Gents Finish Season With 16-14 Loss To Austin College
The Centenary football team fell 16-14 to the Austin College 'Roos in the opening game of the inaugural Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Football Championship on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
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0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
Little Rock, Ark. - The Centenary football team fell 16-14 to the Austin College 'Roos in the opening game of the inaugural Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Football Championship on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: https://scacsports.prestosports.com/tournament/fall/football/25championships/index
The Gents, the sixth seed, finish their season at 1-8 overall and the 'Roos, the fifth seed, finish 3-6. The Gents and 'Roos were playing each other for the third time this season as Austin College recorded a 41-15 win over Centenary on Oct. 4 in Sherman, Texas and a 20-10 win in Shreveport last week to finish 3-0 against the Maroon and White.
Centenary finished with 291 yards of total offense on 59 plays and 16 first downs as the Gents rushed for 211 yards and passed for 80. Austin College totaled 386 yards on 70 plays and 22 first downs. The 'Roos rushed for 242 yards and passed for 144. The game featured six turnovers – three interceptions and three lost fumbles.
Following a scoreless first quarter, the 'Roos opened the scoring as QB Jaylon Talton scored one a 1-yard keeper on 4th and 1 and Caleb Balderas added the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 3:08 remaining in the period, capping a 15-play, 71-yard drive. Two plays and 43 seconds later, the Gents tied the score as senior RB Obadiah Butler (Crowley, La.) dashed 63 yards for his sixth TD of the season.
Austin College then broke the tie with a six play, 69-yard drive on a 34-yard TD pass from Talton to Jeremiah Johnson. Balderas' PAT failed but the 'Roos led 13-7 with just 57 seconds on the clock.
On the first possession of the second half, freshman DB D'Colby Chambers (Plain Dealing, La.) intercepted Talton in the end zone on third and six. The teams traded punts on the next two possessions and then Jon Rawles Thompson fumbled, forced by sophomore DL Jirus Guy Jr. (DeSoto, Texas) and Chambers recovered and returned it 35 yards to the Austin 7-yard line.
On fourth and goal from the 4, Butler scored and the PAT by freshman K/P Zane Wyss (Shreveport, La.) made it 14-13 Centenary. The 'Roos, though, responded with an impressive 76-yard drive on 17 plays which took 8:10 and Balderas nailed a 23-yard FG to give the 'Roos a 16-14 lead with exactly 6:00 on the clock.
On the Gents' next drive, freshman Brock Hamilton (Baton Rouge, La.) was intercepted by Evan Dennis and the 'Roos took over at their own 34-yard line. On fourth and 1 at the 43-yard line, Rawles Thompson converted and the Gents were forced to burn their last two timeouts as Austin was able to take a knee and run out the clock to seal the win.
The Gents received the opening kick and went on an impressive 14-play, 49-yard drive that reached the Austin College 16-yard line. Wyss attempted a 33-yard field goal that was blocked by Nick Anderson. Austin College then went 64 yards in nine plays and went for it on 4th and 1 at the Centenary 17-yard line but Zyan Stewart was stuffed for no gain and the 'Roos were flagged for holding which was declined as the Gents took over on downs.
On Centenary's next possession, Butler fumbled and Eliel Sandoval recovered at the Austin 44. But, two plays later, freshman LB Chance Tyler (LaPlace, La.) intercepted Leyton Riviere's pass. The Gents faked a punt on the next possession but freshman TE Ayden Baker (Bossier City, La.) was stopped well short of the first down marker as the 'Roos finally score the first points of the game on the next possession. Five combined turnovers followed as the 'Roos were able to survive with the late FG and strong defense.
Butler rushed 17 times for a game-high 138 yards and two TD while Zyan Stewart rushed 29 times for 129 yards. Rawles Thompson ran the ball 13 times for 47 yards, Talton five for 49 yards and a TD, and Brady Gordon ran the ball three times for 19 yards.
Sophomore WR Christopher Jackson (Shreveport, La.) rushed eight times for 27 yards, freshman FB MJ Owens (Calhoun, La.) made his season debut and rushed for 26 yards on five carries and junior RB Ahmad Garner (Marrero, La.) ran four times for 13 yards.
Hamilton was 13-20 for 80 yards and an interception, Talton was 11-15 for 134 yards with a TD and an INT and Riviere was 1-2 for eight yards and an INT. Johnson was the leading receiver in the game as he finished with 85 yards on five catches with a TD and freshman WR Theo Dunn (Gonzales, La.) led the Gents with 32 yards on four catches. Sophomore Jay Scott (Slidell, La.) caught five passed for 21 yards and Butler caught two passes for 16 yards. Butler also returned three kicks for 72 yards as he finished with 226 total yards.
Senior DL Demetrus Gladney Jr. (Haughton, La.), sophomore DB Dwayne Mills Jr. (Slidell, La.), junior LB Devon Strickland (Shreveport, La.), sophomore LB Collin Watkins (West Monroe, La.), and Chance Tyler all led the way with six solo tackles and eight total stops. Gladney Jr. added 2.5 tackles for loss.
Butler put the finishing touches on a sensational season as he ran for 687 yards on 81 carries and six TD and amassed 1,690 all-purpose yards. He finished the regular season second in the conference in rushing yards/game and was fourth nationally in all-purpose yards entering Saturday as he averaged 183 yards/game.
He recorded the conference's top two rushing performances of the season, finishing with 234 yards at Lyon on Oct. 18 which was preceded by 159 yards the week before at home against Texas Lutheran University. He was appropriately named to the D3football.com Team of the Week and selected as the SCAC Offensive Player of the Week following his monster performance in the Gents' overtime win at Lyon.
He also had the conference's two longest runs of the season – a 95-yard run against TLU and an 80-yard scamper against Lyon. Butler amassed 274 all-purpose yards against the Bulldogs and 269 yards against the Scots – the top two totals in the conference this season.
For more information or to donate to Centenary athletics and the football program, visit gocentenary.com/gocentenary/C_Club.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/fball/2025-26/schedule
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Team Stats
Austin
| Game Statistics | Centenary (La.) | Austin |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 80 | 144 |
| Rushing Yards | 211 | 242 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Time of Poss. | 26:37 | 33:23 |
