The Centennial offense scored on its first three possessions to open the season.

Efficient. Deep. Explosive.

It was all on display Friday in an easy 44-10 running-clock win at ALA-Queen Creek in a 6A matchup.

And yet the Coyotes’ offensive unit just might be behind the guys on the other side of the ball for Centennial.

You know the 11 or so guys the Centennial offense faces the rest of the week, meaning a different jersey on the other side of the line is akin to opening up a damn.

The offense is able to burst through without the daily barrier holding it back.

"It's something to see," Centennial coach Andrew Taylor said. "Now, the defense knows our offense so well that it has an advantage to a certain degree because at the same time offense knows our defense, too, but it can definitely frustrate the offensive player and coaches." 

The Centennial defensive unit returns the top five leaders in tackles, three of the four leaders in tackles for a loss, top three in sacks and all five players who had an interception that helped Centennial finish as the 6A state runner-up in 2025.

“A lot of them are very smart and experienced,” said Taylor, who was the defensive coordinator for a couple of decades before taking over the program. “We have a ton of confidence in these guys. They’ve been in these battles and some of them are in their third year so we can run the entire defense. They can make the calls and checks on the field.”

The unit returns nearly intact with a new accessory.

Assistant coach John Overstreet introduced a turnover belt this season. With it comes competition within the unit.

And swagger.

It was clear early in the win over the Patriots that the Centennial D had confidence, and a nasty streak to go along with that boastfulness.

The Patriots' offense had zero ability to run the ball, only picked up first downs on defense penalties and the Centennial defense kept handing the offense short fields in the first quarter as Centennial built a 21-0 lead.

Now the Centennial offense did its part as well with Torrin Hill, who had three total touchdowns, doing most of the damage with a 17-yard run and 19-yard catch for scores in the first quarter but the defense bailed out the offense on its one first half mistake.

The Hills - quarterback Titus and wide receiver Torrin - connected on a fourth and 8 from the 48 down to the 3.

A fumble on the next play gave the Patriots life and possession.

It didn’t last long as Tyler Overstreet's interception for a score on third down with 16 seconds in the half made it 28-3.

Just like that Overstreet was the first one to be granted possession of the new belt his dad introduced.

“I saw the quarterback roll out and I read the curl, undercut it and picked it off, and do what I do,” said the younger Overstreet. “That belt brings swagger to the team and that’s what we’re all about on D.

"If you have swagger as a defense, you’re hard to beat.”

The confidence was evident and the belt was passed out a few more times in the second half as it started with an interception by Aiden Torres and a safety when a sack led to ball to flying out of the back of the end zone to make sure the tone set in the first half didn’t dissipate.

It pretty much ended all doubt as the running clock was turned on before the end of the quarter.

For the second year in a row, the Patriots had a difficult start to the year. Last year at home, ALA-Queen Creek lost 63-30 to Hamilton in the opener.

The team rebounded to make the 6A playoffs and advanced to the semis before losing to the Coyotes, but coach Rich Edwards wasn’t happy about a lot of things than transpired other than the what scoreboard read when it was over.

“I’m a little disappointed today. I thought we prepared to play better,” he said. “We got beat convincingly in every facet of the game. I have to look in the mirror and see how we have to reset.

"As the old coach saying goes we have to get better between Week 1 and Week 2. I hope that happens. We as coaches have to prepare better but we have some players who need to decide if they want to play. I don’t think we had that tonight. It’s program wide right now.”

As far as Centennial, it was a good ride back to the west side after the offense was able to get loose – and play someone other than its own teammates – and let it fly.

“Sparks fly in practice,” Torrin Hill said. “Iron sharpens iron. This is the fun part. We had a chance to go out and fly around for some big plays. My brother runs the offense and he was able to put the ball in good spots all game long.”

The lineage of success and expectations at Centennial is always high and it will be no different in 2026 thanks to a defense led by JoJo Gonzalez, Luke Franklin, Javier Chavez, Torres, Overstreet among others.

The offense has a massive line and talent throughout the line up as running backs Damonte Drake and Derrion Bartholonew compliment the Hills brothers.

“We know what it means to pull on this jersey every day,” Torrin Hill said. “It says Centennial on the front and we have history that goes back to (former head) Coach (Richard) Taylor watching the school being built to his son (Andrew) taking over. We’re not going to let up because we know what it means to play for Centennial.”

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