If the Aberdeen Bobcats are to find themselves hosting a playoff game at the end of the season, Saturday’s game against Centralia was a must win.

The Bobcats didn’t let the opportunity slip by, storming out the gate to score 20 points in the first quarter en route to a 40-0 lashing of the Tigers in Centralia.

“I told a story about one of our old horses that we turned into a race horse,” said Aberdeen head coach Todd Bridge on his words to his players leading up to the game. “One of the things they had to do was electrocute the horse to get it out of the gate. I said, ‘You don’t want me with a cattle prod chapping ya.’ So the big focus was to get out of the gate.”

No cattle prod or electroshock therapy was necessary as the Bobcats received the message loud and clear.

Aberdeen (2-4 overall, 1-1 2A Evergreen) took less than 30 seconds to get on the scoreboard when junior running back Micah Schroeder showed off his speed, rounding the edge of the Tigers defense and hitting the afterburners for a 61-yard touchdown run.

Schroeder and the Cats offense was back at it a few minutes later, taking a 12-0 lead when Schroeder burst up the middle for a 13-yard score at the 7:05 mark of the first quarter.

With just over a minute left in the first period, senior running back Legend Vessey capped off Aberdeen’s electric quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run, the first of his prep career.

“It felt pretty crazy. Me just trucking through everyone, I felt it right away,” said Vessey, whose teammates and coaches made it a point to get him in the end zone. “It’s great that they want me to score like that. It’s been a long path, so it’s great seeing that. I love my coaches.”

Schroeder punched in the 2-point conversion to put the Cats up 20-0 at the end of one frame.

Aberdeen would take a 26-0 lead into halftime when Schroeder would take a swing pass from quarterback Mason Hill and weave his way 41 yards down the sideline to put the Bobcats up 26-0 with just under nine minutes left in the half.

Aberdeen appeared to have extended its lead when, after holding Centralia (0-6, 0-2) on a goal line stand at the 2-yard line, Schroeder broke loose for a 98-yard touchdown run, but the play was called back due to a Bobcats holding penalty.

The Bobcats tacked on two scores in the second half with a 32-yard run by junior running back Riley Wixson in the third quarter and an 18-yard rush by Schroeder in the fourth to put the finishing touches on the 40-point victory.

It was Aberdeen’s largest margin of victory over a league opponent since a 56-14 win over Rochester on Oct. 20, 2017.

Schroeder led all rushers with 148 yards on just 10 carries while Wixson added 76 yards on 10 carries while recording a sack and several tackles for losses from his linebacker spot on defense.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen linebacker Riley Wixson (11) tackles a Centralia player in the backfield during a 40-0 victory over Centralia on Saturday in Centralia.

Speaking of defense, Aberdeen held Centralia to 110 total yards of offense while the Cats offense put up 455 yards, 283 of those on the ground.

Hill passed for 172 yards with Schroeder catching two passes for 68 yards.

“We started out with a lot of energy, unlike other games where we started slow. Today, we started with energy and I’m proud,” Schroeder said. “We were mostly penalty-free, we hit our blocks, we ran hard. I think we were really disciplined. We had really good practices this week and I think we came out harder.”

With the win, Aberdeen sits in a tie for the third place with Black Hills in the 2A Evergreen Conference, with the third-place team out of the EvCo hosting a playoff game.

“(The win) is very important. I think it helps us,” Schroeder said. “I think the week’s ahead of us, we are going to be practicing hard.”

“We just have to build from this,” Vessey said. “We can definitely get way better from this game right here.”

“Not one thing about this week was normal and the kids stepped up and did a great job,” said Bridge, noting the high school had no school on Thursday or Friday. “Kudos to our kids for showing the maturity of a veteran staff even though they are not veterans.”

Aberdeen hosts No. 1 Tumwater at 7 p.m. on Friday at Stewart Field.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen receiver Adonis Hammons (4) picks up a first down during a 40-0 victory over Centralia on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Centralia.

Aberdeen 20 6 6 8 – 40

Centralia 0 0 0 0 – 0

Scoring

First quarter

Aberdeen – Schroeder 61 run (PAT fail), 11:36

A – Schroeder 13 run (conversion fail), 7:05

A – Vessey 7 run (Schroeder run), 1:16

Second quarter

A – Schroeder 41 pass from Hill (kick blocked), 8:56

Third quarter

A – R. Wixson 32 run (PAT fail), 1:42

Fourth quarter

A – Schroeder 18 run (Schroeder run), 10:13

Passing: A – Hill 7-11-1-172. Centralia – Sanders 5-13-0-41.

Rushing: A – Schroeder 10-148, R. Wixson 10-76, Crowder 5-26, Vessey 4-20, Schreiber 2-9, Jones 1-2, Mendoza 2-2, Hill 2-0. C – Galloway 8-49, Rooklidge 10-15, Babka 3-8, Volavola 1-(12), Tukes 2-(-3), Sanders 9-6.

Receiving: A – Schroeder 2-68, Hammonds 2-24, Bruner 1-25, Schrieber 1-24, D. Wixson 1-31. C – Sayers 2-14, Galloway 1-22, Tukes 2-5.