MADISONVILLE — The Centerville Bulldogs were poised to move further in the postseason in their regional matchup against Kennard, but being outscored 20-1 in the first quarter put them at a disadvantage, one they couldn’t overcome.
Centerville lost to Kennard 77-41 on Friday.
Head Coach Geoffrey Hollis said that even though they didn't quite reach their ultimate goal, he us so proud of what the team accomplished this season.
“Coming into this year, we had big shoes to fill and lots of production to replace after graduating all-state big man Jake Slaten, and our guys did that,” Hollis said. “Every guy on the team bought in, played their role and did what was asked of them and more. We played a much harder schedule this year than we did last year and our guys rose to the challenge.”
Getting back to the Regional Finals in consecutive years is an incredible achievement, he said, and this season marks back-to-back 20-plus win seasons for the Bulldogs as they went 52-18 over two seasons, winning 6 playoff games.
“Centerville boys had never reached the Regional Semi-final round previous to last year, and we were able to surpass that in back-to-back years in what I consider the toughest 1A district in the state of Texas,” Hollis said. “Every guy off the bench came in with high energy and contributed every night.”
Those contributions came from Kolt Larsen, who led the entire state of Texas in assists this year, and Hardy Brown and Iain Kendrick both tacked on over 8 points per game to their average from last year. Additionally, Braden White and Wyatt Clede both rebounded and defended at a super high level this year.
“We are graduating two great players in Kolt and Iain, but looking at what we have coming back, I am very excited about the future,” he said
Centerville looks to continue their success as they now hit the baseball field where they come in as the pre-season 6th ranked 1A team in the state.
