Centre College football had a strong October.

The Colonels finished the month with a 28-13 win at Millsaps to improve to 7-1 (5-1 SAA) this season, including a perfect 4-0 in October.

It wasn’t an easy game for Centre — it’s a long drive to Jackson, Mississippi and it was Homecoming for the Majors.

But the defense came out and did its job, preventing the hosts from scoring on their first three possessions. Centre would score on its third possession, a 23-yard pass from Devin Hayes to Jordan Gunter.

On the day, Hayes was 13-for-24 with 204 yards and four touchdowns, all to different receivers. Boyle County graduate Mack Cox led Centre with 69 yards, including a game-high 53 yard catch.

“Our defense came out and played really well, and we probably had three or four defensive starters out,” Centre head coach Andy Frye said. “Our role players came in and stepped up.”

Injuries have hit the defensive side of the ball hard for Centre, and Frye noted multiple players out on that side of the ball on Saturday.

“Defensively, we’ve probably had both safeties, a linebacker, a defensive end out,” he said. “We had four starters out for that Millsaps game. That’s tough, but their replacements did a great job.”

That’s how it has been this season for Centre: The Colonels have had nine surgeries this year, Frye said, which is very out of the ordinary.

But the continuity of Frye’s team has remained, and Centre keeps winning.

“You’ve got to attack adversity, and I think that’s what they’re doing,” Frye said. “I’m thrilled for them.”

Frye noted his seniors and captains — Shane Smith, Hayes and JD Dotson — as players who have stepped up in the leadership department to keep the team rolling in the right direction.

“It was a long trip, it was Millsaps’ homecoming and senior day,” Frye said. “But our guys came in and played well. Our seniors did a great job keeping us focused on the task at hand.”

With running back Trevor Carnell out, Colin Burnam came in and had a career game, rushing 30 times for a career-high 204 yards.

“Again, I think it was our role players,” Frye said. “Colin Burnam usually shares the load with Trevor Carnell, but with Trevor out Colin came in and did well.”

The Colonels will hit the road again this week to face Sewanee (3-6, 2-5 SAA). It’ll be Homecoming and Senior Day for the Tigers.

“With Sewanee, you can really tell that they are coached really well,” Frye said. “They’re not the same team that they were last year or two years ago. We’re going to have to come out and play well if we want to win. Right now, we’ve got to concentrate on playing one game at a time.”