Century falls in wild 63-41 shootout to state-ranked Chanhassen

Sep. 15—ROCHESTER — Century felt really good about putting up 41 points against one of the top

Class 5A football team in the state on Friday night. But the Panthers defense wasn't so fortunate in trying to stop an elite running back.

Chanhassen senior Maxwell Woods scored seven touchdowns, six rushing, as the Storm posted a wild 63-41 victory over Century.

Woods, a Division I commit to North Dakota State University, rushed for 245 yards on just 15 carries. He had scoring runs of 46, 20, 19, 57, 40 and 6 yards. He also an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

"He's one of the best backs I've seen in a long, long time," Century coach Jon Vik said. "... He's elusive, he's explosive."

Last week Woods carved the up Owatonna defense. He slashed, dashed and raced past the Panthers this time.

"He's a special player," Century quarterback Harrison Esau added. "You don't see many like him."

And while the Panthers suffered a loss, there were plenty of positives with the team's play over the past two weeks. Chanhassen, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 5A, is now 3-0.

"We're not going to play a better team than that this season," Vik said.

Century offense, especially the passing game, has really been clicking and on Friday the Panthers put up 408 yards and scored six touchdowns against one of the top teams in Class 5A.

"Every week we're going to keep getting better with it, I know that for a fact," Century wide receiver Jacob Wills said. "We put 41 points up on one of the best teams in the state so it shows what we can do."

Esau, coming off a 252-yard passing game against Irondale, had another big night throwing the ball. He tied a Century single-game record with six touchdown passes against Chanhassen. Esau finished 22-for-36 for 371 yards with six TDs and an interception, which was returned for a touchdown.

"We still have some things we can get better at, but I thought our receivers did a nice job tonight," Esau said. "They made a lot of plays, they made it easy on me. And our line gave me plenty of time."

Esau said one of his regrets in the game was throwing the pick-6, which was snared by University of Minnesota commit Sam Macy. Macy was hurt late in the second half and didn't return.

"I feel good," Esau said. "I really wish I could have that pick back. I had a solid game and the receivers helped me out quite a bit."

Wills had seven catches for 147 yards and three TDs for Century while Denard Simpson had six catches for 161 yards and two TDs.

"All the practice in the offseason, me and my quarterback Harrison Esau, we're starting to click right now," Wills said.

The Panthers were able to hit a number of big passing plays against the Strom. Simpson had TD catches of 55 and 65 yards. Wills had a 42-yard touchdown grab.

Century also kept battling after being down 35-7 at one point. The final two minutes of the first half were wild as both teams scored two touchdowns as the Storm led 50-27 at the break.

"We kept fighting and we kept coming back," Vik said. "And that's one thing we need to keep focusing on this year. And I think we're getting better at and hopefully by the end of the year, we're where we want to be."

Wills said the Panthers have improved each week since being blanked in their opener.

"That was a tough loss," he said. "Since then we've just become more locked in each week and every day in practice."

Century (1-2) will play at New Prague at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22. New Prague (2-1) lost to Owatonna on Friday. The Panthers now begin a stretch of games against their Section 1, Class 5A foes over the next four games.

"This is where you start earning your spot in the playoffs," Vik said.

Chanhassen 28-22-13-0 — 63

Century 7-20-6-7 — 41

First quarter

Century — Denard Simpson 55 pass from Harrison Esau (Brady Buchmann kick), 9:32.

Chan — Maxwell Woods 87 kickoff return (Hayden McDaniel kick), 9:20.

Chan — Woods 46 run (McDaniel kick), 7:22.

Chan — Woods 20 run (McDaniel kick), 5:17.

Chan — Sam Macy 35 interception return (McDaniel kick), 4:23.

Second quarter

Chan — Woods 19 run (McDaniel kick), 9:42.

Century — Jacob Wills 18 pass from Esau (Buchmann kick), 4:44.

Century — Wills 10 pass from Esau (pass failed), 1:54.

Chan — Gunnar Bergstrong 17 pass from Brayden Windschitl (McDaniel kick), 0:52.

Century — D.Simpson 65 pass from Esau (Buchmann kick), 0:41.

Chan — Woods 57 run (Woods run), 0:19.

Third quarter

Chan — Woods 40 run (run failed), 9:23.

Chan — Woods 6 run (McDaniel kick), 4:57.

Century — Wills 42 pass from Esau (Buchmann kick), 4:09.

Fourth quarter

Century — Markes Simpson 7 pass from Esau (Buchmann kick), 1:29.

TEAM STATISTICS

Chanhassen — Century

First downs 15 — 17

Total net yards 410 — 408

Rushing yards 30-276 — 20-37

Passing yards 134 — 371

Pass att-comp.-int. 11-18-0 — 22-38-1

Fumbles lost 2-0 — 1-0

Penalties yards 8-82 — 4-40

Punts/ave. 4-22.-0 — 5-38.5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Chanhassen — Maxwell Woods 15-245, Max Potratz 5-20, Josiah Cox 4-8, Brayden Windschitl 4-5, Team 2-(-2). Century — Carson Skime 10-33, Dane Skime 6-11, Denard Simpson 1-(-2), Harrison Esau 3-(-5).

Passing

Chanhassen — Brayden Windschitl 11 completions, 18 attempts, 0 interceptions, 1 touchdown, 134 yards. Century — Harrison Esau 22 — 361-6, 369 yards.

Receiving

Chanhassen — Daxton Bush 3-27, James Kopfmann 2-23, Gunnar Bergstrom 2-22, Maxwell Woods 2-17, Ty Jensen 1-25, Cameron Zurek 1-20. Century — Jacob Wills 7-147, Denard Simpson 6-161, Markes Simpson 3-36, Carson Skim 2-10, Jackson Esau 2-8, Elijah Thompson 1-10, Justin Sutton 1-10.