Magnolia Pulls Out Stops to Score First Win of Year

Just when it looked as if Magnolia was going to remain winless this season, the Sentinels used some trickery to spark a 27-14 nonleague victory over Century at Western High Friday night.

Trailing, 14-13, early in the fourth quarter and facing a second-and-nine play on the Century 36-yard line, quarterback Radu Birle faked a handoff and gave the ball to Kevin Arviso on a reverse. Arviso ran a few yards, stopped and threw it to a wide-open Rumeal Coleman, who slipped a couple tackles and tip-toed into the end zone. A two-point conversion gave Magnolia a 21-14 lead.

After forcing Century to punt on its next possession, the Sentinels gave the ball to Tim Beaty, who finished with 28 carries for 166 yards. Beaty, on the final touchdown drive, rushed four times and scored his second touchdown from 12 yards out.

Magnolia (1-4) led, 13-7, at halftime and appeared to have extended it to 19-7 on a Beaty seven-yard run. The Sentinels were called for holding on the play, however, and had to settle for a field-goal attempt that was blocked.

Century (1-4) drove 80 yards on 14 plays, eating up 5 1/2 minutes. Joseph Rivera connected with Celestino Johnson for 25 yards on a third-down play, and then found Johnson again from 21 yards out to give the Centurions a 14-13 lead.

Jacob Iosefa’s 26-yard touchdown run in the first half gave the Sentinels a 13-7 halftime lead.