Friday’s district first-round game was valuable for Centralia football.

The Panthers defeated Carrollton 44-6 at home but took some time to get going in the Class 2 District 3 tournament contest. At the end of the night, Centralia finished with 372 rushing yards and five different kids scored a touchdown but led 16-0 at halftime.

Head coach Tyler Forsee said he wanted to emphasize to his team that it’s one-and-done and any game could be a team’s last. He said his kids got the message at halftime.

“We didn’t do a whole lot of production on offense,” Forsee said. “Our offensive line, I think, got a little satisfied. We had to do a better job of continuing to be more physical. I challenged them at halftime. Our kids responded and did a better job of being more physical. In the second half, we got after them, we drove our feet and did a much better job.”

Centralia (7-3) scored on its first offensive play and Ethan Ross ran for a touchdown on his first carry. After that, Forsee admitted the offense wasn’t as smooth and Ross even twisted his ankle after running for 84 yards on five carries. Forsee said he isn’t sure yet whether Ross will be able to play next week against Father Tolton (8-2).

Forsee said Centralia was able to spread the ball around as Peyson Bryson had some big plays as part of 54 yards and two touchdowns on four carries. Along with his usual good production on defense with nine tackles, Louis Suddarth ran for 82 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Elliott McCoy finished with 62 yards and a touchdown on three carries, and Chase Kempker scored a touchdown with 12 yards on four carries.

“I thought we could get outside,” Forsee said. “I thought we had more team speed than them. They did a good job of containing us at times.”

Jameson Cooper led the defense with 14 tackles, Zarek Poe had eight tackles, and Charlie Robinson and Ian Tuggle each had seven tackles. Carrollton (5-5) was held to 208 yards of total offense.

Forsee said he found out by the end of the night that his kids aren’t ready to be done with this season and that is good considering who Centralia has to play at 7 p.m. Friday. The Panthers visit Father Tolton – a program with at least seven wins in each of the last three years – for the first time.

“That’s not going to be a gimme by no means,” Forsee said. “They’re going to be ready to roll. We’ve got to be more physical.”