Colgan gets late interception to seal quarterfinal win

St. Mary’s-Colgan senior Stu Jeck had three interceptions Friday night, but it was the last one that was the most important.
Colgan was clinging to a 35-28 lead with Centralia driving at the Colgan 26 when Centralia quarterback Tyler Glatczak threw an overthrown ball right into the hands of Jeck which allowed Colgan to escape with a 35-28 win in the quarterfinals of the Class 2-1A state football playoffs at Hutchinson Field. That puts them into the semifinals, where they will travel to play Olpe — a 14-7 winner over St. Mary’s — next Friday night.
“Definitely, the one to end the game is the best one,” Jeck said.
In addition to his three interceptions, Jeck also had a pass breakup in the waning minutes of the last Centralia drive that almost turned into an interception.
On the Glatczak pass, Jeck was able to out-jump Centralia’s Kaylor Talkington for the pick. From there, Jeck just fell to the ground at the Colgan 15 with 32.6 seconds left on the clock.
“I just saw that it was overthrown and I was just able to get to it,” Jeck said.
Needless to say, the game was not without its fare share of drama.
Colgan went into halftime with a 21-7 lead after Centralia scored on their opening possession when a direct snap to Tyler Gleason turned into a 16-yard touchdown run.
“You watch field all week but it is different on the field,” Jeck said about Centralia’s misdirection offense. “It just took us 53 yards to catch up.”
Colgan rattled off three consecutive scores including a 31-yard scoring pass from quarterback Chas Smith to Jeck to put Colgan up 21-7.
It was the third quarter when things got interesting.
Centralia took their first play from scrimmage 65 yards when Glatczak found Ben Steinlage open down the middle to cut the Colgan lead to 21-13.
On Colgan’s third play of the second half, Smith attempted to throw an out-pass but Gleason was there for an interception that he returned to the Colgan 1-yard line.
On the next play, Gleason was rewarded for his efforts with a 1-yard touchdown run. With the completion of the two-point conversion, Centralia tied the game with 10:08 left in the third quarter.
“We were a little down but we knew that we still had a chance,” said Smith.
There was a little nervousness on the Colgan bench.
“My first thought was ‘oh no,’” Jeck said. “We weren’t really in a panic mode but we had to just get the momentum back.”
Colgan seemed out on their next possession but a roughing the passer penalty on third down kept the drive alive at the Centralia 45.
However, Colgan got down to the 15 but failed to convert on fourth and goal, turning the ball back over to Centralia.
Colgan was able to convert on their next possession after Smith scampered in from 4 yards out to give Colgan the lead back 27-21 with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter.
Jeck came up with his second interception on the next Centralia drive but Colgan seemed confused and had to burn their last time out with 7:10 on the clock.
Their two previous time outs were used because of play clock management in the second half.
“I was doing a lot of subbing and there was some confusion,” said Colgan head coach Chuck Smith. “We don’t want to have to do that.”
But, Centralia was able to get the ball back and take the lead after Glatczak ran in from 8 yards out. With the two-point conversion, Centralia held a 28-27 lead with 3:37 remaining.
“Any time you can score against these guys, you have to take it,” Centralia head coach Larry Glatczak said. “You give them 30 seconds, and it’s 30 seconds too much. They’re such a powerful offense. We’ll take it any way we can get it, a score against these guys. They’re a good football team.”
Colgan, however, came back quickly.
Chas Smith found Alex Evans open for a 55-yard touchdown on their third play of the ensuing drive to regain the lead.
“They were keying on Stu and Alex just went down the middle and was open,” Chas Smith said. “I was pumped up ad he (Evans) had a great downfield block from Stu.”
“They had enough respect for the receivers that they flooded towards Stu and Alex was just wide open,” Chuck Smith said.
But, that still left 2:47 on the clock.
“You don’t worry about the clock,” Chuck Smith said. “You just have to be glad that you scored.”
Centralia got a return out to their own 38, but a block in the back penalty brought it back to the 20.
After driving into Colgan territory, Jeck came up with the game-saving interception.
Looking back, Jeck said that keeping momentum is a key factor for Colgan — this is the second game in a row that they have given up a score on their opponent’s first possession — as they move on into the next round against Olpe next Friday night.
“We have to take away their momentum,” Jeck said. “We have to keep them out on their first drive.”

Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140