On Commerce's first offensive play of the game, fullback James Sullivan raced 55 yards for a touchdown to give the host Tigers the early lead.
Central quarterback Stevie Morris ran for a 9-yard touchdown with 11:55 left in the second quarter, but Seth Polasek's extra-point kick was blocked. A key play in the scoring drive was a 13-yard pass from Morris to Polasek on third-and-12.
"It was a combination of runs and passes on our scoring drive," Central head coach Wade Couch said. "We worked on our passing game all week and the pass set up the run for us."
Defensive back Jacob Cox of Central intercepted a pass on Commerce's next offensive series to give the ball back to Central, but the Tigers eventually turned the ball over on downs.
Later in the period Commerce took over at the Central 21 after a high center snap on a punt attempt. Commerce quarterback Daniel Walker found the end zone after a 4-yard run to cap the 21-yard scoring drive, and Brock added the extra point with 3:30 left before the half.
Central's offense couldn't move the chains on its next offensive possession, and after punting, Commerce started a scoring drive that ended with a 2-yard TD run by Walker with 26 seconds remaining. Central blocked the extra-point kick and Commerce led 20-6 at the intermission.
"I wish we hadn't gift-wrapped that touchdown in the first half on the high snap," said Couch.
After receiving the second-half kickoff, Commerce added to their lead when Walker ran for a 6-yard TD with 9:30 left in the third stanza, and Jordan Beckwith ran for the conversion.
With 10 seconds left in the quarter, Josh Pilkinton found the end zone after a 1-yard run, and the point-after kick was blocked by Central.
Almost midway through the final period, Central threatened to score but Brock picked off a pass in his end zone and returned the interception 101 yards for a touchdown. Brock's extra-point kick with 6:33 ended the scoring.
"It came down to their size up-front with their offensive and defensive linemen," remarked Couch. "We couldn't block them and we couldn't overcome that. It just wasn't meant to be.
"After the game their coach (Rick Trimble) was real complimentary about our passing game and the work ethic of our kids. They never quit. He was really impressed."
In the game, Morris topped Central's runners with 76 yards on 22 carries and Josh Small added 33 yards on 10 tries.
Morris completed 21-of-38 passes for 154 yards in the contest, and the completions were caught by Cox (four receptions for 44 yards), Jace Coffman (four for 37), Polasek (four for 33), Small (six for 24), Dillon Caughman (two for 10) and Brenden Gentry (one for 6). Cox, Coffman, Polasek and Gentry are wide receivers, Caughman is a tight end and Small is a running back and a wide receiver.
Despite the season-ending loss, Couch was pleased with his team's overall performance this season.
"In the preseason we were picked to finish fifth or sixth, and Warner and Pocola would love to be in our position because they were picked ahead of us in the preseason," Couch said. "We had an impressive first year in 11-man football because most first-year teams don't make the playoffs."
Couch credited the hard work of his seniors, assistant coaches and other players for the success of this year's team, but said getting stronger and converting in the red zone (offense) are priorities for next season.
"Some of the teams that beat us this year have team trophies and individual champions in power-lifting, and we're going to hit that weight room hard. We have some players who will play basketball, but the rest will be in the weight room and they're excited. The future is bright."
Central was 7-4 this season while Commerce, which hosts Hominy on Saturday in the second round of the playoffs, is 8-2.
