The bell rings red as Pueblo Centennial football tops Pueblo Central
PUEBLO — The price of red paint at hardware stores in Pueblo might be going up.
Pueblo Centennial may need plenty of it in order to restore what they feel is the rightful color of the victory bell. With a 31-7 win over Pueblo Central, the east side of Dutch Clark Stadium filled with chants of “the bell rings red.”
And for the next year, it will.
In the 116th meeting between the Bulldogs (1-2 overall) and the Wildcats (0-3), it was Carlos Vigil and Patrick Gonzales who made the key plays needed for the bell to change hands once again.
With a 71-yard touchdown run on Centennial’s first offensive play of the game, the Bulldogs sent a clear message that they came to take back what belonged to them.
“Me scoring that first touchdown got us super pumped and after that we were hyped,” Vigil said.
That momentum carried over to the ensuing Central drive as Diego Servantez fumbled the ball away to the Bulldogs. It was Gonzales who found the endzone to make it a 14-0 game before the Central fans even had time to admire the bell on their sideline.
That lead was far more comfortable than anyone would like to admit, but once the Bulldogs had the lead, they were not willing to give the Wildcats an inch.
“(The way we played) felt amazing,” senior linebacker Lane Bourdon said. “It was surreal, I can’t even explain it.”
For Bourdon, grabbing the bell meant everything. His junior season was lost from an injury that happened right before last year’s bell game and he was forced to watch on the sidelines as the Wildcats came away with a 27-24 win.
When the final horn went off Friday, his emotions took over as he helped his team regain what he was not he was able to help them defend.
“It was such a good feeling,” he said. “It made my whole day, my whole week, my whole year.”
It’s a heck of a first win of the year for the Bulldogs. Coming off a 39-7 loss to Dakota Ridge, coach Michael Palumbo knew that it was important to jump on the Wildcats early if they were going to head home with some additional hardware.
“We knew we need to (start early) as young as we are,” Palumbo said. “We were proud of our kids for coming out and getting a fast start which we knew would be beneficial for us.”
Vigil proved to be the senior playmaker that he needed to be in a rivalry game. He ran for two touchdowns and threw for another one, sucking all of the energy out of the Central fans along the way.
The senior made the shift from quarterback to running back and handed the driver’s seat over to Gonzales – who is only a sophomore – this season.
With two more years of competing for the crown jewel for both schools, Gonzales knows there is immense pressure on him to keep the bell for the rest of his high school career. And it’s pressure he openly welcomes.
“There’s a lot of pressure,” Gonzales said. “They all count on me for being the quarterback.”
But if Friday was any indication, the bell will be tough for Central to recover as Gonzales only develops as a player.
But that’s an issue for next year. Central must find a way to right the ship and get into the win column.
Centennial no longer has that issue. Even in an empty Dutch Clark Stadium, the sound of ringing can be heard echoing through neighborhoods in Pueblo.
For the Bulldogs, all is right with the world.
The bell rings red.
