cbanks1972

Kaleponi Pounds Away, Murdock Deals as Centerville Takes Down Fairfield 30–8

🐾 DOG HOUSE TOUR GAME RECAP

Kaleponi Pounds Away, Murdock Deals as Centerville Takes Down Fairfield 30–8

CENTERVILLE, Iowa — There is something starting to brew at Paul Johnson Field.

After opening the season with a high-scoring loss to Creston, Coach Matt Kovacevich and the Centerville Big Reds have responded exactly the way you want a football team to respond.

Get back to work. Get better. Get physical.

The result?

Back-to-back convincing victories.

Centerville followed its 40–7 win over Knoxville with another impressive performance Friday night, knocking off Fairfield 30–8 on Military Appreciation Night.

This time, the Big Reds did it with balance, efficiency and a whole lot of Makoa Kaleponi.

And when the Dog House looked at the numbers and the impact on this football game, the choice was clear.

🏆 DOG HOUSE PLAYER OF THE GAME: MAKOA KALEPONI

The senior running back was the workhorse of the Centerville offense.

25 carries. 170 yards. One touchdown.

That’s 6.8 yards every time Kaleponi carried the football.

Twenty-five carries is what stands out to this old football coach.

There is a difference between breaking a couple of long runs and putting together a night where the offense repeatedly turns around, puts the football in your hands and asks you to carry the load.

Kaleponi carried the load.

Fairfield knew Centerville wanted to establish the running game. It didn’t matter.

Kaleponi kept pounding away.

First down.

Move the chains.

Hand it to him again.

That’s old-school football, and when you have a senior running back capable of producing 170 yards on 25 carries, you don’t have to make this game more complicated than it needs to be.

For his performance in Centerville’s 30–8 victory, Makoa Kaleponi is the Dog House Player of the Game.

🎯 MACK MURDOCK WAS DEALING

Here’s what makes this Centerville offense increasingly difficult to defend.

You can’t just sell out to stop Kaleponi.

Junior quarterback Mack Murdock was incredibly efficient Friday night:

17-of-20 passing
167 yards
2 touchdowns
0 interceptions

That’s an 85-percent completion rate.

Murdock also added 47 rushing yards and another touchdown, meaning the junior quarterback accounted for three Centerville scores.

That’s winning quarterback play.

He didn’t have to throw it 40 times. He didn’t have to play hero ball. He took what Fairfield gave him, protected the football and distributed it.

When the running game is producing 229 yards and your quarterback is completing 85 percent of his passes without turning it over, you’ve got problems if you’re standing on the other sideline.

✈️ ABRAM DECENA STEPS UP

Junior receiver Abram Decena became Murdock’s favorite target on the night.

Decena finished with:

8 receptions
89 yards
1 touchdown

Eight of Centerville’s 17 completions went to Decena, and he accounted for more than half of the Big Reds’ receiving yardage.

That’s another piece of this offense opponents are going to have to account for.

Stack the box to stop Kaleponi?

Murdock can throw it.

Bring pressure?

Murdock can move.

Lose Decena in coverage?

He can hurt you.

That’s balance.

🧱 229 YARDS ON THE GROUND

Centerville finished with 36 rushing attempts for 229 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.4 yards per carry.

Add Murdock’s 167 passing yards and the Big Reds generated 396 yards of total offense.

That number tells the story.

Centerville didn’t have to live on one-dimensional football.

The Big Reds could line up and run it.

They could throw it.

The quarterback could make plays with his legs.

And most importantly, they took care of the football.

Zero interceptions.

When an offense can play that efficiently, it puts tremendous pressure on the opponent to match possessions.

🛡️ DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE BIG RED DEFENSE

While the offensive numbers will grab plenty of attention, the Centerville defense deserves some Dog House love too.

The Big Reds recorded:

52 total tackles
39 solo tackles
6 tackles for loss
1 interception
1 fumble recovery

Senior Braxton Bragg led the Big Reds with eight tackles and one tackle for loss.

That’s now consecutive weeks where Centerville has held an opponent to single digits.

Knoxville — 7 points.

Fairfield — 8 points.

Fifteen points allowed in two football games.

That will travel.

📊 DOG HOUSE BY THE NUMBERS

CENTERVILLE 30, FAIRFIELD 8

Makoa Kaleponi: 25 carries, 170 yards, TD
Mack Murdock: 17/20, 167 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 47 rushing yards, TD
Abram Decena: 8 receptions, 89 yards, TD
Braxton Bragg: 8 tackles, TFL

Team rushing: 36 carries, 229 yards, 2 TD
Team passing: 17/20, 167 yards, 2 TD
Total offense: 396 yards
Defensive TFL: 6
Takeaways: 2

🐾 THE DOG HOUSE TAKE

The Big Reds are starting to get our attention.

Centerville is now 2–1, and since that season-opening 52–42 loss to Creston, Coach Kovacevich’s team has outscored its next two opponents 70–15.

More important than the numbers is how they’re doing it.

This doesn’t look like a football team that has to rely on one player or one style of football.

Kaleponi gives them the hammer.

Murdock gives them efficiency and another running threat.

Decena gives them a weapon through the air.

And that Big Red defense is getting after people.

There are going to be bigger tests coming. That’s high school football.

But from where we’re sitting in the Dog House, Centerville appears to be getting better each week.

And that’s exactly what you want to see in September.

Keep stacking days. Keep stacking wins.

🏆 DOG HOUSE PLAYER OF THE GAME

MAKOA KALEPONI — CENTERVILLE BIG REDS

🐂 25 CARRIES | 170 YARDS | 1 TOUCHDOWN | 6.8 YARDS PER CARRY

A senior running back getting the ball 25 times and producing 170 yards in a rivalry-type matchup?

