A title for the ages: Centennial’s 8th crown its most unexpected
Centennial Head Coach Richard Taylor, center, engages the officials during the 6A Football Championship game at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Coyotes won their 8th overall football title despite a 3-7 regular season. (JDigos Photography/For West Valley Preps)
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There may have been a few raised eyebrows, but our coaches believed it and our seniors believed it and that’s all that matters.”
Richard Taylor, Centennial Head Football Coach, on his team's chances of winning a 6A title
TEMPE — When the 2024 Centennial Coyotes were 0-4, many fans and media types had left the team for dead.
Following a 3-7 regular season, some said Centennial still had a foot in the grave. But once they snuck into the 6A playoffs as a 14-seed, the Coyotes had confidence they could run the table.
A month later, the Coyotes completed one of the state’s most incredible playoff runs ever, hoisting their eighth football state championship trophy after a 31-21 victory over 4th-seeded Mesa Mountain View on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
For a football program with a track record of success and a bevy of hardware in their trophy case on 79th Avenue, this had to be their most unexpected championship but possibly the most gratifying for Head Coach Richard Taylor.
“You learn a lot about people when you are 0-4,” Taylor said after lifting the 6A title trophy. “All the sudden I’m too old to coach, the kids are no good, people were saying it was the worst team in school history. Our kids heard all that and I just told them you have to kill that noise.”
During that winless first month of the season, the Coyotes lost 3 of 4 games by a single score. A last-minute Hail Mary at Hamilton was incomplete and after a 7-point setback at Highland, a late comeback effort against Salpointe Catholic came up just short.
At that point, Taylor said his team “was playing just well enough to lose” but he and his assistants kept working hard. So did the players.
Centennial won three of its next four as a group of impact freshmen including Torrin Hill, Hajj Brown and Jhaheem Brown along with some talented transfers began to make their mark.
“The freshmen and transfers tied this team together,” explained Coyotes senior linebacker/kicker Aaron Alvarez, who nailed a crucial 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of the win on Saturday. “Their vibe was awesome all year, even when we weren’t winning. I love all those guys — they made the rest of us better.”
One of the transfers was senior Nikko Boncore-Montoya, who arrived from Cactus, established himself as a team leader and caught a touchdown pass in the title game on Saturday.
“We proved everyone wrong,” Boncore-Montoya said. “And that feels amazing.”
The talented wideout said he picked Centennial because he wanted to play in the biggest games on the biggest stage.
“After the Liberty game, we told each other we need to stick together and we can make a run at the title,” Boncore-Montoya explained.
He also said a big highlight of this season was taking some of the younger players under his wing.
“Torrin, Jhaheem, Hajj — those are my guys,” Boncore-Montoya said. “I just wanted to be a good mentor to them. They listened and I saw them grow as players.”
Taylor called the effort by the transfers and freshmen “unbelievable.”
“The guys in there held their positions down and played really hard — we knew help was on the way,” the head coach said. “Once the transfers got going, there was no stopping them.”
Coyotes junior quarterback Kainan Manna agreed.
“Those transfers fit in and showed up when we needed them most,” Manna said. “This is a family and we will remember this season forever.”
Alvarez said the Coyotes eventually learned to tune out all the negativity.
“Coach Taylor just kept saying ‘kill the noise’ and that’s what we did,” Alvarez explained. “We worked relentlessly and kept getting better each week.”
Taylor said he never doubted the Coyotes could pull off the unlikely run to the title.
“There may have been a few raised eyebrows, but our coaches believed it and our seniors believed it and that’s all that matters,” said Taylor.
The Coyotes upset 3-seed Red Mountain in Round 1 and that turned a lot of heads. With their confidence growing, Centennial easily handled Casteel in the quarterfinals before holding off a talented Queen Creek squad in the semis to punch their ticket to ASU.
The big victory gave Taylor, the only head coach in Centennial’s football history, another record to add to his long list of accolades. Taylor now holds the title of Arizona head football coach with the most championships — eight — among the big school teams in Divisions 4A-6A. Centennial has been to 13 state title games in the past 20 seasons.
After the title win, Taylor hinted at retirement. He’s been coaching for more than 50 years, including the last 34 at Centennial. Right beside him for all eight titles has been Taylor's son and defensive coordinator, Andrew.
And beyond the football field, Taylor is one of the most beloved teachers on the Centennial campus. He’s positively impacted thousands of students over the years, earning Taylor a Peoria Independent Hometown Hero Award this year.
With a 7-7 final record, Centennial set a new mark for most losses by an Arizona football state champion. But for the 2024 Coyotes, it was not how you started, it was how you finished.
“Somebody texted me and said when you win this game, this championship will be the one where your players learned the most about themselves,” Taylor said. “And I think they were right.”
Matt Loeschman has had two separate stints at Independent Newsmedia. He began as a reporter covering Peoria and later Surprise from 2000-2009. In 2017, he returned to Arizona and INI as the news editor of the Daily News-Sun (now the Phoenix Independent). He previously covered the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League for more than a decade.
Community: During high school football season since 2017, he contributes live postgame radio reports to the AzPreps 365 Friday Night Football Wrapup Show. He supports organizations such as Phoenix Children’s, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley and the American Cancer Society.
Education: The University of Texas at Austin majoring in Journalism-News and Public Affairs.
Random Fact: He can sing and he has been fortunate to meet many famous people during his journalism career including First Lady Hillary Clinton, King of Country Music George Strait and Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey. Attended all 4 home games of the 2001 World Series.
Hobbies: Watching and playing a wide variety of sports, including golf, tennis, pickleball and softball. Playing PlayStation 5, working out, shopping and reading.
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