With the win, Central extended its dominance in the historic rivalry, keeping the Bell and local bragging rights for another year.
The Bell Game
On Thanksgiving Day, 1892, the longest high school rivalry west of the Mississippi began: the Bell Game.
The annual game takes place in the peak of fall between the Pueblo Central High School Wildcats and the Pueblo Centennial High School Bulldogs, in which they fight for a cart-mounted railroad bell that the winning team gets to paint in their school colors. Curious how it went down this year? Keep reading.
This Year’s Bell Game: What to Know
This year’s Bell Game marks the 115th meeting in 133 years. The teams are led by Central head coach Kris Cotterman, who has guided the Wildcats since 2017, and Centennial’s first-year head coach Tracy Swearingen, who previously coached the Bulldogs from 1987 to 2002. Both Central and Centennial entered the matchup with 1–3 records.
Centennial ended its six-year scoring drought in the Bell Game, but Central dominated from start to finish, taking a 50–15 win.
For the Bulldogs, senior quarterback Chaz Brooks completed 7 of 11 passes for 141 yards with a 63% completion rate and a 107.2 passer rating. Junior Augustin Cecinho led the ground game with eight carries for 32 yards, and senior Ezra Mestas added 17 yards and a touchdown on three rushes. Senior Jose Garcia caught five passes for 115 yards and returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, while Cecinho added two catches for 26 yards. Senior Ella Greenwood also made history as the first female to play — and score — in the Bell Game, kicking for Centennial.
Defensively, Mestas led with nine tackles (three solo, six assisted) and a blocked field goal. He, along with seniors Imanol Munoz, Steven McMurtree, and Chase Castleberry, each recorded half a sack.
For the Wildcats, sophomore quarterback Zion Aguilar completed nine passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Dayton Blok rushed for four touchdowns and was named the Great American Rivalry Series MVP. Senior Preston Madril caught both of Aguilar’s touchdown passes, finishing with 219 receiving yards to earn KDZA’s postgame MVP honors. Sophomore Cordell Hayes and senior Brody Renner each added a touchdown.
Central’s defensive stats were not released, but the Wildcats held Centennial to 15 points, allowing one touchdown in the second quarter and another in the fourth while shutting out the Bulldogs in the first and third.
