Liberty Lions vs Centennial Coyotes

Going back to week 7 of this high school football season we were fortunate enough to see two of the most prestigious west valley teams go head-to-head.

The Liberty Lions have been one of the most decorated teams in Arizona the last few years winning back-to-back open division state championships with one of them being against a familiar face in the Centennial Coyotes resulting in a 33-21 victory for the Lions.

The Coyotes were devastated after making a bold playoff run just to fall short at the biggest stage but did not let that define who they are, as they took action and bulked up their roster by bringing in transfers with the likes of current Utah State wide receiver Nikko Boncore-Montoya joining the squad for his final high school season.

Despite a 0-4 start to the 2024 season, the Coyotes were hungry to make another state championship run ending the regular season with a 7-7 record and the #14 seed in the 6A playoffs and defining all odds taking home the trophy with a 31-21 victory over the Mountain View Toros and a fairytale ending for head coach Richard Taylor and his group before announcing his retirement later that off-season capping off his historic 35 year tenure at Centennial with 8 state championships and passing the torch to his son Andrew Taylor as the new head coach. 

 Fast forward to the 2025 season Centennial comes into this matchup at 4-2 following a dominant victory over O’Connor while Liberty stands at 5-1 with their only loss coming from top Utah team Corner Canyon. Centennial knows Liberty is the team to beat and to get the job done they are going to need to execute at all levels, as they held the reigning state champs to only a field goal in the first half.

It was in the 3rd quarter when we saw the Lions offense do what they do best getting on the board with a rushing touchdown by Senior quarterback Jayden Pico, this was the turning point in the game as the Lions found their rhythm. The run game was alive and well for the Lions all night long as the team combined for 216 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Centennial knew they had to make some plays before it was too late and that’s exactly what they did with Sophomore quarterback Titus Hill connecting Senior wide receiver Carter Reidy to get on the board making the score 16-6 as the Coyotes were unsuccessful on the 2-point attempt.

With the lead in the 4th quarter the Liberty offense by Brayden Stevens were moving the chains in the run and pass game in attempt to exit the game victorious until Sophomore defensive lineman Javier Chacon comes up huge with a scoop and score for Centennial showing signs of life and the game is not over yet. After the huge play by the Coyotes defense Liberty head coach Collin Thomas and team were not going to let this game slip of of their hands as the offense dialed up a sequence of great play calls and eventually finding Senior wide receiver Kamden Segall in the endzone for a touchdown to close the chapter on this game. 

After a very back and forth game and both teams making adjustments in the following weeks, both of these groups have earned their spot in the open division playoff bracket with Liberty holding the #3 seed and Centennial having the chance to pull off the underdog story once again with a possibility of the two teams meeting again in the post season.

by Nash Jensen for Valley Media

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