Centralia didn’t like how it played defense last week against Monroe City.

The Panthers had a polar opposite week with a 38-14 win Friday at Clarence Cannon Conference foe Macon (0-5) because there being no new injuries this time and due to the defense being aggressive. Centralia (3-2) allowed 165 total offensive yards from Macon, including -23 yards rushing, in the program’s first win on Macon’s field since the 2016 district tournament.

Head coach Tyler Forsee said last week’s defensive performance in the comeback loss to Monroe City convinced him change was needed. That meant more blitzes, line stunts and just more chances for his kids to make plays.

“Against Monroe City, we played more of trying to be sound in what we do and try not to give up big plays,” Forsee said. “They nickeled and dimed us the whole game, and we didn’t get them off the field. We need to be more aggressive and we need to do a better job, on my end, of letting these guys loose a little bit to make some plays.”

Forsee said Anthony Ford returned an interception for 41 yards, and Henry Bohlmeyer had a key interception that shifted momentum to Centralia’s side. Ian Tuggle was prominent in the Panthers’ efforts of tackling Macon in the backfield, finishing with three tackles and two of the team’s seven tackles for loss. Jameson Cooper and Josh Russell each had two tackles for loss, and Louis Suddarth had one.

“Ian Tuggle looked good on defense as he was in on several tackles and was in the backfield various times,” Forsee said. “We had a lot of tackles for loss, and that was big for our defense.”

Centralia trailed 7-0 after the first quarter following a bad snap and lost a fumble at the two-yard line, but Forsee said the Panthers corrected themselves offensively after coming so close to scoring then. At halftime, Centralia led 24-7.

Charlie Robinson finished with 138 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, and Elliott McCoy had 57 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Centralia totaled 315 yards rushing spread amongst seven kids.

“We figured out what they were taking away from our offense,” Forsee said. “Macon did a good job taking away our strong side runs. Once we got that figured out, we started running weak side a lot more.”

Centralia has Homecoming at 7 p.m. Friday against Clarence Cannon Conference foe Highland (0-5), and Forsee said the goal for the Panthers will be just to focus on themselves and get kids more comfortable with their system.