One week after Jace Hollendonner used his arm to set a school record, he used his legs to help the Centerville football team continue its late-season winning streak. The Bulldogs spoiled Senior Night for the Trojans on a textbook fall evening at New Castle’s Neal Field.
Hollendonner ran for tide-turning touchdowns on back-to-back touches on each side of halftime to give the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish in a 41-35 Eastern Crossroads Conference victory at New Castle on Friday, Oct. 9, for its third win in a row.
Hollendonner, who became the Centerville program’s career leader in passing yards during the Bulldogs’ Oct. 2 win against Shenandoah, heard all week from his coaches to make the most of opportunities in the running game against New Castle.
Message received. Hollendonner put Centerville ahead to stay at 21-14 with an 11-yard all-or-nothing dash to the pylon with three seconds left in the first half and no Bulldog timeouts remaining.
Then came the game’s defining turn of events. The Centerville defense halted the Trojans’ first drive of the third quarter on downs at the Bulldog 10, with Davis Pentecost chasing down the New Castle quarterback on fourth down. On the very next play, Hollendonner broke free for a 90-yard touchdown run, with a blocking escort from Karder McCord and others.
What could have been a 21-21 game was instead a 28-14 Centerville lead.
“Coach Cole called the play and said, ‘Jace, you’ve got to run hard,’” Hollendonner said. “I was like, ‘Yes, sir’ — and there it was. I had great blocks all the way around from linemen and wide receivers, and all I had in my head was, ‘Don’t get caught.’”
“Don’t get caught” was Centerville’s mantra for the rest of the evening. The Bulldogs pushed their advantage to 35-14 on Hollendonner’s third touchdown pass – the last one to Hunter Sonntag after the first two went to Kyle Dickenson. However, the win wasn’t secure until the final seconds.
Luke Sherrell, New Castle’s hard-charging running back, barreled for almost 250 rushing yards and four touchdowns to keep the Trojans in the game.
New Castle piled up big yards, but Centerville’s defense got big stops. Four times, the Trojans went for it on fourth down deep in Bulldog territory. Four times, Centerville’s defense held.
“We talked at halftime, we couldn’t get off the field on third down in the first half. And then to come back in the second half and really get it done on fourth down was just unbelievable,” said Centerville coach Ryan Cole. “(Defensive coordinator) Briendle Fletcher and our defensive staff did an outstanding job getting them prepared, and then our guys really did an outstanding job and made plays when they needed to.”
The Bulldogs needed one more defensive play in the final seconds after an ill-timed sequence of events gave New Castle possession with 46 seconds remaining and a chance to pull off an improbable comeback.
Clayton Fillinger came to the rescue. Fillinger intercepted a wobbly New Castle desperation pass at the Centerville 40 to set off an exuberant celebration on the Bulldog sideline.
“It wasn’t perfect, but it was gritty. We had to dig deep and really played from the heart,” said Cole, whose team clinched no worse than a tie for third in its first Eastern Crossroads Conference season.
“All these young guys had to step into bigger roles (due to Centerville’s injury-riddled early season) and they needed some time to grow. I think now it’s starting to click.”
Centerville (4-4, 2-3 ECC) 14 7 14 6 41
New Castle (2-6, 1-3 ECC) 7 7 7 14 35
Centerville stat leaders: Rushing: Jace Hollendonner 11-143, Hunter Sonntag 19-97, Roger Gipson 5-39, Kyle Dickenson 1-11. Passing: Hollendonner 9-17-0-143. Receiving: Dickenson 5-99, Sonntag 3-37, Bo Shadle 1-7. Tackles: Maclane Henry 3 TFL.
New Castle stat leaders: Luke Sherrell 28-249, Carson Bell 7-16. Passing: Bell 14-28-1-233. Receiving: Christian St. John 7-112, Sherrell 4-56, Kiptyn Boatright 2-57. Tackles: Preston West 14.
A version of this article appeared in the October 14 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
