. Appropriately, on AC's final possession of the game, Talton was intercepted again by freshman DB Dwayne Mills Jr. (Slidell, La.) who recorded his second pick of the season and returned it 30 yards. The Gents then took a knee and the celebration was on in front of a spirited Homecoming crowd.

By the Numbers:

FIRST DOWNS:

AUSTIN COLLEGE –17

CENTENARY – 23

RUSHING YARDS:

AUSTIN COLLEGE – 30 ATTEMPTS FOR 74 YARDS

CENTENARY – 50 ATTEMPTS FOR 202 YARDS

PASSING YARDS:

AUSTIN COLLEGE – 215 YARDS

CENTENARY – 209 YARDS

TOTAL OFFENSE:

AUSTIN COLLEGE – 63 PLAYS FOR 289 YARDS

CENTENARY – 79 PLAYS FOR 411 YARDS

TIME OF POSSESSION:

AUSTIN COLLEGE – 25:45

CENTENARY – 34:15

Gents' Individual Statistical Leaders:

RECEIVING: Trent Smith – 5 catches for 94 yards and 1 TD

RUSHING: Zin'Tavious Smith – 16 carries for 89 yards and 4 TD

PASSING: Zin'Tavious Smith – 19-28 for 149 yards and 1 TD 1 INT

TACKLES: Sophomore DL Kris Mesloh (Bossier City, La.) – 5 solo tackles (10 total tackles with 1 sack and 2 TFL)

The Gents' defense intercepted a season-high four passes and their four sacks are their second most in a game this season. Centenary finished with six tackles for loss, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

The 411 yards of total offense are Centenary's second-most in a game behind only its 443 against Lyon College on Oct. 5. The Gents passed for 200 or more yards for the fourth game in a row and fifth time this season and they topped 200 yards rushing for the third time.

The Gents will rest up and enjoy their bye week and then return to action at home on Saturday, Nov. 9 against the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs in a SCAC contest and their final home game of the season set for 1 p.m.

Tickets can only be purchased online anytime or on game day upon arrival at the stadium on your mobile device. All tickets are digital, there are no physical (paper) tickets. Tickets can be purchased online anytime at centenary.edu/footballtickets or https://fan.hudl.com/usa/la/shreveport/organization/69826/centenary-college-of/tickets

For more information about becoming a Centenary football season or per game sponsor, please contact Assistant AD/Strategic Communications Patrick Meehan at 318-865-5092 or pmeehan@centenary.edu OR Collin Taylor, Development Officer for Athletics, at 318-869-5052 or cbtaylor2@centenary.edu

See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/fball/2024-25/schedule

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