BLAINE, MN - The Centennial Cougars (10-1) the #2 seed in this Section 7AAAAA Tournament had to travel to Blaine, MN tonight for a postseason rematch against their Co-Northwest Suburban Conference Champions the #1 seed Blaine Bengals (8-2). Earlier in the year, Centennial defeated Blaine by a score of 34-25 at Blaine High School; a victory that many thought should have game the Centennial Cougars home field advantage through the section playoffs, but based on strength of schedule points they had to travel to Blaine for this contest.

This Section Championship game was tied 7-7 at Halftime, with each team having a receiving touchdown in the first half. Blaine led off the scoring on the night with a 30-yard TD reception by Junior Wide Receiver Nate Mortenson from the Junior Bengals Quarterback Eric Kline at 4:33 of the 1st Quarter. Centennial would answer in the 2nd Quarter with a 5-yard TD reception by Senior Wide Receiver Brian Sarvela from Senior Cougars Quarterback Chris Anderson at 5:21.

The 2nd Half of this game was very thrilling and both teams had their opportunities to run away with the game, but solid defensive plays from both teams kept the game in check out on the field and some miraculous plays on offense, defense, and special teams brought us to our 19-14 final score. On the first offensive drive of the 3rd Quarter by Centennial, the Cougars went 62 yards on 12 plays to eventually get to the endzone on a 9-yard TD reception by Senior Fullback Jeff Burns from Anderson at 4:12 of the 3rd Qtr. On the extra point kick attempt though, the kick was blocked by Blaine Junior Marcel DeVeaux and the score sat at 13-7.

Blaine had an opportunity on their return drive to take the lead as they marched down the field after starting on their own 28 yard line and looked to the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown pass from Eric Kline, but the pass was broken up in the endzone on a 4th Down by Senior Centennial Strong Safety Steve Linder to turn the ball over on downs and give offensive possession back to the Cougars. Centennial punted on their return possession and after Blaine started on offense to follow, Linder would come up with a big play again, this time an interception on the third play of the drive on the intended pass by Blaine's Eric Kline. Centennial with momentum and offensive possession now at the Blaine 42 yard line, saw that momentum snatched immediately away on the very next play, which sent the home Bengal fans into a frenzy. Junior Blaine Linebacker Nolan Wahlberg sacked Centennial Quarterback Chris Anderson for a 6-yard loss and put Centennial in an offensive hole that they couldn't get out of and punted just three plays later.

Blaine took over on offense after the punt at their own 14 yard line and had their worst starting field position of the night at this point which was 7:00 minutes remaining in the 4th Quarter. The Bengals put together a great drive, which included a 44-yard reception by Bengals Junior Wide Receiver Evan Spurbeck from Kline that put momentum really on their side and the ball down to the 7 yard line. Just three plays later Eric Kline would run the ball himself out of the backfield for a 4-yard TD run and with the Blaine XP by Senior Kicker Ronnie Donley their second lead of the game 14-13 with 3:34 remaining in the 4th Quarter.

The #2 seed Centennial had a lot of fight in them all night and started their return drive at their own 35 yard line after the kickoff went out of bounds and the penalty gave the Cougars free yards to start their drive. The Cougar offense didn't have the clock on their side, but they did have a manageable amount of time to get down the field and they did so all the way down to the Blaine 21 yard line. The next three plays looked like Blaine was going to hold on for the victory, after their defense forced two incompletions and also recorded a sack on 2nd Down to put the Cougars in four down territory needing to convert on a 4th & 15 to keep the game alive. Quarterback Chris Anderson scrambled in the backfield and dodged two would be sack attempts on the 4th Down play and waited for someone to get open down field. Finally he found his favorite target on the night, Brian Sarvela in the right corner of the endzone in double coverage and just threw up a shot that Sarvela pulled in for the 25-yard touchdown and sent the Cougar fans into pandemonium as their team had a 19-14 lead with 50.9 seconds remaining in the 4th Quarter. The Cougars attempted the two point conversion, but Anderson's pass attempt failed and Centennial held to their five point lead.

The Bengals attempted a last second comeback and moved the ball to midfield thanks to a nifty gadget play that saw Spurbeck complete a pass to Eric Kline after Kline pitched the ball to Spurbeck in the backfield, but this trickeration wasn't enough for the Bengals to get the victory as they would eventually fall to the #2 seed Centennial Cougars by a final score of 19-14.

With the loss, Blaine will end their season at 8-2 overall, 7-1 in Northwest Suburban Conference play which gave them a share of the Conference Title with Centennial, who with the victory, move to 10-1 overall and the Cougars will take on the winner of the Section 8AAAAA Championship game between the #2 seed Brainerd Warriors and the #1 seed Buffalo Bison. That game will be played at 11:00 am tomorrow, November 7th at Saint John's University in Collegeville, MN. The State Quarterfinal game between Centennial and the Section 8 winner will take place next Friday, September 13th at Saint Cloud State University at 8:00 pm right here on MnSportsNetwork.com! Make sure to check the MSBN Full Schedule for our complete State Quarterfinal coverage.

Players of the Game:

Blaine - RB Mike Thai - Senior leader on offense and defense with 133 yards from scrimmage in the game

Centennial - WR Brian Sarvela - 9 receptions, 103 yards receiving, 2 TDs in victory