Centralia senior Xavier Koch would not be denied in his last chance at the Shrine Trophy. Koch exploded for 3 touchdowns as the Orphans came back to beat Salem 42-35 in a thriller. Koch scored on 52 yard touchdown reception; he returned a kickoff for a score and then returned a Salem fumble on the 1 yard line and went 99 yards to the end zone. Freshman quarterback Archie Goewey finished a solid first start going 12-of-19 for 98 yards and a touchdown. He also converted on a huge 4th and 12 late in the game that ultimately led to the game winning score.
For Salem, sophomore Trey Clark had a great first half and was on his way to an all time game before getting hurt halfway through. He finished with 19 carries for 152 yards and a score. Jeremiah Reinhart also was over 100 yards in the back field going 12 carries for 120 and a score. Caeden Bevolo was making his first start under center or the varsity Cats and the sophomore went 13-of-25 for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns. Aiden Rose caught a 35 yard touchdown to open Salem’s scoring. Miking Ettress caught a 14 yard score and Lyric Black had a 29 yard touchdown catch.
Centralia will travel to Collinsville next week, while Salem will be on the road at Benton.
