Ireland Horvat is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX-- The Brophy Broncos trounced the Centennial Coyotes by a score of 33-21 on the Friday night of Halloween weekend. 

The Coyotes defense started strong, limiting Brophy quarterback Elijah Warner to only one touchdown in the first quarter. That pass was a 12-yard dart to receiver Max Ware. In his past three games, Warner has thrown four touchdowns in the first quarter. Brophy led the Coyotes 7-0 after one quarter of play. 

Ware, who is a dual-sport athlete, is a standout basketball player for the Broncos. He only recently started playing football. Since then, he has been dominant on the field. “It’s kind of the same but also different because you’re getting hit,” Ware said. “They both complement each other with the moves off the line.” 

With two minutes to go before half, Centennial turned the ball over on downs and Brophy took over on its own 27-yard line. The Centennial defense did not yield any points, though, keeping the advantage for the Broncos at seven. 

Neither team found a rhythm offensively until late in the third quarter as Warner connected with Ware for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Ware recorded two touchdowns on the night. The Broncos took a 14-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

 

 

With seven minutes remaining in the game, Brophy senior defensive lineman Zac Swanson, a Texas commit, blocked the Coyotes punt scored from their two-yard line, extending Brophy’s lead to 21-0. “Every punt they gave us looked the same, it was bound to happen on one of them,” Swanson said. “When something like that happens, I just go and do whatever my mind tells me to do. It was fun.” 

The Broncos found the endzone again with a 1-yard touchdown run, but  missed the extra point. The Broncos held onto a 27-0 lead heading into the final five minutes of regulation.

After a long kickoff return, Centennial finally found the endzone, cutting into the insurmountable Bronco lead. The Coyotes would score two more garbage-time touchdowns by the end of regulation, but ultimately fell 33-21. 

Brophy Prep (6-2) is on a five-game win streak with two games remaining, the next one being at Liberty High School in Peoria. "Don't jinx us,” said head coach Jason Jewell. “Liberty brings a different aspect to the game, our coaches and kids work extremely hard. We have a lot at stake, we haven't won a region title since 2014. We will see what we can do against a very talented Liberty team that I respect a ton.”