Central City celebrates a district football title and prepares for a postseason run

CENTRAL CITY — Central City found itself in a familiar situation under unfamiliar circumstances.

The Wildcats entered their regular season’s final week with very little to play for. Only this time, they did so with a district title in hand.

Sixth-ranked Central City enjoyed a coronation night, slipping and sliding in the rain, dispatching Midland, 66-18, Friday night in an 8-Player high school football game.

Quarterback Jayden Hanson accounted for the first five Central City scores, running for three and connecting with Mekhi Benton on two more as the Wildcats seized a 50-6 halftime lead on Midland (3-5, 2-4).

For a program that has produced a 37-57 record over the past decade, it was an experience the Wildcats (7-1, 6-0) thoroughly enjoyed.

“It was fun,” Benton said. “Especially for senior night. We’ve come a long way from not being as successful as in our younger years. Everybody said we should be better as we get older if we stick to it.”

“It made it more relaxing this week, knowing we had the district championship,” Central City Coach Matt Miers said.

The Wildcats are preparing for just their fourth trip to the playoffs. The junior and senior classes took their lumps as freshmen and sophomores, finishing 2-6 in 2020 and 3-6 in 2021.

The turnaround began last season. The Wildcats finished 8-2, falling to eventual runner-up Easton Valley in the second round of the playoffs.

The success is something most in Central City saw coming.

“I kind of knew, and all of the families around us knew in second or third grade when we were playing flag football together that we would be pretty good,” Hanson said.

The senior class went undefeated in seventh and eighth grade.

“We knew that they were really good in youth and middle school,” Miers said. “That doesn’t always translate, but we knew that these guys would come together and develop like they have.

“We saw it last year and again this year.”

The Wildcats are no one-man show, either. You won’t find any 1,000-yard rushers on this team. Five different players have between 150 and 600 yards rushing. Hanson has shown the ability to move the ball down field through the air.

Spreading the wealth is very much a part of the plan.

“Our offense works best when we have that kind of balance,” Miers said. “You could see it tonight. Jayden threw several touchdowns. He ran for some. Matt (Klostermann) and Aiden (Klostermann) both ran for some. That’s just the way our offense is designed. We average almost 10 yards per carry, so it’s definitely a good balance.”

“I think it’s good,” Benton said. “Because you can’t key on one player in the playoffs. If one gets hurt, goes out, we still have others.”

Now comes the business end of the season. After getting a taste a year ago, the Wildcats are eager to begin the postseason journey.

“Practices have to be sharp,” Hanson said. “There can’t be any messing around. It’s gotta be focused practice if we want to go to the Dome this year.”

The Wildcats are battle tested. Their lone defeat came on the opening night, losing 44-36 to top-ranked Winfield-Mount Union, a game in which Central City surrendered three touchdowns on third-and-long.

“That was a great game,” Miers said. “I think both teams learned a lot about themselves from that. It would be a great matchup in the state championship game.”