There are few rivalries as intense as a Centennial/Liberty matchup. But Tuesday night's semi-final meeting took it to another level. Intensity? Take any of the six yellow cards in the second half. Pressure? With the score knotted at one the game went into overtime. And how about timing? The winning goal was all about it.
Two minutes into the overtime period Centennial junior Grant Fidler found himself in a one on one breakaway. "Usually i get nervous on breakaways. I don't want to miss i don't want to mess up," he said.
But his cool finish gave the Golden Hawks the lead and their defense did just enough so that when the final whistle blew Centennial was through to the title game.
When asked after the game if he had ever scored a goal that big he responded, "I've scored some big goals to win the game."
HIGHLIGHTS: 2nd half & OT highlights between Liberty/Centennial semi-final matchup
While it may have felt like just another goal after getting some sleep and texts from family and friends the weight of it finally seemed to hit him the next day. "I just kept flashing back to the goal," he said.
It's that goal that 13 year head coach Jeff Vaughn says sets him apart on the field. "He gets in the right positions, he reads the game well."
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Having already knocked off the #2 and #3 seeds Centennial will travel to play Buchanan, the #1 seed in division one. The game starts at 1:00 P.M. Saturday at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
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