Hughes carries load, Centennial remains perfect

At the end of a nightmarish week, Laveen Cesar Chavez's players competed as if the Desert West Region championship was still on the line at Centennial.

"I thought Chavez played hard and well all night," Centennial coach Richard Taylor said. "With the events that happened in the last few days they were very emotional, and obviously they care about coach Rattay a great deal."

The Champions went from 7-2 to 0-9 Thursday because they used an ineligible transfer from Phoenix St. Mary's. This came two weeks after the team was banned from the playoffs by the Arizona Interscholastic Association for a recruiting violation - which the school was planning to appeal before the new infraction surfaced.

The visitors appeared poised for a comeback, drawing within 10 on the final play of the third quarter and forcing the Coyote offense to punt early in the fourth. Senior Ryan Leslie's kick bounced off a Chavez blocker and Centennial recovered at the Champions 28.

"Football is a game of momentum, and that just switched the momentum," Taylor said. "I think it gave us the needed push to change things."

Everyone in the stadium knew what would happen next. And indeed, senior tailback Anthony Hughes carried the ball six straight times, finishing with a six-yard touchdown to give Centennial (11-0, 6-0) a 27-10 lead with 6:22 remaining.

On the Coyotes' next drive, Hughes capped his fifth straight 200-yard-plus performance with another six-yard score. On the night, Hughes gained 256 yards on 22 carries and scored all five Centennial touchdowns in the 34-10 win.

"I finally realized what I can do," Hughes said. "I got stronger, got faster and I've got a good line and I'm part of a good team."

Even more impressively, Hughes and the line did nearly all their damage in the second and fourth quarters. Four first-quarter carries netted two yards and Hughes took off the third quarter - as did the rest of the Coyote offense.

Centennial ran only three plays in the quarter, sandwiched between two punishing, ground-oriented Chavez drives. Junior fullback Rayvonte Hampton figured prominently in both marches, rumbling for 40 yards on eight carries and picking up 20 more yards on a screen pass.

The Coyote defense stiffened on the first drive once Chavez reached the 19, forcing three incompletions and stuffing Hampton for no gain.

On the second drive, junior quarterback Joseph Raya tossed a bubble screen to tailback James Edwards, and the senior scored from three yards out to make it 20-10.

"Going into the game I thought we really needed to limit our penalties - didn't do it - that we had to be special on special teams and the first thing we did was fumble it," Taylor said. "They won the turnover battle against us, and that is the recipe for getting beat, givig up penalties and turnovers."

Both of Centennial's fumbles - on the opening kickoff and the second drive - came during a scoreless first quarter. That continued for all of nine seconds - the amount of time it took Hughes to take a draw play through a chasm in the middle of the line and run 45 yards for his first score.

"Watching on tape, it just seems when Anthony's number is called the line maybe blocks a little bit better," Taylor said. "I think over time Anthony is reading their blocks better and he is getting into the secondary real fast."

On Chavez's next possession, an already heated game boiled over. Centennial senior cornerback Kyle Coffey was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Chavez sophomore receiver Devonte Neal. On the next play, Neal was penalized for offensive pass interference against Coffey.

The Coyotes top corner didn't shadow the Neal - one of the most-publicized underclassmen in Arizona history - all night. But he and the defensive backfield shut Neal down, allowing him only one catch.

"He's an athlete, but he's been hurt with some shin splints and wasn't at his fullest," Coffey said. "Emotions were on high, it's for the region championship. Of course everyone was on a high."

Hughes broke free for 22 yards on his next carry, but a personal foul wiped out the final 15. A pass interference call against Chavez got those yards back.

That set up Hughes' second score on the next play, another draw through an equally huge hole, this one from 32 yards out.

"I want to thank them, to tell you the truth. Thank you for opening those holes for me," Hughes said.

Edwards answered with a 42-yard scamper of his own. He was tackled at the Centennial 5.

On first and goal, senior linebacker Austin Garday blitzed and drilled Raya at the 14. After an incompletion and a three-yard scramble by Raya, the Champions were foced to settle for a 28-yard Kimontae Thomas field goal.

Hughes and the line answered with two more big draw plays before the half ended. The first, a 36-yarder, flipped field position for Centennial. The second a one-cut, 40-yard burst on third and one, built Centennial's lead to 20-3 and gave Hughes 170 yards on 10 first-half carries.

It was a sendoff of sorts Hughes and the Class of 2010 on senior night, though Centennial will almost certainly play two more playoff games at home. This class has been the heart of a squad that's won all 25 games in the last two seasons, and some were part of the 2007 team that began Centennial's 37-game winning streak.

"It's awesome, they're like my brothers," Coffey said. "We work hard every day in practice, coaches push us. I've played at this high school for four years and there's nothing better than that."

In every year these seniors have spent at Centennial, the Coyotes have claimed the 5A-II state championship. Next Friday, they'll begin a journey they hope ends in a fourth straight title.

Though pairings will not be announced until Saturday, Centennial will be the No. 1 seed thanks to close losses by Scottsdale Chaparral (No. 1 in the power points entering Friday) and Tempe Marcos de Niza (No. 3).

Check westvalleypreps for updated pairings Saturday.