'Kill the noise': Centennial isn't looking ahead with Pinnacle on tap this week
With next week’s game against Peoria Liberty looming, you wouldn’t blame Peoria Centennial for having its eyes on a matchup that could well determine the top seed in the Open Division playoffs and home-field advantage throughout November.
But with Phoenix Pinnacle on the schedule this week, Centennial can’t afford to overlook another 6A team with Open aspirations itself.
In The Republic’s Super 10, rankings this week, which combines the 6A and 5A conferences, Liberty and Centennial are ranked first and second. Pinnacle is at No. 8. The AIA has the same order at the top, with Pinnacle (6-2) ranked No. 8 in 6A but just outside of the eight teams that make the Open. 5A Desert Mountain is the only non-6A team currently ranked among the eight Open teams by the AIA.
This isn’t a “trap game” — the Pioneers are too formidable a team for that. Centennial coach Richard Taylor’s message to the team is simple.
“Kill the noise and then play the game,” Taylor said. “Everybody wants to talk about the game after that — whoever that is, I don’t know, because all I know is that we got a game this week. And that’s hard for young kids at that age. But they had a great practice, which indicates to me that they may be listening a little bit.”
Centennial (8-0) boasts one of the top defensive units in the state. The Coyotes recorded three consecutive shutouts in September and are allowing 10 points per game.
They are led by two of the best defenders in Arizona with defensive lineman Noah Carter and cornerback Kenny Worthy III. Carter, who is 6-3 and weighs 225 pounds, is committed to the University of Washington. Worthy III will be playing at Washington State next season.
“Their talent is such that you just can’t play them one way,” Taylor said. “They’re in good condition, they’re strong. But after the game, they look like they’ve been playing both ways a lot. It’d be great if they could be twins so one could play offense and one could play defense, but that’s not the way it is. So we try to limit their reps as much as we can and try to keep them fresh as the game goes on.”
Centennial is a balanced offense, with 1,371 passing yards and 1,248 rushing yards. Sophomore quarterback Kainan Manna, in his first season as the full-time starter, hasn’t exactly re-wrote the record books.
But they haven’t asked him to — he has 81 pass attempts, one of the lowest in the state. He’s been very accurate with one interception so far.
Centennial had a one-two punch in the backfield with seniors Tony Greer and Samar Turner. But Turner went down with an injury recently and is out for the season, and it’s now up to Greer to handle most of the work.
Like Centennial, Pinnacle also has a great defense. The Pioneers have given up more than 28 points only once this season, and that came in a 29-28 loss to ALA Queen Creek, which currently is ranked among the eight Open teams, on Sept. 22 which ended on a freak play.
At quarterback, Pinnacle has one of the top players in his class with junior Wyatt Horton. He’s coming off a season in which he helped the Pioneers to the 6A title game berth as he passed for 2,860 yards and 31 touchdowns as a sophomore.
He’s confident and composed for his age. Horton is putting together a productive season with 1,506 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“Having a person with his mentality at the quarterback is really central to our offensive success,” Pinnacle coach Dana Zupke said. “It is a leadership role, and it’s also the role that really dictates how the offense goes. In modern football, you’re not handing off 80, 90 percent of the time. You got to have a quarterback where it’s not just about their ability to throw the ball, but managing the game and making things happen. Wyatt’s confidence and poise always give us a chance.”
Carter and Worthy III don’t just dominate on defense for the Coyotes. They split time at wide receiver, embracing an ironman mentality. The pair are first and second on the team in receiving yards, receptions and touchdowns.
Another driving force has been senior running back Mason Hughes, who has 715 yards and 11 touchdowns on 119 carries. The Pioneers have the tough task of replacing Duce Robinson at wide receiver, the five-star prospect who is now playing football and baseball for USC. It’s been a mix at the position with five players each recording 10 or more receptions.
It’s hard to understate the importance of this game for Pinnacle. A win could easily elevate the Pioneers into the Open conversation.
“I think it’s real simple. If we win this game, we probably deserve to be in the Open,” Zupke said. “Centennial’s an Open team, and if we beat an Open team, we should be in the Open. If we don’t win, then our placement in 6A is probably appropriate. We got to be pretty zen about it. Some people accused us last year of tanking this game to stay in 6A, and that’s ridiculous. I’m never going to try to tank a game. We’re going out there to win.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Kill the noise': Centennial focused on Pinnacle with Liberty looming
