Century digs itself into and out of a hole in dominant round-one victory

POCATELLO — The undefeated Century Diamondbacks entered the Football State Championships as the 5A bracket’s No. 5 seed, despite their having a better record than three of the teams ahead of them. And for nearly a full quarter, it looked like Century might have been the product of a lesser schedule some had accused them of being.

The Diamondbacks appeared to be overmatched by a No. 12-seeded Columbia Wildcats team many believed was destined for a first-round road victory.

With 3:30 remaining in the opening quarter, Century had gained just six yards while yielding a 14-0 advantage to the Wildcats.

The Diamondbacks controlled every aspect of the game from there, however, rattling off 28 unanswered points en route to a 49-21 victory.

Asked what his team did to overcome that early hole, head coach Ryan Fleischmann responded, “Don’t remind me” about the 14-0 start.

“The defense did awesome. I think the offense did, too,” he said, pointing to the scoreboard. “We did that tonight. I think we’re a little bit better than people are giving us credit for being.”

The worm began to turn when junior running back Tito Villano found a crease, returning the Columbia kick off 45 yards to midfield. Thee plays later, his running mate quarterback Justus Mangum — the “Lighting” to Villano’s “Thunder” — made one cut before sprinting 46 yards to the endzone for Century’s first playoff touchdown in five years.

Rejuvenated by Mangum’s latest explosive play, the Century defense forced a three and out and got the ball right back to the offense to start the second quarter.

This time, Mangum and Villano led a powerful attack, marching 56 yards in nine plays capped by a Villano two-yard touchdown run.

The Diamondback defense forced another punt. And again, their effort was rewarded — this time in the form of a 56-yard Mangum touchdown run.

Senior safety Adrian Gonzalez called Mangum “a freak,” saying he expects the junior signal-caller to break a long scoring run every week.

“He’s, honestly, crazy,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez made his own big play, something he has done more than anyone else in the state this season.

With just over three minutes remaining in the first half, and suddenly trailing 21-14, Columbia rediscovered its offensive rhythm and moved the ball into the Century redzone. But Gonzalez turned them away, intercepting the pass from junior Easton Zickgraf.

The pick gave Century’s safety nine on the season, tops in the state.

Mangum said that it has gotten to the point that the Diamondbacks just expect Gonzalez to snatch one every game.

“He’s tough. He’s him,” Mangum said of Gonzalez.

Villano added to that thought, saying that while Gonzalez’s ball-hawking skills have been incredible, the leadership he offers is worth even more to the squad.

Fleischmann called Gonzalez “dangerous” on the backend, but “more importantly, he’s a heck of a competitor,” the coach added.

Junior linebacker Braxton Jablonski added a second-half interception, as the Diamondback defense shut down a Wildcat run game, led by senior Jackson Cheslack, which looked unstoppable two possessions into the game.

“Defense was lights out tonight,” Fleischmann said. “It was just a dynamic performance on both sides of the ball. I was pleased for the boys.”

He went on to say that the Century defense played by the old axiom, “bend but don’t break.” Three times, including Gonzalez’s interception, the Diamondbacks prevented Columbia from scoring despite allowing them into the redzone.

“That’s a heartbreaker,” Fleischmann said of those short-field stops.

And while the Wildcat offense wasn’t running wild the way it had early, the Diamondback run game was spraying venom in all directions.

Mangum added a late 61-yard touchdown run, destroying any hope Columbia had of a comeback. And Villano found his way into the endzone twice more.

The quarterback ended the night with 195 yards on nine carries (21.7 yards per carry), with three scores. The running back added 106 yards and three scores on his 15 totes. Combined, Mangum and Villano ran for 301 yards on 24 carries (12.5 yards per), while Mangum added 106 passing yards and another score — a 62-yard catch and run from senior Josiah Davids.

@titovillano11 scores to make it 35-21. Them tells you it's his second. pic.twitter.com/MSKITBWyRc

— Kalama Hines (@HINESight_2020) November 1, 2025

Fleischmann threw praise at his backfield duo, but noted that while Mangum and Villano receive the “love” and “the spotlight,” what makes the offense so efficient is its cohesiveness, and that starts with the offensive line.

Gonzalez suggested that going against Century’s high-scoring offense every day at practice has forced the defense to improve.

“Our defense — all of our guys just work so hard to get here. They’re all dawgs. We work hard every day at practice, we even strap them up sometimes,” he said gesturing to Mangum and Villano.

Mangum disagreed with that statement, though, saying it was “cap” with a laugh.

Despite being undefeated and at home, Century entered Friday’s game as underdogs, a mantle Mangum said his team carries with pride.

“Nobody expects us to win, everybody’s counting us out. We just want to win, we want it,” he said.

“We can’t let up, we’ve got to be true to ourselves,” Villano added. “We’ve got to be ourselves, play like ourselves — just focus on doing our thing.”

Gonzalez concluded the thought, saying: “We haven’t done anything yet. This was only the first round.”

Fleischmann took a moment to reflect before explaining what his team will need to do to continue its winning ways.

“I’m happy about this win because I get another week with my boys,” he said. “But the icing on that cake is that we were able to put a solid win against a very good football team.”

He finished his thought, saying that they “just need to do Century things.”

At their best, the Diamondbacks, he said, are capable of controlling both sides of the ball against a team that came in having lost three times all season, by a combined five points — including a two-point loss to Bishop Kelly.

“As long as we just concentrate on what we’re doing, I’m OK with whoever gets in front of us,” Fleischmann said.