Summit soars, scores on final drive in win

FARMER’S KORNER — With 1:35 remaining in the game, Summit senior quarterback Landon Greve stood three yards behind center, four from the goal line, as the shotgun snap was lofted into his hands. Without hesitation, he darted straight ahead, barreling over a Centaurus defender and crashing into the end zone.

The touchdown capped off an 80-yard, eight-minute-and-41-second drive that gave the Tigers (4-0) a 14-7 win over No. 7 Centaurus (3-1), Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

“That was a drive of the heart and courage,” head coach Dylan Hollingsworth said. “ ... I am so proud of the heart that everyone showed.”

Greve topped the century mark in both passing and rushing yards on the night and scored both of the Tigers’ touchdowns.

“We had to step it up and show everyone what we are made of,” Greve said of the final scoring drive. “ ... I have so much faith in our guys. ... We stepped up just like we needed to.”

In a grind-it-out, smash-mouth game between two unbeaten teams, the Tigers held the lead for more than 32 minutes, before Centaurus broke the shutout with 10:17 remaining.

After intercepting a halfback pass at the Summit 22-yard line, Centaurus had their first, and only, red zone opportunity of the night.

They eventually worked the ball down to the three-yard line, where they converted a quarterback sneak on fourth down to knot the score at 7-7.

Though the Tigers struggled to move the ball effectively through out the first three quarters, they methodically ran the ball down the Warriors’ throats, crossing midfield while taking large chunks of time off the clock.

Then after a holding penalty left the Tigers 20 yards from the first down marker, Summit went to the air. Greve completed back-to-back passes to senior tailback Talon Roggasch, the last of which left the Tigers at the one-yard line.

After running some more time off the clock, Greve then pummeled his way into the end zone for the win.

“Our line just really stepped it up,” said Greve, who scored his first touchdown on a 92-yard run in the first quarter. “I had a lot of time to throw. The blocking was incredible, and we had some incredible catches.”

Though it was the offense’s final drive that stole the show, the SHS defense was the true story of the game.

Besides Centaurus’ short-field opportunity off a Summit turnover, the Warriors never crossed the Tigers’ 30-yard line.

Hollingsworth gave the credit to SHS defensive coordinator Jim Smith.

“He did a phenomenal job,” Hollingsworth said of his assistant coach. “He watched film (of Centaurus) so many times to find out their tendencies. I am just so proud of our defensive effort.”

Senior Jordan Sitkoski also contributed to the team’s dominating defense. Besides accounting for much of Summit’s rushing attack, Sitkoski was a force at linebacker making countless tackles.

“We have a lot of great players,” Hollingsworth said, “but Jordan the last two weeks has just stepped up and said, ‘I'm not going to let people beat me one-on-one.’”

“He’s just an incredible player,” Greve said.

Sitkoski credited his defensive line for his success Friday and noted that his team’s impressive defensive numbers — the Tigers have allowed only two touchdowns in four games — has been a team effort.

“We just proved that we had the heart,” he said. “We just pulled it together.”
Sitkoski rushed for 101 yards on 12 carries, tying for the team lead with Greve (101 yards on six carries). Roggasch added 46 yards on the ground and also had 47 yards receiving.

Though the Tigers couldn’t have scripted the end of the game any better for themselves, Hollingsworth still sees much to improve on before next week’s match up with conference rival D’Evelyn.

“We’ll enjoy this one for 24 hours then move on,” the coach said. “ ... We still have a lot of work to do.”

The D’Evelyn game is slated for next Saturday at 11:30 p.m. at Trailblazer Field. It will be the Tigers’ first conference game.

Bryce Evans can be reached at (970) 668-4634 or at bevans@
summitdaily.com.