Centralia’s senior football group has earned many wins and many points this season.

The Class 2 No. 3 Panthers won 42-0 against Clarence Cannon Conference foe South Shelby (1-6, 1-3 CCC) on Senior Night on Friday for their third straight victory with at least 40 points in each game. Centralia (6-1, 4-1 CCC) owns a scoring average of 42 points per game for the program’s highest scoring average since 48.6 points per game by the 2009 state semifinal team.

Head coach Tyler Forsee said South Shelby prevented long runs by Centralia other than a 64-yard touchdown by Charlie Robinson, who finished with 92 yards on three carries, and a 43-yard run into the end zone by Peyson Bryson, who had 60 yards on seven carries. Forsee said there were still signs Centralia would have a good night, and the team ended up with 316 rushing yards to make it seven straight weeks of at least 300 rushing yards.

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“I was proud of our offensive line,” Forsee said. “They did a good job of driving their feet and owning the line of scrimmage. When that happens, I’m pretty confident that our offense is going to score a lot of points.”

Five of Centralia’s touchdowns were scored by seniors not long after they were honored with a pregame ceremony along with the school’s other fall sports and activities. Peyson Bryson ran for two touchdowns, Rex Bryson and Chase Kempker each ran for a touchdown with 72 and 22 yards, respectively, and Clayton Moore caught a 13-yard touchdown from Oliver Bohlmeyer.

Forsee said it wasn’t a deliberate effort to have seniors score touchdowns. Those players were the best options to touch the ball.

“When seniors on Senior Night have a day, that’s pretty cool,” Forsee said.

Forsee said he has been impressed that the offense has averaged over nine yards per play this season. He said he is proud his players have performed this way in the second year of this new offense.

After Forsee said he learned the offense from a coach in Florida, he thought the kids were capable of learning it and would excel with it.

“It was a little overwhelming (when you first learn it), but once you take a bolt loose and realize there’s not a whole lot of substance there, I’m thinking, ‘If I can learn this, I know the kids can,’” Forsee said.

Forsee said he has liked how kids can fill in for each other when breaks are necessary and it has given the offense more depth. Especially in these last three weeks, a pack of Panthers has touched the ball.

Tilmon Sontheimer is a senior and a three-year starter on the offensive and defensive lines. Sontheimer had a good night stopping South Shelby on defense with six tackles and has been in the trenches as this offense has evolved.

“This offense is run-heavy,” Sontheimer said. “We’re going to run the ball most of the time. You have to be physical and prepare to get your head beat in a few times. You have to have physical guys, and that’s what we have.”

Sontheimer said the team knows how to run plays better in the second season with this offense. He said it helps to have plenty of returners from last year so most of the team wasn’t starting fresh.

While he has become mentally stronger, Sontheimer said he has become stronger physically, too. He credits his time in the weight room for his growth.

“I’ve gotten stronger, bigger and faster,” Sontheimer said. “Sophomore year, I was pretty plump. I’ve slimmed down. I haven’t gotten weaker but stronger. You could say that with a lot of kids on this team.”

Centralia posted its first shutout of the season as well, forcing three turnovers and scoring touchdowns after two of those takeaways. Senior Ashton Price led with eight tackles.

Forsee said Centralia has been rolling as of late but will have a tough test this Friday at 7 p.m. against conference foe Palmyra (5-2, 2-2 CCC).

“It’s a big game for us,” Forsee said. “They are playing very well. We need it for our district seed, and we need it to just have momentum going into that last week and going into districts with our head held high.”