Centralia unafraid of state No. 1 Blair Oaks in 19-8 district title loss

Centralia didn’t win Friday’s district championship game but gave the top team a fight.

The state No. 5 Panthers led state No. 1 Blair Oaks 8-7 at halftime of the Class 2 District 5 championship game in Wardsville before losing 19-8. Centralia finishes the season at 10-2.

Blair Oaks (11-0) won four state championships in the past eight years and is the favorite for another this season after beating opponents by an average of 49 points per game. However, Centralia head coach Tyler Forsee said there was no fear in his players.

“We knew we were going to have our backs against the wall at some point during the game, and we knew there was going to be some pressure put on us by Blair Oaks,” Forsee said. “Everybody in the state thought Blair Oaks was going to run away with it. We asked our kids, ‘Are you scared?’ and it was a resounding ‘No.’”

Centralia advanced the furthest it has since playing a district championship game against eventual state champion Blair Oaks in 2020, losing that game 60-14. This time, Centralia’s defense that held opponents to 15.8 points per game had a good night by holding Blair Oaks to its lowest point total since a 49-14 district loss in 2021 to Mexico and its lowest margin of victory since a 38-28 win over Seneca in last year’s Class 3 state championship game.

“We can’t get any faster than we are, and we can’t get any taller than we are,” Forsee said. “One thing we can do is rely on our strengths. If we give them a lot of space, like a big parking lot, and we try to play them like that, we’re not going to have a lot of success. If we can drag them to the alley and keep them in the alley, we have a shot because we’re tougher.”

Forsee pointed out Centralia has two-way players while Blair Oaks mainly limits its players to offense or defense. He said the toughness the Panthers built over a season doing that helped them execute their game plan.

Through one half, Centralia outgained Blair Oaks in yardage 118-84 and dominated in time of possession 18:06-5:54. Forsee said Centralia had to do that to have a chance to beat “one of the best teams I’ve coached against in my 19 years of coaching.”

“We hogged the clock extremely well,” Forsee said. “We held them to three offensive possessions in the first half. That was our game plan because we had to shorten the game down to beat a team that has so many weapons and is so dynamic.”

Ethan Ross had Centralia’s only touchdown and two-point conversion while Hayden Lackman ran for two touchdowns for Blair Oaks.

The reigning Class 3 offensive player of the year Tyler Bax ran for a quarterback keeper touchdown and didn’t have a passing touchdown all night. The Falcons are so deep because Forsee said Brenden Rackers is their fourth option despite Forsee saying he is possibly “the best receiver I’ve coached against.”

Forsee said there are moments that could have gone better like when Centralia couldn’t convert on fourth down twice in the red zone. He also wished that he elected to go for it on another fourth down in the second half with four yards to go from Centralia’s seven-yard line because Blair Oaks ended up with a short field and touchdown anyway for a 13-8 lead. Nevertheless, Forsee said he couldn’t ask for much better from the kids.

“Everybody in the stands on both sides of the stadium was standing up and applauding my kids’ effort,” Forsee said. “I received no less than 50 text messages (Saturday) morning just talking about how proud they are of the kids. I was very proud of my kids. The only thing I’m disappointed about is I don’t get to have them on the practice field on Monday.”