Friday Night, the eyes of both the West Valley and the 6A conference were fixated on one of the most important games of the week in the state. The Centennial Coyotes and O’Connor Eagles met in a defensive back-and-forth battle that mirrored a heavyweight boxing match at times.
From the first possession of the game, physicality reigned supreme. The Eagles attempted to establish the running game with their two running back system led by Izik Durazo and Kaden Armstrong but were met with resistance by Noah Carter, Dylan Roberts, and Braxton Manusina of the Coyote defense.
After both sides traded possessions throughout the first quarter, the Coyotes were the first team to sustain a drive as quarterback Steven Urquiza and running back Kavaughn Clark were able to match down the field capping off the drive with a six yard rushing touchdown to make it 7-0 Centennial late in the first quarter.
In the second quarter the defensive lines for both teams made their presence felt as Carter, Salehe Koonooka, and Jesse Garcia of the Coyotes lived in the Eagles backfield piling up sacks and tackles for loss while Ryan Davis, Blake Ware, and Jett Roufus were also doing the same for the O’Connor defense.
Late in the first half as the Coyotes marched down the field attempting to score before halftime, Parker Munier of the Eagles forced a fumble that would be recovered by Rovelle Smith and keep the score 7-0 Coyotes as both sides headed to halftime.
Coming out halftime, the Coyotes established their passing attack as Urquiza connected with Carter on a slant route for a 79 yard touchdown that extended the Centennial lead to 14-0 just over a minute into the second half.
The Eagles however were ready to respond. Quarterback Cooper King completed his first pass of the game and alongside Durazo and Armstrong was able to get deep inside Coyote territory finally capping the drive off with a six yard rushing touchdown by Armstrong that looked as if it had swung the game in the Eagles favor.
But on the kickoff, Kenneth Worthy III returned the kick for a score but would have the return called back for a late block in the back. What was to be a gut punch to the momentum of the Eagles turned out to be the opposite as a few plays later, Davis would have a strip sack on Urquiza that would lead to a safety and make it 14-8 late in the third quarter.
That would be the final play of the night for Urquiza as a leg injury forced freshman Kainan Manna to take over for the final quarter.
With momentum on their side heading into the 4th quarter, The Eagles would methodically drive down the field chewing up over nine minutes of game time before a 4th and goal quarterback sneak by King would give the Eagles a 15-14 lead with 2:50 left in regulation.
Immediately, Manna and the offense went to work as he would connect with Aaron Monroe Jr and Clark on passes, setting up a first down. Manna would then hit Worthy on a screen pass that would have given the Coyotes 1st and 10 at the 35 of O’Connor, but a late penalty after the play moved the Coyotes back to midfield. On first down Manna rolled out of the pocket and got out of bounds taking little time off the clock and kept the chains moving. On the next play, Manna once again rolled out of the pocket and attempted to connect with Clark on a wheel route that was incomplete but a pass interference against the Eagles moved the ball to the O’Connor 23. Manna would then complete a seven yard pass to Carter that would then set up a 16 yard touchdown run by Clark to make it 20-15 Coyotes with 20 seconds left.
After the kickoff, King attempted to get outside of the pocket to get out of bounds to try one more play but was tackled in bounds by Iverson Small as the clock hit zero to secure the Coyotes victory.
With the victory, the Coyotes will likely move up at least to the 11th overall spot in the open division rankings which would make the Coyotes the number two team in the 6A conference once the open division teams are taken out. On the opposite side, O’Connor most likely won’t drop too far in the rankings due to the power points this loss has. With how talented both teams are, this matchup has the potential to be a rematch late in the 6A playoffs if both teams are in the 6A conference bracket.
Seliga’s three stars of the game
My first star of the game was Noah Carter of the Coyotes. Carter was able to use his speed and athleticism to shut down the effectiveness of the Eagles rushing attack. His physicality and motor helped him live in the backfield with three sacks on the evening for the Coyotes. Offensively, his receiving ability helped sustain drives for both Urquiza and Manna at quarterback including a 79 yard touchdown early in the second half and his clutch catches on the final drive helped open up the rushing game for Clark.
Playing both sides of the ball is challenging for any athlete to do. But to be as impactful on both sides as Carter has been is unique.
I asked Noah how does playing of both sides help him improve his game? His response was,
“Playing both sides (of the ball) makes me faster and helps my footwork get right. It makes me more aggressive and helps with my speed”
As Carter progresses as an edge rusher I fully expect his recruitment to continue to rise as it has been throughout the season and I expect him to be at the top of the conversation for best edge rushers in his class.
My second star of the evening was Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Worthy III. Throughout the evening, the front seven of the Coyotes defense was wrecking havoc and a key reason for that was due to Worthy’s ability to effectively lockdown the Eagles wide receivers which forced their quarterback to hold the ball for too long allowing the front seven to do damage. Worthy mostly plays cornerback but did play wide receiver at times and had a 35 yard reception that moved the Coyotes down the field late in the contest. What stood out the most to me about Worthy was his ability to get involved in every play regardless of which side of the field it may be happening on. His speed helps him stay glued to any receiver and his strength helps him take down physical runners.
I asked what Worthy’s coaches do that helps him play to his strengths, he said
“Our DC bases it off our strengths, I think of myself as a man to man lockdown corner. I try to take away their (the opposing team) best receiver to help my team”
Whether it’s offensively, defensively, or kick returning on special teams, Worthy is a player that makes his impact felt and had his fingerprints all over the Coyote victory Friday night.
My final star of the evening is Kavaughn Clark who opened the scoring on Friday evening and closed out the matchup with the game winning score. Clark is a gifted running back who’s in his third year as lead back for the Coyotes. Clark is a physical runner that opens up the passing game for Centennial with his ability to catch passes out of the backfield. On the night as the Eagles defense zeroed in on Clark and stacked the tackle box with defenders, Clark would run through would be tacklers and showed his strength as multiple defenders would be needed to take him down.
I asked Clark what he saw on the final drive that led to the game winning score, he said
“Once we started passing my offensive line noticed they weren’t stacking the box and they gave me holes to run through and I hit one and scored”
Clark’s gifted ability will be key to the success the Coyotes have as many believe they can make a run at the open division, if they’re to get to that point they’ll need his legs to keep churning as they have been to start the season.
