Albert Lea at Century
7 p.m., Friday, at Century Stadium
Records:Albert Lea is 0-4 overall and 0-3 in the Big Nine Conference; Century is 1-3 overall, 1-2 in the Big Nine.
Last week:Both teams were on the wrong end of decisive shutouts, Mankato East losing 18-0 to Austin, and Century falling 56-0 to Owatonna. Austin snapped a 22-game losing skid at East's expense.
Last meeting:Century had its highest-scoring game last season in the fifth week, beating the Cougars 56-35 in Mankato. Century dominated the second half, 35-7. The Panthers poured it on with 21 first downs and 551 total yards including 339 on the ground. Alex Crawford carried 18 times for 133 yards and two TDs. East moved the ball too, especially through the air, passing 30 times for 283 yards and 4 TDs.
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The series:Century leads it 7-5. East won the first five games (from 1998 to 2002), and Century has won the last seven straight ('03-'06, '09-'11). The teams didn't meet in '07 and '08. Century's last three wins in the series have been one-sided, by 21, 35 and 34 points.
Cougars trail:Mankato East has lost six straight going back to the final regular season game last year. This season the Cougars have struggled to score, with just one TD in each of the first three games before last week's shutout loss to Austin. The Cougars' closest game was a 28-6 loss to Mayo two weeks ago. ... Sophomore QB Nick Seiler was knocked out in last week's opening series with a concussion. He was replaced by senior WR Brandon Adema who finished 10-of-21 passing for 93 yards. ... Senior DL Brent Adams (No. 55) had nine tacks in the game for East.
'C' notes:This is Century's homecoming game. The Panthers are coming off their first shutout loss since Week 6 of the 2008 season when the fell 13-0 to John Marshall. ... Senior RB Alex Crawford had his streak of 100-yard games halted at eight last week, with 69 yards at Owatonna. He had gone over 100 in the last five games last year and the first three this season. ... The passing game has yet to take flight with only 15 completions for 225 in the first four games. Senior Jermaine Collins holds on to the starting QB job, but sophomores Jacob Roth and Alex Beise are getting longer looks.
On Twitter:Follow @PBDonny for score updates.
