Eagan may have entered the postseason with a losing record, but Wildcats senior receiver Travarious Nolen has the utmost confidence in his team's ability to succeed. 

And his belief never wavered, even after he committed the turnover that allowed Centennial to claw its way back into a matchup with Eagan in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs on Friday night.

“Not at all,” Nolen said when asked about how nervous he was after the Cougars converted his turnover into a touchdown that trimmed the Wildcats' lead to three points early in the fourth quarter. 

“Because I knew my teammates would come through,” he added.

Did they ever. Eagan's defense picked off a pass late in the game to end Centennial's final scoring threat and allow the sixth-seeded Wildcats to escape with a 24-21 win over the third-seeded Cougars at Centennial High School. 

Some of Nolan's confidence may come from the fact that Eagan has two capable quarterbacks in junior Gus Kluender and senior Sam Schuberg.

“We’ve been (rotating) all year,” Wildcats coach Rick Sutton said. “They both have really strong points to their game and we just want to put them in a position to be successful.”

Kluender threw a touchdown and ran for another in the win, while Schuberg made several timely passes to keep the Centennial defense off-balance. 

“It’s fun,” Kluender said of the rotation. “It makes us more diverse (on offense).” 

Having two quarterbacks who make significant contributions on offense gives opposing defenses plenty to look at on film each week, Kluender said. 

The Wildcats offense may have been responsible for scoring all the points on Friday night, but credit for the win goes to the defensive secondary, which intercepted Centennial quarterback Kyle Nordby three times.

Senior defensive back Jordy Borman finished with two interceptions, including one on Nordby’s first pass attempt of the game. The turnover enabled the Wildcats to score on the ensuing possession to take a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. 

Sutton said of Borman’s interception was huge because the Wildcats have struggled defending the pass this season.

“That first play gave us some confidence," Sutton added.

The Wildcats (4-5) had intercepted just one pass during the regular season.

Borman’s big plays aren’t a surprise to Nolen, who joked that his teammate was a non-factor on the field. 

“Oh no, not often,” Nolen said of Borman making significant plays, sending Borman and Kluender into a fit of laughter. 

Nolen then got serious.

“(Borman) definitely works hard every day,” said Nolen, who finished the game with 122 rushing yards. “He’s definitely a great player.”

Senior defensive back Jordy Borman intercepted two passes and junior quarterback Gus Kluender threw a touchdown and ran for another as Eagan held off Centennial 24-21 in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs on Friday night at Centennial High School. 

Kluender found junior fullback Noah Hillesheim for a 3-yard touchdown connection midway through the first quarter. Kluender powered his way for 1-yard rushing TD with 51 seconds to play in the opening stanza as the Wildcats (4-5) built a 14-7 lead.

Junior quarterback Kyle Nordby tossed two touchdowns to junior receiver Alex Facon but threw three interceptions for the Cougars (4-5).

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