Centennial had to work a little overtime Thursday night.
Senior running back Sam Bonfe scored his third touchdown on a 1-yard run in overtime as the Cougars outlasted host White Bear Lake 27-21 in the season opener for both teams. Bonfe rushed for 125 yards on 18 carries.
White Bear Lake failed to score on its ensuing possession after scoring two late fourth-quarter touchdowns to tie it 21-21 and force overtime.
The Bears evened it on running back Zachary Griebel's 44-yard touchdown pass to Blake Charles, followed by a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Daniel Lyons to Charles.
Lyons, who completed 22 of 30 passes for 221 yards, scored the Bears' first two touchdowns, on runs of 5 and 6 yards.
In other opening night games:
Elk River 44, Moorhead 32: The Class 5A defending state champion Elks still have plenty of big-play offensive weapons. Adam Nelson and Mitchell Stroh each scored a second touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Elks rallied past Moorhead. The Spuds built a 10-point lead late in the third quarter before Elk River scored the final three touchdowns. Nelson's 4-yard scoring run with 6 minutes, 28 seconds remaining gave the Elks the lead for good, 36-32. He opened the scoring with an 80-yard run. Stroh added an insurance touchdown with his second 4-yard scoring run with 1:38 left. Elk River's other two scores came on Kevin Egbujor's 40-yard run and Arik Nordenstrom's 60-yard burst in the third quarter.
Minneapolis North 54, Minneapolis South 6: The Polars picked up right where they left off a year ago. The Class 1A defending state champions, who have moved up to Class 2A this year, rolled over the Tigers. Junior quarterback Armon Dalton threw four touchdown passes in the first half, when the Polars scored all 54 of their points. Dalton completed 11 of 15 passes for 180 yards.