That’s a dude.

Congratulations to Makoa Kaleponi, your Dog House Player of the Game!

🐾 THE DOG HOUSE TOUR
Giving players, coaches and programs the exposure they deserve.

#DogHouseTour #CentervilleBigReds #MakoaKaleponi #DogHousePlayerOfTheGame #BigRedFootball #IowaHighSchoolFootball #FridayNightLights #PaulJohnsonField #CCA #HumbleAndHungry

Unknown's avatar

Published by cbanks1972

## Charles “Chuck” Banks ### Founder and Voice of Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network Charles “Chuck” Banks—known to many throughout the tri-state sports community as Coach Banks or “Chuck the Tank”—is the founder and lead broadcaster of the Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network. Built from more than two decades of coaching, teaching, leadership, and relationship-building, the network is dedicated to telling the stories of the coaches, athletes, schools, and communities that make local sports special. A native of rural Iowa, Banks has spent 20 years in education and more than 25 years coaching football. He earned his bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education from Graceland University in 2004 before completing a master’s degree in Secondary Education and Educational Administration and a specialist degree in Educational Leadership. Throughout his coaching career, Banks worked with programs across southeastern Iowa. His stops included Centerville, Central Lee, and Fort Madison, along with seven years coaching girls basketball and additional experience in junior-high track. At Central Lee, Banks served as an assistant defensive coach and activities director before becoming the Hawks’ head football coach from 2020 through 2022. Central Lee reached the playoffs during his final season. He was also part of multiple playoff teams and a district championship during his time with the program. At Centerville, Banks spent nine years as an assistant and helped the Big Reds capture a district championship and earn multiple playoff appearances. Most recently, he coached at Fort Madison under Head Coach Derek Doherty, helping develop younger players within the Bloodhound football program. Banks’ defensive coaching journey evolved from the traditional 5-2 defense to the 3-3-5 before he found his preferred home in the 4-2-5. However, his coaching philosophy has never been limited to schemes, formations, wins, or losses. He believes the greatest responsibility of a coach is to build relationships, develop leaders, create belonging, and prepare young people for life beyond the playing field. That belief became the foundation for Coaching Culture in Athletics. What began as an effort to create meaningful conversations about coaching and leadership grew into a full sports-media and broadcasting network. Coaching Culture in Athletics now serves as the umbrella for Dog Pound Radio, The Coach Show, the Dog House Tour, Dog Pound U, Hound Talk, the Dog House Saturday Morning Blitz, live game broadcasts, team previews, rankings, interviews, historical features, and year-round coverage of local athletics. Through the Dog House Tour, Banks visits practices, meets coaching staffs, interviews athletes, studies programs, and gives local teams the type of detailed coverage normally reserved for much larger schools. The network’s reach extends throughout southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, and northeastern Missouri, connecting communities across the tri-state region. Banks has covered and developed relationships with programs including Fort Madison, Central Lee, Centerville, West Burlington–Notre Dame, Mount Pleasant, Macomb, West Hancock, and Brown County. His work highlights more than star players and final scores. It recognizes assistant coaches, linemen, managers, scout-team players, school traditions, historic stadiums, longtime community supporters, and the people working behind the scenes. The Coach Show allows Banks to sit down with coaches from the high-school and college levels for honest conversations about leadership, program development, adversity, family, faith, and the profession of coaching. His interviews are guided by experience rather than observation alone. He understands the pressure of leading a program, the hours spent preparing, the sacrifices made by coaching families, and the responsibility that comes with mentoring young people. Dog Pound Radio brings a more energetic edge to the network. Inspired by Banks’ love for football and his beagles, Leo and Loki, Dog Pound Radio combines local sports reporting with the unmistakable “Dawg Mentality”—toughness, loyalty, preparation, perseverance, and love for the team. Loki continues to serve as a central part of the brand, while the memory of Leo remains woven into its heart. Banks’ journey has also been shaped by significant personal adversity. After suffering multiple strokes, undergoing heart surgery, and facing additional serious health concerns, he stepped away from coaching and entered what he describes as medical retirement from the sideline. He also speaks openly about depression, adult ADHD, recovery, and the importance of faith, family, purpose, and mental health. Although his health changed the way he could serve, it did not take away his calling. Broadcasting became a new sideline. Through Coaching Culture in Athletics, Banks found another way to teach, coach, encourage, and advocate. His experiences have given his work a deeper sense of urgency: appreciate the people around you, tell their stories while you can, recognize the unseen contributors, and never underestimate the impact a coach can have on a young person’s life. Faith and family remain at the center of Banks’ life. He and his wife, Stephanie, have built a life rooted in southeastern Iowa and are the proud parents of Chelsey, Peyton, and Katarina. Their growing family includes son-in-law Donald Archambault and grandchildren Orion, Owen, and Ollie. Banks often credits his family for standing beside him through the demanding seasons of coaching, education, broadcasting, illness, and recovery. Today, Chuck Banks brings together the perspective of a coach, educator, broadcaster, historian, husband, father, grandfather, and survivor. His voice is passionate, direct, knowledgeable, and deeply connected to the communities he covers. The mission of the Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network is simple: promote the positive impact of athletics, strengthen coaching culture, celebrate local communities, preserve sports history, and provide athletes and coaches with a platform where their work matters. This is more than a radio network. It is a celebration of coaches, culture, athletes, families, and communities. It is local sports coverage built on relationships. It is where coaches, culture, and communities connect. It is Coaching Culture in Athletics.

Categories UncategorizedTags , , , ,
search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close