Photo by Bridget Weishaar
The Jefferson County North Charger football team defeated the Centralia Panthers Nov. 3 on the road winning the regional title.
by Bridget Weishaar
The adrenaline was high and the crowd large Friday night in Centralia as the Jefferson County North Chargers took to the field against the home team Panthers.
The Chargers won the coin toss, deferred the opening possesion, and kicked off to the Panthers to start the game.
Centralia was unable to formulate a plan against the strong Charger defense and were forced to punt away after just five plays. JCN took full advantage, putting together a 10 play, 95-yard drive down the field, capping it off with a three-yard touch down run by senior running back Ethan Noll. Quarterback Grady Noll would follow him into the end zone for the two point conversion giving the Chargers a quick eight point lead in the game.
The second quarter featured back and forth plays between the two teams, trading possessions and stalled drives.
The Panthers made a move late in the second throwing down field. Safety Cameron Seever intercepted the pass but then fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by Centralia giving them a big gain. The Chargers defense again quickly stopped the Panther momentum and the half ended 8-0 in favor of JCN.
The Chargers came up big in the third quarter, squashing all plays from the Panther offense.
With the clock slowly running down, the Chargers would once again move down the field. This time on a 16 play drive, covering 73-yards and once again ending with a touch down run by Ethan Noll. Grady would again score the two point conversion, giving the Chargers a 16-0 lead into the final quarter of the game.
Centralia’s only trip inside the Chargers’ red zone was shutdown by the defensive line of JCN on the 4th with 11 yards to go, turning the ball back over to the Chargers.
The Chargers were then able to run down the clock, taking a knee to end the game and the season of the Panters.
Senior Ethan Noll finished the game with 17 carries for 120 yards and the only two Charger touchdowns. Quarterback Grady Noll amassed 107 yards on 22 carries and two conversions.
The Chargers defense created 5 Panther turnovers equaling one interception and four turnovers on downs in the win. It was only the third time in the past six years the Panthers have been held scoreless.
Head coach Jeff Schneider picked up his 60th career win in the regional game. This is Schneider’s ninth season in command of the Chargers, 10th with the team. He spent one year as assistant coach under Mark McMillian. The Chargers have reached the sectional round of playoffs three times with Schneider at the helm, first in 2017, then again in 2021 and this season.
“I’m really proud of how well the team played. They were very focused on the defensive game plan and our offense put together two long touchdown drives that moved the chains and controlled the clock,” coach Schneider said.
The 9-1 Chargers will host the Olpe Eagles in the sectional round of playoffs Nov. 10 at Riley Field, Winchester. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.