Friday, October 25, 2019. Shepherd High School –
Friday’s varsity football game at Shepherd High School appeared to belong to the visiting Center Roughriders after they scored a touchdown on the second play and another with nearly nine minutes left in the first quarter. When Center extended their lead to 21-0 early, after a 5-yard Makel Johnson touchdown reception in the second quarter, Center took a 21-0 lead. It appeared the SHS Pirates were going to be victims of an embarrassing homefield blowout.
Shepherd got on the board late in the second stanza when Kenan Turner rushed into the endzone for a score with 1:42 left in the first half. This cut the CHS lead to 21-7.
The Roughriders bounced back when Jakerrian Watson grabbed a pass from Jake Hanson and raced downfield for a 42-yard touchdown. Alexis Lopez kicked the extra point to give Center a 28-7 lead with just over a minute left in the first half.
Shepherd pulled to within two touchdowns of Center when they scored the only points of the third quarter on a touchdown run with 6:23 left in the period. The fourth quarter started with the Roughriders holding a 28-14 advantage.
Shepherd tied the game at 28-28 after two more scores by the 8:28 mark. Another Kenan Turner score gave Shepherd their first lead at 35-28 with just 3:43 remaining in the contest.
Center didn’t panic and Keamodre Horace tied the game with a 50-yard scoring run with just 50 seconds remaining in the game to tie things up at 35-35. In overtime, Center eventually scored the final touchdown of the game on a 10-yard keeper by Hanson and the Roughriders held off the Pirates on their subsequent possession. This gave the ‘Riders the 42-35 overtime win.
The win puts Center at 5-3 overall this season. They are 2-0 in District 9 4A play. They will face the Huntington Red Devils at home at 7:30 p.m. on Friday November 1, 2019. Huntington won their first game last Friday at home, 28-6 over Tarkington.
Center’s Keamodre Red Horace now has 1590 yards rushing this season and has a team high 20 touchdowns. ‘Rider quarterback Jake Hanson has completed 101 passes this season for 1955 yards. He has passed for 20 touchdowns and has a 107.9 passer rating.
