Injuries & Adversity Couldn't Stop Liberty in Win Over Centennial

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In the last week of the 6A regular season, a lot was on the line for both the Liberty Lions and the Centennial Coyotes.

Liberty needed a win to likely claim the #1 seed in the open playoffs. Centennial probably felt like they needed a win to claim a top 4 seed and a bye.

Ultimately, it was Liberty that took home the victory after a thrilling 21-14 win over Centennial.

The Lions were dealing with numerous injuries heading into this game, including 2029 QB Jason Haines missing the game and 2027 QB Kenny Raymond, who was also hurt and served as the emergency QB.

Liberty rolled out 3-star San Diego State wide receiver commit Braxton Huynh at quarterback Friday night.

Liberty head coach Colin Thomas said he was proud of the way his team overcame adversity throughout the week and the game.

“Our guys work all year; they buy into our culture,” Thomas said. “These types of games we’re built for.”

Opening up the game, though, the Coyotes picked up some early momentum.

On their opening drive, the Coyotes marched down the field and capped off the drive with a big touchdown.

Centennial 2029 quarterback Jonah Garcillano led his offense down the field and eventually got in the red zone.

Garcillano found Centennial 2028 wide receiver Jason Lee on a short route that saw Lee break multiple tackles and dive his way into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown.

For the Lions, they would get a nice drive put together after their opening drive stalled out.

Late in the first quarter, Huynh fired a quick pass to 2027 wide receiver Carter Rothe, who danced around multiple defenders and sprinted his way into the end zone for a 29-yard score.

Nearing the end of the first quarter, Centennial was able to break off their biggest play of the night.

Around midfield, Garcillano launched a deep bomb to 3-star 2028 tight end Torrin Hill for a 50-yard touchdown.

The late touchdown in the first gave Centennial a 14-7 lead after the first 12 minutes of play.

For a majority of the second quarter, neither team could capture any previous momentum they had built on offense.

That was until late in the quarter when the Coyotes started to push the ball down the field.

Centennial was able to get into field goal range with a chance to extend their lead to double digits.

The field goal attempt, however, was blocked by Liberty, giving them a jolt of confidence heading into halftime.

At halftime, Centennial still led 14-7.

The second half was the story of Liberty’s defense.

Starting with the ball to open up the half, Centennial started to methodically move the ball down the field.

The drive was stopped, though, by Liberty 3-star 2028 defensive back Kadin Young, who made the play of the night.

Young jumped a route and ripped the ball out of a Centennial wide receiver's hands for an interception.

Young then proceeded to take the interception all the way back for six points.

Thomas said that was a play that they had to have.

“Ky (Young) with an amazing play,” Thomas said. “We had to have it; we had to have it. Then we fed off the momentum.”

After the big play, the game was tied at 14, but from that point on, the game belonged to the Lions.

Opening up the fourth quarter, the Lions were able to march down the field behind their ground attack and get in the end zone.

2027 running back Jayden Sanchez fought off two defenders to make his way into the end zone for a 16-yard rushing touchdown.

For the first time in the game, Liberty led as they had a 21-14 lead.

Closing out the game for the Lions would once again be their stellar defensive unit.

Utah Tech defensive back commit Cannon Collins came away with a big-time interception to give his offense the ball back.

While the offense didn’t score off the turnover, they chewed a good amount of clock and made the Coyotes burn their remaining timeouts.

With two minutes left in the game, Centennial had one last chance to win the game.

The attempt was cut short as the Lions' defense came away with another turnover.

Sealing the game was 2027 defensive back Kaden Miller, who came down with an interception.

Liberty now moves to 9-1 on the season and most likely has the #1 seed in the Open Division locked up.

They now focus on a deep playoff push in hopes of bringing back the Gold Ball to the West Side.

“We wear B.I.B on our back, which means Bring It Back,” Young said. “So we’re going to bring it back to the West Side.”

Next up: 9-1 Liberty almost certainly locks up the #1 seed, and they will have a bye week. 8-2 Centennial finds out tomorrow morning what their final seeding will be.