Arbor View rushing attack cripples Centennial

By Anthony Fenech

Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 | 1:28 a.m


Pitch left, pitch right, good night.

That was the recurring theme for Taylor Wooten and the Arbor View Aggies in their rushing attack on Centennial that led to Thursday night’s 38-13 win.

Wooten took his second touch of the game 39 yards down the sideline for an early touchdown and followed it up with a 42-yard touchdown scamper behind a red wall of linemen on his next carry.

“The outside was wide open all day,” Wooten said after the victory in which he was named MVP of the second Thursday night game of the season.

“Our offensive line was outstanding and that includes our tight ends. They crashed really good for us,” he said.

The Aggies ground game fired on all cylinders right out of the gate with an array of alternating outside pitches, going left, then right, with both Wooten and senior DeMarlo Carl Virgil.

“The play was working, so we kept going with it,” head coach Dan Barnson said. “Our big players made big plays, but they made big plays because our offensive linemen were blocking.”

Wooten finished with 12 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while his backfield partner Virgil rushed 11 times for 93 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Arbor View’s insurance came courtesy of the elusive Thomas Flanagan, who turned a short curl route into a 77-yard dagger. He broke one tackle and evaded two defenders, running untouched from there as time expired on the first quarter.

The dual-threat senior tallied 132 yards receiving and added a 32-yard rushing touchdown.

The early 22-point cushion was enough for an Aggie defense that had their way with the Bulldogs offense.

“We have some kids that like to fly around on defense and if they continue to fly around, good things can happen,” Barnson said.

“But our defense needs to keep it up because we have the big four coming,” he said, alluding to the Aggies upcoming four-game stretch against teams they haven’t yet beat.

Centennial senior quarterback Chris Henderson accounted for 234 yards of offense and rushed for 193 yards with a rushing touchdown.

Henderson tried to spark the Bulldogs with a dazzling 81-yard run on the first play of the second half, but Arbor View’s early lead proved insurmountable.

“They came out and punched us in the face twice and we couldn’t come back from it,” Centennial coach George Baker said. “They hit us hard and our kids were reeling from it.”

Arbor View (2-0) travels to Cimarron-Memorial next week while Centennial (0-2) tries to turn things around against Faith Lutheran.