CENTREVILLE — A look at the stat sheet from Centreville’s matchup against Columbia Academy last Friday, and one number might stand out: 163.

That was the number of passing yards the Tigers had against Columbia, despite the fact that Centreville isn’t normally known as a passing team.

“We’ve always tried to pass,” Centreville assistant coach Brian Stutzman said. “Most of the time it’s play action. We started working on it a little against ACCS, but we didn’t have much success.

“We had a good bit of success last week, and we feel like it’s something we need to do. We’re always going to run, but we want to be able to pass.”

The Tigers also had 243 yards rushing, finishing with 406 total. That kind of balance on offense is exactly what the Centreville coaches are looking for, Stutzman said.

“It’s pretty simple: We’ve gotten to where opposing teams have 11 people stacked within two yards of the line of scrimmage,” Stutzman said.

“If they’re trying to take away the run, we have to be able to pass. That’s the bottom line. We’ll need to be able (to do both) come time for the playoffs.”

Centreville (6-2, 1-0) will travel to Bowling Green Friday night for its second district game of the season.

“They’re a big, physical team,” Stutzman said. “They like to run the ball, but they can throw it, too.”

Stutzman said the Tigers will have to key in specifically on Bowling Green’s fullback.

“He’s big, he’s their lead blocker, but they’ll hand it off to mind for a straight dive,” Stutzman said. “He’s not the only one that carries it for them — most of their handoffs go to their running back — but he’s just a big, physical runner.”

After beginning the season 1-2, Centreville has won five straight, and Stutzman said the Tigers players have gelled at the right time.

“We’ve played a tough beginning of the year with our schedule, and we came through with losses to Trinity and Parklane,” Stutzman said.

“Then we beat WCCA, and they’ve got a good record. They’re a pretty tough team. We’ve also beat Oak Forest and Brookhaven Academy, so we’ve played some tough teams. That just helps us get ready for the postseason and the rest of our district games.”

Kickoff at Bowling Green is at 7 Friday night.

Wilkinson County Christian

Academy

WOODVILLE — The Rams were able to secure a victory last week against Union Christian Academy without even getting on the bus and setting foot on the field.

Union Christian was unable to field a team due to injuries and forfeited the game.

After an unexpected bye week, though, the Rams are eager to get back into the thick of October football, head coach Ray McDaniel said.

“We had a really good practice (Monday),” McDaniel said. “Last week was kind of difficult. We were ready for our game, then all of a sudden we don’t have one. It was different, but we’re ready to get back to playing.”

WCCA will host Tallulah Academy at 7 p.m. Friday.

“They like to spread the ball around, and they have some good athletes,” McDaniel said. “We don’t need to give up the big play against them.”

The Rams, however, should be ready to see another spread attack.

“We’ve faced a whole bunch of teams that run it,” McDaniel said. “It seems to be the flavor of the month. The main thing is to just contain the quarterback and don’t give up big plays.

“If they catch it, let them catch it in front of you, then have guys swarm to the ball and tackle. You don’t want to get beat deep.”