‘We don’t like to lose but this is a lesson.’ GV takes its lumps against Centennial.

Golden Valley coach Rick Martinez viewed Friday night’s matchup against Centennial as a measuring stick.

After watching the Golden Hawks (3-0) score 31 points in the first half and cruise to a 38-15 win at Veterans Stadium, it’s clear the Cougars have a lot of work to go if they want to compete with the top teams in the Central California Conference this season.

The Cougars (2-1) were limited to just 51 yards of offense in the first half. Meanwhile, Centennial racked up 277 yards of offense in the first two quarters.

“We would get something going and then get pushed back by a penalty,” Martinez said. “That would force us to have to throw. Field position killed us tonight.”

The Cougars had a tough time slowing down the Golden Hawks. Centennial used a fast tempo to catch the Cougars before they could line up on defense.

Donald Adams hauled in a 50-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Connelly to give Centennial a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Adams later added a 2-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 24-0.

Adams finished with 60 rushing yards on four carries and the one catch for 50 yards.

Anthony Glass carried the ball 19 times for 133 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown right before the end of the first half that extended the Golden Hawks’ lead to 31-0.

Connelly completed 14 of 20 passes for 162 yards and the one touchdown. He also got the scoring started for Centennial with a 9-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the game.

“With 29 guys it was a little exhausting,” Martinez said. “We tried to get our subs in the game as fast as we could. It was difficult to do. They are very effecient.”

The Cougars had more success on offense in the second half after the Golden Hawks subbed more on defense.

Golden Valley running back Jaren Phillips rushed for 120 of his 164 yards in the second half. Phillips did the heavy lifting on the Cougars’ first scoring drive late in the third quarter. He carried the ball four times for 50 yards on the drive to help set up Davon Johnson’s 26-yard touchdown run that cut the lead to 38-7.

Etrell Bowers scored the Cougars other touchdown when he hauled in a 5-yard pass on the final play of the game.

“We don’t like to lose but this is a lesson,” Phillips said. “That’s a really good team and like our coaches said, they are going to do well in their league. This was a test and it shows us where we’re at right now. We need to build off of this.”