Centenary Athletics: Weekend Preview - Sept. 5-7

Another busy Centenary Athletics weekend is upon us. Four teams will be in action and there are plenty of chances to see the Ladies and Gents in action at home, so get your tickets and come cheer on the Ladies and Gents!

MEN'S SOCCER

The Centenary men's soccer team hits the road for the first time this season as the Gents will face the Huntingdon College Hawks in a non-conference contest on Friday at 2 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala. at the Samford Soccer Complex.

The Gents (1-0-1) and Hawks (0-1-1) will meet for the third-consecutive season and Centenary leads the all-time series, 3-1. The Gents recorded a 4-1 win over the Hawks last season at home.

Centenary earned a hard-fought scoreless draw against the Dallas Christian College Crusaders on Monday evening in a non-conference contest at Atkins Field, preceded by an impressive 9-0 win over the Texas College Steers last Friday evening in a non-conference contest and its season opener at Atkins Field.

The Gents won their season opener for the first time since the 2022 season as they took a 1-0 halftime over the Steers and exploded for eight second-half goals to cruise the shutout win. Huntingdon opened its season with a 3-3 tie versus Warren Wilson at home on Aug. 29, followed by a 4-1 loss at Oglethorpe on Tuesday.

Senior GK Sam Brocato (Leesville, La.) was named the SCAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after he pitched a pair of shutouts on opening weekend for the Gents, the second and third of his career, Brocato, who went the distance in both matches, finished with seven saves on Monday against Dallas Christian, a season-best total and one shy of his career high, after tallying four last Friday against the Steers to finish the weekend with 11 total saves. Brocato earned the weekly award for the first time in his career. 

The Gents are back home on Sunday to face Lyon College in a non-conference contest at 2 PM.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

The Centenary women's soccer team aims for its first win of the season on Friday as the Ladies face the Wiley University Wildcats in a non-conference contest set for 5 PM at Atkins Field.

The Ladies (0-2) opened their season last Friday with a 5-0 road loss at Belhaven University and fell 4-0 to the Howard Payne University Lady Jackets in a non-conference match and the Ladies' home opener on Sunday afternoon at Atkins Field. Wiley (2-0-0) owns identical 4-1 wins over North American and Jarvis Christian to start its season.

Freshman GK Gracie Rellin (Haughton, La.) went the distance in goal for the Ladies against Howard Payne and made seven saves. Rellin also made seven saves in her collegiate debut against Belhaven.

The Ladies, in the midst of a seven-game homestand, face the Huntingdon College Hawks (0-1) on Sunday in a non-conference contest at NOON. Huntingdon and Wiley will face each other on Saturday at NOON at Atkins Field in a neutral-site contest.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

The Centenary men's cross country team is back in action on Saturday as the Gents are set to compete in the UT Tyler Cross Country Opener in Tyler, Texas.

The Gents opened their season last weekend in the Lumberjack Invitational hosted by Stephen F. Austin University at Pecan Acres Park in Nacogdoches, Texas. Freshman Zach Wroten (19:27.00) had the Gents' top finish at 29th place, freshman Ian Hunter (Princeton, Texas) finished 30th (21:24.00), and sophomore Phillip Hughes (Bossier City, La.) finished 31st (22:11.00).

Sophomore Clayton Hancock (Buna, Texas) finished 32nd (24:21.00), sophomore Evan Halbert (Pearl River, La.) finished 33rd (26:06.00), and freshman Sawyer Mathews (DeRidder, La.) finished 34th place (27:23.00). 

Saturday's meet in Tyler will be held at the Texas Rose Horse Park beginning at 8 AM. The men will race a 8k loop and the men's race includes 12 teams representing programs from the NJCAA, Division III, Division II, and Division I levels.

FOOTBALL

A highly-anticipated football season for the Centenary football program begins on Saturday as the Maroon and White welcome Westgate Christian University from Houston, Texas to Atkins Field for an exhibition contest with kickoff set for 6 PM.

The Gents, led by Shreveport native Byron Dawson, are scheduled to play nine official games – five at home and four on the road. Centenary will play the regular-season opener against Millsaps College on Sept. 13 in Jackson, Miss. and return home to face East Texas Baptist on Sept. 20. The Gents have a bye week on Sept. 27 and then open Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play at Austin College on Oct. 4.

