Burleson Centennial rushing game, defense overpower Seagoville in playoff opener
Burleson Centennial’s offensive starters scored touchdowns on all six of their possessions Friday night as the Spartans overwhelmed Dallas Seagoville 53-6 in a Class 5A Division II Region II bi-district playoff game at Burleson ISD Stadium.
The Spartans (10-1) play Ennis (10-1) in an area-round playoff game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ennis. Ennis defeated Frisco Reedy 34-0 at home Friday.
Centennial, which is 4-2 in opening-round games, makes its fourth trip to the second round in the last five years.
Centennial senior slotback Jaylon Jackson accounted for three scores Friday night. Jackson ran for scores of 19 and 49 yards and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Phillip Hamilton. The senior finished with four carries for 79 yards and one reception for 56 yards.
The Spartans defense limited Seagoville (7-4) all night. The Dragons tallied 126 yards of offense on 40 plays. Seagoville’s lone score came early in the fourth quarter when Gavin Hurth got behind the defense and hauled in a 38-yard from Eric Hall.
Centennial pounded Seagoville with its ground game as the Spartans carried 37 times for 336 yards and six touchdowns. Senior fullback Jeff Kirven carried three times for 77 yards and a touchdown.
After Kirven’s 54-yard scoring run on the first play from scrimmage in the second half gave Centennial a 41-0 lead, the Spartans used mostly backup skill position players the rest of the game.
Christian Hudson notched a 1-yard touchdown run for the Spartans in the third quarter and backup quarterback Michael Brown tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Kwab Agel in the fourth quarter.
Centennial stormed past Seagoville in the first half, scoring on all five of its possessions.
Jackson opened the scoring with a 19-yard that put the Spartans up 7-0. With 4:15 to play in the first quarter, Chris Mosley found the end zone on an 11-yard run for a 14-0 lead.
Each of the Spartans’ first-half touchdowns runs came on option pitches that took the ball outside. Seagoville’s defense was stacking the line to stop the dive play up the middle.
In the second quarter, Jackson scored on a 49-yard and David Clerk followed with an 18-yard touchdown run.
The highlight play of the first half came with 2:19 left before halftime when Jackson nabbed a pass from Phillip Hamilton over the middle at the Seagoville 30 and proceeded to elude and then outrace three Dragons defenders to the end zone for a 56-yard score.
At halftime, Centennial had 192 yards rushing on 18 carries (10.6 yards per carry) and 76 yards passing.
The Spartans defense limited Seagoville to 53 yards in the first half on 26 plays.