Anne Perry is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Centennial High School for AZPreps365.

Centennial High School had a rocky start to its season when it lost to Hamilton in the first game.

But since then, the Coyotes have done nothing but win. 

Centennial currently rides a four-game winning streak and hopes to continue this tonight at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Phoenix. Last season, the Coyotes had a record of 3-8, but this year have already improved from that finish.

The Coyotes lost their first game to Hamilton, 14-38, but afterwards, the team came together to ensure that they would win the rest of their games.

“I encouraged the team more and we pushed each other harder in practice and that’s how we are 4-1,” said Centennial kicker and team captain Brysen Gardner.

In the game against Hamilton, the Coyotes had six turnovers caused by fumbled balls, but they had over 300 yards on offense while Hamilton had only 100 yards. Penalties and turnovers caused the Coyotes to fall behind in this game.

Centennial head coach Richard Taylor said that their secret to success since then is that they “stopped fumbling the ball.”

In the week after, Centennial beat Brophy College Prep 28-7. Kavaughn Clarke scored two touchdowns and had 131 rushing yards. According to Clarke, his personal goal for this season is to have 1,500 rushing yards and he currently has 731. Then they won against Desert Vista (1-4), Millennium (3-2), and Williams Field (2-3). The Coyotes had the toughest time winning against Williams Field. Centennial and Williams Field took turns intercepting each other's tosses, similar to what happened with the Coyotes against Hamilton, but ultimately the Coyotes came out on top.

Last season, they lost to Brophy College Prep 21-33, and barely beat Millennium with a score of 13-12. To make these improvements, the team had to work harder than they had in past seasons.

“We are a lot stronger and a lot faster this year because of the amount of hard work we put in over summer,” said Centennial safety and team captain Jack Bal.

Looking ahead into the rest of the season, Centennial tonight plays Sandra Day O’Connor, who it did not play last season. Sandra Day O’Connor has the same record as Centennial (4-1) and has won against some of the same teams such as Millennium and Brophy College Prep so far this season. After that, the Coyotes will play Boulder Creek (4-1) at home, then host Mountain Ridge, who they lost to last season by just five points.