Centennial Cruises, Highland Survives in Quarterfinals

The Centennial Coyotes and Cienega Bobcats squared off in one of the many regular season rematches in the quarterfinals. The first time around, the Coyotes shutout Cienega 35-0. This time around, they cruised to a 55-7 win to advance to the semifinals. Jaleil Stark and Tawee Walker each had rushing touchdowns early and A.J. Jackson returned a punt for a touchdown to give Centennial an early 21-0 lead, and they didn’t look back. They will take on Higley in the state semis.

On the 6A front, #5 Highland and #4 Liberty squared off in a grind ’em out battle. There were five turnovers between the two sides in the first half, and Liberty was able to get out to a 12-7 lead. The Highland defense did a nice job keeping the Hawks in striking distance after Liberty started a few drives deep in Highland territory and coming away with minimal points. The play that opened things up in the second half was a touchdown pass from Kaleb Herbert to Noah Burdick, where the receiver walked a tightrope to stay in bounds but was able to score. They held off a late push from Liberty to advance to play Chandler in the semifinals.

 

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