Da'shawn Powell scores three touchdowns as Wilde Lake football excels on special teams in 28-14 victory over Centennial

Oct. 2—Wilde Lake sophomore Da'shawn Powell didn't take long to leave his imprint on Friday's game against Centennial.

Powell fielded the opening kickoff near his own sideline and quickly reversed field. Powell broke several tackles before sprinting down Centennial's sideline for a 67-yard touchdown.

That was only the beginning of Wilde Lake's special teams success and the first of Powell's three touchdowns as the Wildecats defeated the Eagles 28-14.

"I didn't expect that," Powell said. "I was being patient that whole time, waiting for something to open up. Then I saw a hole and I cut back the field because everything was going to be open on the backside. I went backside, and my teammates got blocks for me."

Wilde Lake's special teams continued to excel in the opening quarter, blocking a punt on the Eagles' second possession. However, the offense was unable to take advantage of the good field position as Centennial's defense stopped the Wildecats on fourth-and goal from the 2.

Centennial found the end zone late in the first half. Sammy Klein hit a wide-open Carter Watson in stride for a 45-yard score, tying the game at 7 with 1:59 remaining before halftime.

Wilde Lake (3-2) immediately responded. Facing third-and-11 from the 20, Gio Butler shoveled the ball to Ethan Jackson in motion. Jackson found a crease, racing into Centennial territory for a 65-yard gain. The next play, Butler connected with Powell for a 15-yard score, giving the Wildecats a seven-point advantage they took into halftime.

"That makes my adrenaline go up," Jackson said of the big play. "It just makes me go harder because I don't like losing."

Wilde Lake's special teams struck again, first recovering an onside kick to start the second half, then Jackson converted a fake punt to keep the drive alive. Later in the possession, Butler took in the quarterback keeper from 5 yards out, extending Wilde Lake's lead to 21-7.

"We knew it was coming, we just weren't ready," Centennial coach Billy Martin said of the onside kick. "It kind of just slipped right past us. We've got to be a little bit more alert and anticipate those kinds of things and be smarter. We cannot let that stuff happen, we've got to clean up our special teams."

As Wilde Lake's offense found a groove, the defense continued to bring pressure up front. The Eagles offense couldn't convert a fourth down opportunity near midfield and the Wildecats offense took over. They immediately took a shot downfield as Butler connected with Powell for his third touchdown of the game, extending the lead to 28-7.

[ High school sports roundup from Sept. 30. ]

Trailing by three scores, Centennial was forced to throw for much of the final quarter. Wilde Lake's front seven continued to bring relentless pressure, making it challenging for Klein and the Eagles. Klein connected with Nisola Adebanjo for a late touchdown but it wasn't enough.

"We got a really young team, but a tough team and they're always going to stay in games," Wilde Lake coach Brian Henderson said. "One thing that I think we do a pretty good job of is, we know that there's three sides to the football game. We had some struggles on offense, some struggles on defense. We felt like special teams would be the one that is going to put us back in the game, keep us in the game most of the night."