Hanover vs. Centre (Ky.), Sept. 5
Late rally propels Centre to opening victory
Hanover College's football team carried a seven-point lead into the fourth period but could not hold off Centre College (Ky.) in a 34-20 loss to the Colonels in the opening game of the 2009 gridiron season. The outing was played Saturday, Sept. 5, at L.S. Ayres Field.
Centre (1-0) scored 21 unanswered points in the final stanza to grab its second consecutive victory in the series with Hanover. The Colonels outgained the Panthers 501-294 yards, including a 177-34 advantage in rushing yardage.
Sophomore wide receiver Daniel Passafiume (Louisville, Ky.) had 18 catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns to spark Hanover, which dropped its third consecutive season-opener. The effort was just one away from matching the school's single-game record for receptions - 19, set by Tyler Theims last season.
Second-year quarterback C.J. Croft (Fort Campbell, Ky.) completed 25-of-40 passes for 260 yards with three touchdowns and a late interception. He was also sacked three times.
Croft hit on 14 of his first 17 attempts in the game which helped the Panthers forge a 13-13 tie at the intermission. Trailing 6-0 after one quarter, Croft flipped a two-yard scoring strike to senior receiver Adam Miller (Franklin, Ind.) to give the Panthers a one-point advantage two minutes into the second quarter.
Hanover grabbed a 13-6 lead midway through the period. Passafiume snagged a nine-yarder from Croft to cap a 10-play, 81-yard drive with 7:57 left in the half.
Centre countered with a touchdown late in the stanza. The Colonels' sophomore quarterback Tyler Osterman tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to senior Nick Edwards to knot the game at 13-13 with 1:05 remaining in the half.
The teams battled through a scoreless third period before Hanover ended the scoring drought on a two-yard pass from Croft to Passafiume with 3:25 left in the period to push the Panthers ahead 20-13.
Centre, however, answered with three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes of action. Osterman threw a pair of touchdown passes early in the quarter to give the Colonels a 27-20 advantage. Pinned on the Hanover one-yard-line with less than one minute to play, Croft was hit while trying to avoid pressure and coughed up the ball. Centre linebacker Brian Sneed recovered the fumble in the endzone for the game's final margin.
Senior linebacker Daniel Cornely (Palmetto Bay Fla.) led Hanover's defensive effort with 14 tackles, including nine solo stops. Sophomore defensive back Rory Mannering (Walton, Ind.) added 12 tackles for the Panthers.
