Strange Plays Lead Century to Victory Over Temple City

Century defeated Temple City, 20-6, for its first football playoff victory in a Southern Section Division VIII game Friday night in Santa Ana Stadium.

Senior quarterback Ricky Odoardi rushed for 77 yards and Julio Garcia added 59 yards to pace Century’s ground game. But it was some unconventional plays that helped the Centurions (6-4-1) eliminate unseeded Temple City (5-6).

Century broke out to a 6-0 lead, and Temple City came back to tie the game, 6-6, with 45 seconds left in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Century’s Sal Watermire picked up Garcia’s fumble at the line of scrimmage and carried it 25 yards to set up the Centurions’ second score, which gave them a 12-6 lead.

On a third-and-nine situation in the third quarter, Odoardi, who also had a one-yard touchdown run, tossed the ball toward the right sideline to receiver Stanley Villanueva, who passed to Abel Perez for a 21-yard touchdown. Odoardi ran for the two-point conversion for the final score.

“I’m excited,” said Century Coach Bill Brown. “Where we were earlier this year, we couldn’t beat a junior high school team.”