Centenary's first league home game is Oct. 11 versus Texas Lutheran. On Oct. 18 the Gents are at Lyon College and they close the month of October at home versus McMurry for a conference contest on Oct. 25. Centenary will face Hendrix College on Nov. 1 in Conway, Ark. and are back home on Nov. 8 to face the 'Roos of Austin College for a second time to close the regular season on Senior Night.

The SCAC will feature a new and exciting format for determining its league champion this season as all six schools (Austin College, Centenary, Hendrix, Lyon, McMurry, and TLU) will meet on Nov. 15 in Little Rock, Ark. for championship weekend held at War Memorial Stadium with an exciting day featuring three games - the No. 5 versus the No. 6 seed, the No. 3 seed versus the No. 4 seed, and the top two seeds playing each other.

The offseason was full of exciting news for the program as Hal Mumme, one of the most innovative and dynamic offensive minds in the history of college football, joined the staff as the offensive coordinator and Cody Leach, son of former longtime head coach and offensive mastermind Mike Leach, also joined as the Offensive Line/Special Teams Coach.

Mumme, widely recognized as one of the originators of the "Air Raid" offense, brings his expertise to Dawson's staff for the 2025 season. Mumme, a native of San Antonio, has coached at various levels, from high school to the NCAA, and is known for his innovative offensive strategies. Mumme played collegiately at New Mexico Military Institute and Tarleton State University.

Leach, a 2021 BYU graduate, joins the staff after three seasons working with special teams at Mississippi State University, where he and his father coached one season together (2022) in Starkville. Mike Leach, co-founder of the "Air Raid" offense, was offensive coordinator on Mumme's staff at Iowa Wesleyan University in 1989 and the two spent three seasons there before moving to Valdosta State (1992–1996) and then Kentucky (1997–1998). 

The Gents were picked to finish fourth in the conference this season in the preseason poll and claimed the final first-place vote with 18 total points. The Gents completed their historic 2024 season 4-6 overall and 4-4 in SCAC play as the sport returned to campus for the first time in over a half-century under the leadership of Dawson.

The Gents provided their fans many memorable and exciting moments all season long whether away or at the friendly confines of Atkins Field. Centenary scored 108 points in its five home games, an average of 21.6 PPG, and drew nearly 8,000 fans as the excitement and support was evident all season long on the Centenary campus. Centenary led the conference in interceptions (15) and finished third in sacks (22). The Gents' nine fumble recoveries was also second-most in the league. 

Junior DL D'Qavion Lemons (Shreveport, La.) was named to the D3football.com Preseason All-America Team, landing a spot on the Third Team Defense. Lemons had a stellar season for the Gents in 2024 as he was one of the country's top defensive players and was named to the D3football.com All-Region Team and named to the 2024 All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Team, earning First-team honors at defensive tackle.

Plenty of talent returns this season, headlined by six other players (in addition to Lemons) who were named All-SCAC last season - junior QB Vance Feuerbacher (Plano, Texas), junior OL Jordan Taylor (Frisco, Texas), junior DB Bryan Washington (Wylie, Texas), junior OL Alexander Hamilton (St. Rose, La.), junior TE Isaiah King (Weatherford, Texas), and junior LB Devon Strickland (Shreveport, La.), and senior QB Zin'Tavious Smith (Coushatta, La.) finished fourth in the conference in total offense – fourth in passing and seventh in rushing, as he had 1,312 yards of total offense for the season and scored 14 touchdowns.

Feuerbacher cemented himself as one of the conference's top all-around players as he played linebacker and quarterback and punted and kicked during the season. He finished 10th in the league in total offense, averaging 36.9 yards per game, tied for 11th place in the conference in tackles and averaged 5.0 per game. He ranked second in the conference in punting (373. Average) with a long of 50 and punted 28 times. He was 4-6 on field goal attempts with a long of 38 and finished 13-15 on PAT's.

TICKETING REMINDER FOR THIS WEEKEND'S HOME CONTESTS AND FOR THE 2025-26 ATHLETICS SEASON:

A new policy requires fans to pay to attend all 2025-26 Centenary home athletic events. Tickets can be purchased online ahead of time or at the gate via credit card. No cash sales will be available. Centenary students, faculty and staff are allowed into every home event free with a valid Centenary ID.

Tickets can be purchased at this link: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/la/shreveport/organization/69826/centenary-college-of/tickets

See the complete 2025-26 home composite schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/composite

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