With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Aberdeen turned to a player who had only played two plays on offense.
Sophomore running back Tommy Fisher, who mainly played defensive tackle on Friday, ran for a 5-yard touchdown with less than five minutes remaining to lead Aberdeen to a 12-6 win over host Centennial.
“It was a little surprising,” Fisher said of scoring the game-winning touchdown. “But I knew when we were in the red zone that I could get my number called. I was just happy I got in the end zone.”
Fisher, who is 5-feet, 10-inches tall and 250 pounds, is Aberdeen’s goal line back and totaled nine yards on two carries in the red zone. Fisher played more tailback last season, but this season Aberdeen head coach Chris Matlack has played him more at defensive tackle.
“I definitely trust him,” Matlack said. “He’s a physical kid, and he plays hard. I can always turn to him.”
The win is the first for Aberdeen (1-3) this season. Matlack said the first three losses of the season were “pretty rough,” and that he thought his team was resilient against Centennial.
“The goal was to come in and play as a team,” he said. “We just needed to come together, and I think they did a nice job of that tonight. … (Centennial) definitely did not quit. That’s a good group of kids. I see them being very competitive in the future."
The loss is the closest game Centennial (0-4) has played since its 14-12 loss to Wilde Lake on Oct. 28, 2016, which is the year before the school couldn’t field a team due to low participation.
“We have two options: We’re either going to put our heads down and focus on this loss, or we’re going to learn from it,” said Centennial head coach Billy Martin. “Even though it feels bad to lose a game like that, it still feels nice to have that feeling instead of being blown out and just being happy with putting some points up.”
Aberdeen started the game at Centennial High School fast. The visitors scored on their second play from scrimmage to silence the large crowd in attendance for Centennial’s homecoming game. Running back Malachi Steward-Lesesne outran the Centennial defense for a 49-yard touchdown run to give Aberdeen a 6-0 lead less than a minute into the game.
“That was really important for us,” Matlack said. “This season, we’ve had trouble with the first drive. To come out like that and score was amazing.”
After struggling on offense in the first quarter, Centennial found success with sophomore running back Praise Bright. The well-rounded back utilized his speed, strength and agility with runs of 21, 48 and 19 yards in the second quarter. Bright, who totaled 90 yards on 21 carries, scored a 1-yard touchdown late in the first half to tie the game at 6-6.
“He’s a tough kid. He’s strong, and he’s got good vision and good feet,” Martin said. “He has a high ceiling. We’re expecting some good things from him this year and in the future. The sky’s the limit for him.”
Centennial got inside Aberdeen’s 10-yard line to start the second half, but Aberdeen forced a turnover on downs. Then Centennial’s Muchiri Mbugua intercepted a pass once Aberdeen’s offense reached the red zone on its next drive. After a Centennial punt, Aberdeen used almost six minutes of clock on its 64-yard scoring drive that ended with Fisher’s 5-yard touchdown plunge.
Centennial reached midfield on its next drive, but the Aberdeen defense was stout once again to force a turnover on downs. Aberdeen allowed only 157 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers — interceptions from Jaheim Wilson-Jones and John Williams. The defense held Bright to 1 yard on 10 carries in the second half.
“We made some adjustments on the defensive line to eliminate those plays he was getting,” Matlack said. “He was getting some chunk plays there in the second quarter. Once we made those adjustments, we could control it, but he’s really talented.”
Both teams are back in action next week. Centennial plays at Southern (Anne Arundel County) next week, while Aberdeen plays at Aberdeen.
Box score:
Aberdeen 12, Centennial 6
A — 6 0 0 6 — 12
C — 0 6 0 0 — 12
Scoring plays:
First quarter
A: Malachi Steward-Lesesne 49-yard run, kick blocked [6-0]
Second quarter
C: Praise Bright 1-yard run, kick blocked [6-6]
Fourth quarter
A: Tommy Fisher 5-yard run, run failed [12-6]