By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Assistant AD for Communications
The Centenary football team warmed up for its 2026 season on Saturday evening with a 29-0 shutout of the Westgate Christian University Ravens at Atkins Field.
The game was considered an exhibition since the Ravens are a “non-countable” opponent so no official statistics were kept in the game. It will not count on the 2026 record as a win. Nor did last year’s meeting with Westgate Christian.
Thus, regular season play officially begins for the Gents this weekend as they welcome the Millsaps College Majors to town for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Atkins Field.
MEN’S SOCCER: The Gents went 1-1 last week to open their season, defeating Schreiner at home 4-2 on Sept. 3 and then falling 4-1 to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday in a non-conference match in Belton, Texas.
Senior Harvey Butcher scored a pair of goals in the season-opening victory over Schreiner as he scored in the 11th and 52nd minutes for his first two career scores. Junior goalkeeper Andres Osorio has recorded an impressive 19 saves in the Gents’ first two matches.
Centenary plays Thursday afternoon at Lyon College, then Saturday morning at Huntingdon College.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: The Gents opened their season on Friday in McNeese State’s Cross Country Opener in Lake Charles.
A pair of rookies, Rylan Diaz and Jayden Harts, finished 42nd and 43rd in the 5k race to lead the Gents. Diaz ran a time of 24:17.5 and Harts posted a 27:13.5.
Centenary competed against the host Cowboys and a trio of other Division 1 schools — Lamar, Northwestern State, and Stephen F. Austin.
The Gents return to action on Friday in the NSU Demon Invitational in Natchitoches. The meet will begin at 6:15 p.m. at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex.
WOMEN’S SOCCER: The Ladies lost a pair of home matches last week to open their season, falling 3-0 to the Belhaven Blazers on Tuesday in their season opener in a non-conference match at Atkins Field.
Centenary returned to action on Saturday versus Louisiana Christian in a non-conference game at home and lost 4-1. Rookie Valerie Miranda scored her first-career goal against the Wildcats as she found the net just three minutes into the match. Sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Stancliff has recorded 10 saves in the Ladies’ first two matches.
This weekend, the Ladies head west to play Friday night at Howard Payne and Sunday at McMurry.
VOLLEYBALL: The Ladies were swept by the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs last Thursday in their season opener and a non-conference match inside E.W. Rand Gymnasium in Hawkins, Texas.
The Bulldogs won in straight sets, 25-20, 25-20, and 26-24.
Junior Sydnei Pena had an impressive debut for the Ladies as she tallied a team-high 10 kills and added seven digs with one ace and three block assists. She played all three sets and in 19 total attacks she finished with just two errors for a .421 kill percentage.
Rookie Addison Wentzel finished with a team-high 11 digs on Thursday at Jarvis Christian and added four assists. She played in all three sets against the Bulldogs in her collegiate debut.
The Ladies (0-1) return to action this weekend as they will play three matches on in Jackson, Miss. in the annual Millsaps College Volleyball Invitational. They face Millsaps and Belhaven Friday and Oglethorpe Saturday.
Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu