PUEBLO — After a three-year hiatus, Pueblo Centennial reclaimed the Liberty Bell with a 32-20 triumph over Pueblo Central in the 110th annual Bell Game on Friday night in front of nearly 14,000 fans.
Centennial’s triple-option, led by senior John Vela, was the difference — although Central (1-4) had plenty of opportunities.
Vela, the state’s leading rusher in Class 3A, dashed for 231 yards and three touchdowns. He had scores of 63, 3 and 60 yards, his final touchdown providing the Bulldogs with a 25-13 cushion early in the third quarter.
“I’ve always been taught to never stop moving your legs,” said Vela, who has more than 1,000 yards rushing in five games. “It turned out to be a big run for us.”
Deon Solomon hauled in a 34-yard toss from quarterback Ben Tillman for the final Centennial score, giving the Bulldogs (4-1) a 32-13 advantage with 6:41 to play.
Keanu Valdez, who scored all three of Central’s touchdowns, tallied the final score on a 5-yard burst with 1:55 to play. Central then recovered the onside kick but failed to move the ball.
The Wildcats were inside Centennial territory on four occasions and came away with no points.
“We had our opportunities and we should have taken advantage of them,” said Valdez, who ran for 194 yards on 36 carries. “Football is a game of life, a game of growing up. When we did have opportunities, you have to capitalize and we didn’t.”
Central first-year coach Zach Odell agreed.
“We made mistakes at inopportune times, and you aren’t going to win games against good teams by doing that,” he said. “I thought we played with a lot of heart, never quit.”
Centennial finished with 416 yards rushing, 454 overall. Vela’s backfield mates Luis Ramirez (101 yards) and Tillman (85 yards) were instrumental. The Bulldogs had scoring drives of 94, 56, 60, 79 and 81 yards.
Central had 341 total yards with 238 coming on the ground. But the Wildcats turned over the ball compared with none for the Bulldogs.
“Central gave us a great effort and we knew they would,” Centennial coach Mike Palumbo said. “This puts Centennial back on the map. We had a good season last year and made the playoffs. . . . Everything is a lot easier at Centennial when the bell is sitting in the hallways.”
Pueblo Centennial 12 7 6 7 — 32
Pueblo Central 7 6 0 7 — 20
PCentennial — Vela 63 run (kick failed). PCentral — Valdez 9 run (Aragon kick). PCentennial — Ramirez 41 run (pass failed). PCentral — Valdez 1 run (kick failed). PCentennial — Vela 3 run (Ireland kick). PCentennial — Vela 60 run (kick failed). PCentennial — Solomon 34 pass from Tillman (Ireland kick). PCentral — Valdez 5 run (Aragon kick).
