Football News
Pinque has big day as Colonels continue to roll with 34-27 win
Sophomore running back Jonathan Pinque rushed for a career-high 181 yards and scored a career-high three times as the Centre College football team remained undefeated by beating Austin College 34-27 Saturday, Sept. 26 at Farris Stadium in Danville, Ky.
With the win, the Colonels improved to 4-0 overall for the first time since 2005 and upped their Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) record to 2-0. Austin falls to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Austin wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as the Kangaroos recovered a Centre fumble on the third play of the game and returned it to the Centre one-yard line. Three plays later Austin led 6-0 after missing the extra point attempt.
Centre answered on its next drive going 59 yards on eight plays capped off by a two-yard scoring strike from sophomore quarterback Tyler Osterman (Monroe, Ohio) to senior receiver Nick Edwards (Flemingsburg, Ky.). Centre also missed the extra point attempt the score was tied at six.
Austin then scored 14 unanswered points to move ahead 20-6, but Centre pulled within 20-13 when Pinque found the end zone for the first time toward the end of the first half.
The Colonels knotted the game at 20 on their first drive of the second half as Pinque capped a 10-play 73-yard drive with a one-yard run.
After forcing Austin to go three-and-out on its next drive, the Centre offense went back to work driving 57-yards on only four plays. Osterman found junior tight end Stephen Howell (Maysville, Ky.) for a 15-yard touchdown completion and the Colonels took their first lead of the game.
The Kangaroos answered on their next drive with a 30-yard scoring strike on fourth and three from the Centre 30-yard line to tie the game at 27 apiece, but once again the Centre offense wasted little time finding the end zone again.
After sophomore Jordan Albright (Cincinnati, Ohio) returned the ensuing kick-off 40-yards to the Austin 45, Osterman completed two passes and Pinque ran for 20 yards on two carries, including a 15-yard run where he broke several tackles on his way to his third touchdown of the game.
Centre finished with 484 total offensive yards to only 309 from Austin, including a 261-142 advantage in rushing yards. Osterman finished with 223 yards passing and two touchdowns on 23 of 37 passing. Pinque's 181 yards eclipsed his 152-yard performance against Rhodes last season. Junior Rob Pope (Atlanta, Ga.) led the receivers with four catches for 50 yards.
The Centre defense came up with two more turnovers to extend its streak to 47 games with at least one forced turnover. Junior linebacker Will Geisen (Edgewood, Ky.) led the Colonels with seven tackles. Senior linebacker Tim Dougherty (Roswell, Ga.) tallied five tackles, including one tackle for loss and also forced two fumbles, recovered on and intercepted a pass in the win.
Centre will look to remain unbeaten Saturday, Oct. 3 against Sewanee-the University of the South. The SCAC contest will be part of Centre's Family Weekend and is set to start at 1:30 p.m. at Farris Stadium in Danville, Ky. |
