Jordan HammThe 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.
