Centennial, once 0-4, wins 2nd straight state title: ‘This one is better’

Khy Harris’ first three runs Monday were nothing to write home about: One yard, two yards, one yard.

But it was just a matter of time before the Centennial senior broke things open.

Harris rushed for 200 yards on 18 carries to lead the Bulldogs to a 24-15 win over Galena in the Class 5A Division III state title game at Bishop Gorman. It was the second consecutive state championship for Centennial, which won the Class 4A state crown last season.

“Galena played a good game on defense,” Harris said. “They filled the box. I was stopped. I didn’t have a lot of good runs. But when I did, it was great. It was really all my o-line. We pounded the ball over and over again taking that three to five yards. And as soon as it opened, it was there.”

Harris had 43 yards on eight carries before his biggest play of the game: A 73-yard touchdown run that put the Bulldogs up 10-0 with 3:54 to go in the first half. He blew threw a big hole on the right side of the line, bounced outside and then cut back toward the middle of the field before racing away from the Galena defense.

“He’s working at it,” Centennial coach DJ Campbell said of Harris. “He’s grinding and we knew eventually he was going to get there, he had to just keep fighting. He kept a positive attitude and so then once it hit, it’s nothing new for us. We know that he has the ability to do that.”

First half

Centennial was in control most of the first half.

It took a 3-0 lead on a 51-yard field goal by Nicholas Rassai with 5:51 to go in the first quarter. The Bulldogs then drove to the 1-yard line on a 56-yard pass from Ashton Hunt to Dale Flores. Kolten Silbernagel appeared to score the game’s first touchdown on second-and-goal, but Centennial was flagged for having too many men on the field. Grizzlies safety Colson Kermode then picked off a Hunt pass on third-and-goal at the 3-yard line to end the threat.

Another Bulldogs’ miscue gave Galena some momentum after Harris’ first touchdown. Rassai dropped back to punt, but couldn’t hang onto the snap. He was stopped for a loss of 19 at the Centennial 13-yard line with 33 seconds remaining in the first half.

Kermode hit Erick Rodriguez for an 8-yard touchdown on a screen pass three plays later to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 10-7 at the break.

Centennial senior safety Shaje Silva said the team didn’t get down afterward.

“Head down, let’s work,” Silva said. “We don’t run away from challenges. We run full speed.”

Second half

Harris ran full speed on his first touch of the second half, sprinting through a huge hole on the right side of the line and racing 64 yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 lead. Harris, like he did on his first huge run, got behind 320-pound right guard Kyan Whipple and 290-pound right tackle Laseth Bryant.

“For my big boys, I really couldn’t do it without them,” Harris said. “I tell you, I’m a short guy. It’s kind of hard seeing behind my big boys, but we communicate great. They know what I want to do, and I know what they would want to do. It’s the chemistry that we got from the whole season.”

Silbernagel added a 35-yard touchdown run with 2:57 to play. The Bulldogs also made life difficult for Kermode all day. He finished with 13 carries for 43 yards and completed 17 of his 34 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. But Silva and Jhbari Christmas each picked off a pass in the second half, and the Bulldogs had eight tackles for loss.

“We knew (Kermode) was their guy and he’s a hell of a player,” Campbell said. “He’s a good kid. You’re going to see him on Saturdays somewhere. He’s a hell of a player, but we knew that if we could contain him, we could come out victorious.”

Many of Galena’s top players played both ways, and the Grizzlies seemed to wear down some in the second half. But Kermode kept trying to rally the troops. He squeezed a 4-yard touchdown pass through traffic to Ben Imse with 31 seconds to play to cut Galena’s deficit to 24-15, which ended up being the final score.

“They have a lot of heart,” Silva said. “You can’t take that away from them. I thought they were going to have a lot more people on their roster. But going both ways, it plays a toll on you. Not everyone’s Travis Hunter.”

Spectacular turnaround

Centennial won just one game in Silva’s freshman season and went 0-9 when he was a sophomore before Campbell took over and led the team to a pair of championships.

“It was always a dream,” Silva said of winning a state title. “But if you’re telling me this two years ago I would say that there’s no way. There’s no way. But a new coach came in, the best in the state. I’m going to say that right now. He’s the best.”

Centennial started the season 0-4, and Campbell said that rough start made the state title even more special.

“This one is better than the first one just because of all the adversity that everybody went through,” Campbell said. “They just kept believing in each other, believing in me as their leader and I’m just thankful, especially for these seniors. They laid the foundation.”