Centerville Wins GWOC Battle over Wayne
- Updated: September 30, 2017
Centerville forced four turnovers to defeat Wayne, 39-22, on the road Friday night.
This is the first time Centerville defeated Wayne since 2014. The last two contests have not been close. Wayne has outscored the Elks, 101-25 so this was redemption for Centerville tonight.
The Elks took a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter when Alec Grandin found Donovan Shelton on a 24-yard touchdown strike four minutes into the game. That was followed with a 3-yard run by senior Ross Harmon just a minute and half later. Harmon led the Elks with 87 rushing yards.
Wayne answered on its next possession when Rashad McKee found Laurenz Johnson on a 44-yard pass to cut the deficit to 14-7.
Centerville extended the lead to 17-7 on a field goal, but again Rashad McKee threw another touchdown pass, but this time to senior wide receiver L’Christian Smith.
That touchdown was followed by a 25-yard field goal by Garrett Russell as time expired to take a 17-16 deficit into halftime.
That would be as close as Wayne would get as Centerville dominated the second half. They outscored Wayne, 22-6. Grandin and Shelton both had important scoring plays in the half, but the play of the night came when Centerville blocked a field goal and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown. That occurred with 11 minutes left in the game and extended the lead from just two points to nine points. That was one of the four turnovers in the game for the Warriors.
Shelton’s performance was a major factor in the win as the senior accumulated 180 total yards to go along with the two scoring plays. Grandin also was impressive with 240 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Centerville receiver Jake Spiewak entered the game with the most receiving yardage in the conference, and he added to that with 62 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the loss, Wayne still gained 480 yards of offense. McKee had 380 of those yards in the air, completing five of the passes to Smith for 163 yards. Smith was ranked fourth in the conference in receiving, but should go up after tonight’s performance. McKee also led his team with 72 yards.
Centerville returns home to play a struggling Lebanon team that has lost three straight games. Following the game against Lebanon, the Elks still play at Northmont, and then home to Fairmont and Beavercreek. Those three opponents are a combined 14-4 so the road to an unbeaten regular season will be challenging for the Elks. The last time the Elks finished undefeated was 2014, which was the same season they defeated Wayne, but had a disappointing first round lost to Lakota West as the top seed in the region.
Wayne will have its hands full again when the Warriors visit Beavercreek next Friday night. Beavercreek will be coming off its first loss after losing to Springboro Friday night.
RECORDS: Centerville (6-0), Wayne (4-2)
UP NEXT: Centerville hosts Lebanon (2-4), Wayne visits Beavercreek (5-1)
Centerville 17 0 7 15
Wayne 13 3 6 0
Centerville: Grandin 24-yd pass to Shelton
Centerville: Harmon 3-yd run
Wayne: McKee 44-yd pass to Johnson
Centerville: Walters 27-yd FG
Wayne: McKee 83-yd TD pass to Smith
Wayne: Russell 25-yd FG
Centerville: Grandin 20-yd pass to Spiewak
Wayne: McKee 40-yd pass to Mullins
Centerville: 80-yd blocked punt
Centerville: Shelton 24-yd run
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