By Raven Boone

In a 5A Conference rivalry matchup between the No. 9 Centennial Coyotes and the Liberty Lions, Centennial came out on top, 23-7, in the last regular season game for each team. 

The victory clinched the Northwest Section outright for Centennial (9-1 overall, 4-0 section).

Early turnovers were the demise of the Lions. Three minutes into the first quarter, Centennial’s Taylor Fiame returned an interception 21 yards, making the score 7-0.

But after the Lions regained possession, Liberty’s offense went on an 80-yard drive, capped by running back Colton Newton two-yard rushing touchdown with three minutes left in the first quarter. But the Lions turned the ball over again on its next possession.

With the ball at Liberty’s 15-yard line, Centennial outside line backer Marcus Wakeham made an outstanding interception and returned it for a 20-yard touchdown, making the score 14-7 in the second quarter.

“The defense worked really hard tonight,” Coyotes senior free safety Gage Franklin said. “There were times when we were in for 10 or 12 plays at a time and we grinded it out.

“We made the tough plays, got the stops and worked really hard. As a team we came together and I’m really proud of us for that.”

The passing game also was clicking for Centennial.

Ruben Beltran threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Centennial senior wide receiver Jared Villa with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. After the missed extra point, Centennial led 20-7.

Centennial scored the final points of the game with under a minute remaining in the first half. Xavier Rojas successfully kicked a 27-yard field goal, giving the Coyotes a 23-7 lead heading into halftime.

Both teams struggled early in the second half, with multiple turnovers and possession changes.

“I thought our defense was well prepared for this game,” Centennial head coach Richard Taylor said. “We forced a lot of turnovers, and we had a few ourselves, but we figured it out. On any given night two of the three phases of the game must be won, and I feel like that’s what we did tonight and we are walking away with the win.”

Centennial will need to beat Liberty (7-3) again if it wants its season to continue.

That's because the rivals will play in the first round of next week’s 5A Conference playoffs.

Boone is a sports journalism student at Arizona State.