The Centre football team moved to 7-0 on the season and assumed sole possession of first place in the Southern Athletic Association standings with a 47-35 homecoming victory over Rhodes on Saturday in Danville, Ky.
Both teams came into Saturday's game undefeated in SAA play and tied atop the conference standings. At 3-0 with three league games remaining, Centre now has a one game-lead in the SAA race and a 7-0 overall record, the Colonels' best start since winning their first seven on the way to qualifying for the NCAA Division III Playoff in 2011.
In a game that featured 1,050 yards of offense and 82 points, senior quarterback Heath Haden(Kingsport, Tenn.) led the way for Centre with five touchdowns. Haden rushed for 115 yards and four touchdowns while throwing for 205 yards and another score. His Rhodes counterpart Blake Box accounted for five touchdowns as well, throwing for four and running for another.
Centre found itself in the unfamiliar position of trying to dig itself out of a deficit this season, falling behind 21-13 at the half after a diving touchdown catch from Jonathan Wiener. The teams traded punches throughout the first half, with Centre scoring first on a seven-yard run by Casey Bradley (Acworth, Ga.) before Wiener got behind the Colonels' defense for a 57-yard score.
Rhodes went ahead early in the second quarter on another long touchdown when Box found Nick Parinella, but Centre was able to answer by going 63 yards in 10 plays, capped by a five-yard touchdown run from Haden.
The second half was when Centre was able to take over, outscoring the Lynx 34-14. The Colonels went 63 yards in seven plays on the opening series, with Haden finishing on a 10-yard touchdown run. Late in the third quarter, Haden put Centre back in front 26-21 by scoring from three yards out to finish a 78-yard drive.
As the fourth quarter opened, the Lynx went in front one final time at 28-26 when Box found Mason Windatt for a 14-yard score, but Centre went ahead for good on a 23-yard pass from Haden to Jake Johnson (Louisville, Ky.) on the ensuing possession. With Rhodes driving, Centre seized control of the game when defensive lineman Kris Beauchamp (Norcross, Ga.) picked off a pass and returned it to the Lynx 24-yard-line. Three plays later, Nolan Coulter (Knoxville, Tenn.) punched in a touchdown from a yard out with Haden diving for the two-point conversion to give the Colonels a 40-28 lead.
Rhodes put together a final scoring drive with Box running in from 11 yards out to make the score 40-35 with 3:35 to play, but on the ensuing possession, Coulter and Haden were able to pick up long first down runs to continue moving the clock, with Haden eventually scoring from 20 yards out on a third-and-nine to seal the game.
Both Centre and Rhodes topped 500 yards of offense in the game, with Centre going over 300 yards on the ground for the second straight week. In addition to Haden's yards, Coulter had a team-high 119 rushing yards, while Bradley added 69. Max Mazza (Cincinnati, Ohio) was Haden's favorite target on the day, hauling in a career-high 10 passes for 133 yards.
For Rhodes, Box finished with 408 yards passing, while Wiener caught nine balls for 129 yards. Kevin Viera led the Lynx on the ground with 46 yards.
Defensively, Nick Dietz (Cincinnati, Ohio) led Centre with nine total tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass break up, while Alex Mattingly (Louisville, Ky.) had seven solo tackles and forced a fumble while also breaking up a pass.
While Centre stays undefeated on the year, Rhodes drops to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in SAA competition. Centre goes back on the road next weekend with a trip to Hendrix.