Quarterfinals: Centennial 55 Cienega 7

WEEKLY BLOG: 11/9/18

I've heard about the Centennial defense all season and on Friday night, I went up to Peoria to take it in for myself.

And it came as advertised.

The superlatives are many. Five shutouts. Six straight opponents limited to 70 yards or less rushing. Zero points allowed in the third quarter all season.

Cienega experienced the physical and punishing Coyote crew for the second time this year. The sequel wasn't much different this time around as Centennial defeated the Bobcats, 55-7 in a 5A quarterfinal matchup.

The defending state champion Coyotes (12-0) won their 16th straight game to advance to next week's semifinals, and will face No. 5 Higley (9-3) at 7 p.m. Friday at Willow Canyon HS in Surprise.

The bad news for the other three teams still alive in the 5A tournament is that Centennial is more than "just a great defense". The Coyotes feature an offense with multiple fresh backs and a dangerous punt returner that can tip the scales on special teams.

Centennial came out running and reached paydirt on its second drive of the game. A total of 55 of the 60 yards came on the ground, including the final eight yards on a run by Jeiel Stark out of the Wildcat.

The Coyote defense just swarmed on Cienega senior quarterback Luis Morales forcing him to make decisions faster than he would have liked. An intentional grounding penalty necessitated a Bobcats' punt from their own 3-yard line. A.J. Jackson fielded it at the Cienega 43 and took it to the house. It was the senior's fourth punt return touchdown this year.

Centennial has made it at a habit of getting off to a quick start. This season, the Coyotes are outscoring their opposition 174-7 in the opening 12 minutes. Cienega didn't gain a first down until midway through the second quarter.

In that second quarter, the Coyotes pulled away. Tawee Walker had a pair of rushing touchdowns giving him 15 for the season (16 total scores). The latter of those was set up by a Jaydin Young interception, which was returned to the Bobcat 9-yard line.

This Centennial offense is different from the one fans saw last year when Zidane Thomas (now at San Diego State) was a 2,000-yard back. The Coyotes shuffle fresh bodies in and had four different players with three carries, and none with more than six. Davon Fountain averaged six yards per attempt and the big (6-0, 190-pounds) rusher scored on a five-yard run.

Cienega (9-3) became just the second team to score a first-half touchdown against the Coyotes as Morales went deep to his playmaker, Terrell Hayward, for a 48-yard touchdown strike. It was the 52nd touchdown for Hayward in his varsity career. He has scored rushing, receiving, on fumble returns, interception returns, punt returns, and kickoff returns.

"Terrell Hayward is a superstar," Cienega head coach Pat Nugent said. "He's done everything we've asked him to do. He's set quite a few records for us and he's a great kid."

The half was punctuated by another Centennial defensive play. Following a sack and a fumble, Connor Knudsen scooped up the loose ball and took it 40 yards to the end zone as time expired for a 41-7 lead.

In the third quarter, the Coyotes had some fun pulling out a gadget play. Young was lined up to take the direct snap, but he didn't run the ball. Instead he unleashed a pass that looked like it was going to Eric Haney, but instead was grabbed by junior Dyelan Miller on a crossing route. It was planned that way all along.

"We've been practicing that this week because they know when I came out in the formation that I'm usually just going to run the ball," Young said. "They're supposed to blow the top of the coverage. Eric Haney turned around and acted like he was looking for the ball and Dyelan just came right out."

Jonathan Morris completed 7-of-12 passes in the game and with the running clock going (42-point differential rule), hit Jackson with a 29-yard pass to close the scoring.

Teams have been unable to make adjustments on the Coyotes during the halftime intermission. Centennial has outscored its opponents in the third quarter, 115 to zero.

Offensively, CeHS came in averaging 41.9 points per game. This was the seventh consecutive game that the Coyotes have scored 40 or more.

It's the guys up front that allow Walker, Young, Fountain, and Stark to get those yards. Carson Keltner, Oscar Abundis, Jr., Jacob Fyffe, George Roeder, and Caiden Miles were instrumental in opening up holes for the backs. The O-line is coached by Joe McDonald, who is in his 26th year at Centennial.

"We just work together as a unit," Roeder said. "We're always talking and that's a big key to what we do."

Roeder, a junior, is in his first year on varsity. He said the seniors in the group (Keltner and Fyffe) have been helping him through what to expect on this playoff run.

The result was similar to the first time the two teams met on Sept. 14 (a 35-0 Centennial win). Coyotes' head coach Richard Taylor cited some improvements the team has made since then.

"We listen better as a team," Taylor said. "I think we are doing a better job preparing our scouting report and watching film."

Still, there is more to work on and the longtime coach, who is closing in on 300 wins, won't let them rest on their accomplishments thus far.

"We are going to have to do the bad drill because we fumbled twice tonight," Taylor said. "You can't do that in a close game. In a game like this, you don't notice that."

Centennial hasn't had a close game since Aug. 31 when it defeated Nevada's Bishop Gorman, 13-7.

Standout players on the defense included defensive end Leandre Harris, Knudsen, linebacker Dylan Wampler (who returned after missing last week's game), and the defensive back unit of Young, Walker, Cire Fields, and Kieran Clark.

It's that defense that simply stuffed a Cienega team that rushed for 424 yards a week ago during a 49-28 win over Marana. In this one, Centennial didn't allow a run of more than five yards in the first half. The Bobcats rushed for 39 yards in the game.

"I've been around 29 years of football and never seen a defense as explosive," Nugent said. "They are violent and vicious and they fly around the field. It just wasn't meant to be."

Cienega, regarded as Southern Arizona's top 5A team, has a record of 33-5 over the past three years. Three of those losses have come at the hands of the Coyotes.

For Centennial, it will be time to bone up for a new opponent. The first two rounds against Sunnyslope and Cienega brought rematches of regular season games. The Coyotes have never faced Higley, who will come into the semis with Cal commit Spencer Brasch. Brasch entered Friday's game against Casteel (a 34-27 win) with 40 touchdown passes and almost 3,000 yards this season.

One thing for sure is Centennial won't get caught looking ahead to Sun Devil Stadium (and the 5A title game) on December 1.

"The older guys understand that next week's game is the most important game," Taylor said. "It's easy to fall into that trap."

First Quarter:
Cent - Jeiel Stark 86 yard run (Juaquin Rodriguez kick), 5:51
Cent - A.J. Jackson 43 yard punt return (Rodriguez kick), 3:57
Second Quarter:
Cent - Tawee Walker 17 yard run (Rodriguez kick), 8:03
Cent - Walker 3 yard run (Rodriguez kick), 5:37
Cien - Terrell Hayward 48 yard pass from Luis Morales (Ezra Figueroa kick), 4:08
Cent - Davon Fountain 5 yard run (Rodriguez kick), 1:56
Cent - Connor Knudsen 40 yard fumble return (kick failed), 0:00
Third Quarter:
Cent - Dyelan Miller 30 yard pass from Jaydin Young (Eric Haney pass from Jonathan Morris), 9:28
Cent - Jackson 29 yard pass from Morris (kick failed), 5:48
Fourth Quarter:
No Scoring