Class 2A, No. 7 Triton Central steals win from Centerville

Class 2A, No. 7 Triton Central scored a touchdown and converted a two-point play in the final seconds Friday to defeat Centerville, 22-19, in a Sectional 38 quarterfinal contest.

With the win, the Tigers will return home for a Halloween game at Mendenhall Field against Northeastern, a 34-7 winner over Shenandoah Friday.

In the other Sectional 38 semifinal game on Oct. 31, Eastern Hancock, a 72-0 winner over Union County, will play at No. 3 Lapel, a 32-0 winner over Winchester.

Matthew Wilkins (photo) had two touchdown passes to Zeke Robertson in the win, the second coming with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Centerville (8-2) struck first with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. Triton Central (9-1) matched that with a rushing touchdown early in the second quarter.

Wilkins, who missed the last three games with a shoulder injury, found Robertson for a 20-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.

Centerville’s second rushing touchdown came with three minutes left in the third quarter. The extra-point kick failed, keeping the Tigers in the lead 14-13.

The Bulldogs missed a second field goal attempt of the game with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers could not run out the clock.

Centerville got another chance to take the lead and completed a touchdown pass with 1:43 to go but missed the two-point conversion for a 19-14 lead.

Triton Central took the kickoff back near midfield and quickly moved into scoring range before Wilkins found Robertson (photo) again.

Centerville’s final possession ended quickly with a fumble.

The semifinal meeting between Triton Central and Northeastern will be a first between the two programs.

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