It was second and eight and the score was knotted up at 14. The ball was at the 10-yard line. The Warhawks had the ball with less than 30 seconds left to play. If there was a time in the game when play calling was important, it was now.

The play call comes in. Centarius Donald got the call he had been waiting for. Quarterback Brayle Brown put the ball in his hands and off went Donald. He darted to the right, throwing defenders around like ragdolls before he was brought down around the goal line.

The officials ruled him down inside the one but chose to take another look. When Donald and his teammates couldn’t hold their breath any longer, it was announced that the ruling on the field had been overturned. Touchdown Warhawks. Touchdown Centarius.

If there was one play that summed up Donald’s career at ULM, it was this play.

In 2011, Centarius, or “Five” as his teammates call him, was a sophomore and ready to jump into the backfield for head coach Todd Berry.

He rushed for 414 yards on 59 carries. He had two games where he ran for over 100 yards, including a 144-yard, two-touchdown performance against Grambling State.

The season was cut short by a knee injury in the third quarter of the North Texas game.

The 2012 season couldn’t come quick enough for Centarius. After months of strenuous rehab and exercise, he was ready.

In the fifth game of the year, Donald went down…again. To his disappointment, that would be all of the time he saw in the season.

There were two options: quit or keep working.

“I had a couple of injuries that kind of set me back. My work ethic and working hard to get back on the field after seeing my teammates struggle, motivated me to work harder and get better at everything that I do to get back on the field,” said Donald.

If you know anything about Centarius’ personality, leadership abilities, and work ethic, you know which option he chose.

“The game is important to him, not for himself but for his team,” said Berry. “He never wants to let anybody down. I think that’s kind of what drives him. He’s not playing for himself, he’s playing for everybody else on the team.”

Columbia, Louisiana is where Centarius calls home.  He played at Caldwell High School where he earned first team all-district, first team all-northeast, and first team all-state after his senior season.

Despite these impressive accolades, Donald was not highly sought after.

“He came out of a small program and didn’t have a lot of things going for him. There weren’t a lot of offers or any other of those kinds of things,” said Berry. “I remember when we went on the first home visit he was really excited.”

When the Warhawks offered, he jumped at the opportunity of coming to Monroe.

“Me coming from a small town, I wasn’t getting too much recruitment. They called me up and said they wanted me and I wasn’t going to wait until the last minute,” said Donald. “It was a big offer and I wound up taking it. I felt like I fit in here with the program and the things that Coach Berry is doing with the team.”

Coming from a small town and program meant that Centarius was going to have to work that much harder to get noticed. His unquestionable work ethic even then, lead him to where he wanted to be.

Senior running back Jyruss Edwards, has been right a long side Centarius’ throughout his time at ULM.

Edwards said that the two have learned a lot from each other.

“He’s a great guy, man. He’s a real down to earth, hard working guy. He’s somebody that’s really been pushing me and making me stay on my ‘A’ game,” said Edwards. “He’s just an outstanding person, on and off the field.”

“Something I’ve learned from him is being physical,” said Edwards. “I don’t know if he knows this, but I watch everything that he does.

This trademarked brand of physical play has earned Donald the nickname of “Boom”.

“They call us Boom and Bam,” said Edwards. “We’re the one-two punch.”

Donald is undoubtedly glad to be back in the lineup. He expects big things from himself and from his team for the rest of the year.

The best part is that he still has another year of eligibility left.

“I’m thinking of a plan of my goals,” said Donald. “It’ll come soon.”