Centennial Out-duels Hammond in Season Opener

 Momentum swings, big plays and sparks of energy are all a part of high school football.

And Hammond High School’s Golden Bear Stadium saw all of these Friday night.

The Centennial Eagles used a ball control offense to chew minutes off the game clock and eventually spit out a 30-21 victory, but the host Golden Bears showed the crowd of 1,000 fans how to wrestle momentum away from an opponent and made the second half of the 2016 season opener interesting.

“If we have that team that played in the second half, nobody’s touching us,” Hammond Coach Shawn Frederick told his varsity squad after the game.

Eagle quarterback Matthew Shoenberger scored on three quarterback sneaks in the first half to give the visitors an 18-0 lead at halftime. The Bears managed just 37 yards of offense while running 15 plays from the line of scrimmage in the first and second quarters.

But a spark of energy emerged from the Hammond locker room to start the second half. Kickoff returner Paskel Cheeves grabbed the second half kickoff and galloped 48 yards into Eagle territory to ignite Hammond’s first scoring drive of the season. Two minutes later, running back Tyquan Carter scored on a two-yard run, and the Golden Bears grabbed the game’s momentum.

Carter carried the ball eight times for 75 yards in the third quarter. The senior finished the evening with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Bears saw momentum swing in Centennial’s favor halfway through the third quarter. A Hammond hitch pass was tipped and the Eagle’s Tyrese Dargan intercepted the pass and cashed the tip into a 67-yard touchdown return. Instead of heading for the end zone for a game-tightening score, the Bears now faced a 24-7 deficit.

“That [interception] was tough,” Frederick said. “The ball was thrown high, and it turned into a tip drill. That’s football. The ball bounces how it bounces.”