A good old showdown in the wild, wild West Valley.

That’s what transpired Friday between two 6A teams with aspirations to crack the Open Division rankings. The game didn’t disappoint.

With its Open dreams probably at stake, and its starting quarterback nursing an injury, Centennial pinned its hopes for a victory on a freshman with a sweet nickname, quarterback Kainan ‘Sugar’ Manna. Sugar passed the test after orchestrating a two-minute drive to help clinch a 20-15 region victory at Sandra Day O’Connor.

"It's a great feeling to have the trust of coach (Richard) Taylor and this staff as a freshman quarterback,” Manna said. “I've always prepared for when my time came, and to give a game-winning drive like that is a dream come true. Looking forward to next week against Boulder Creek."

Manna led the charge during the 80-yard drive, but senior leader Kavaughn Clark delivered the dagger with 20 seconds left.

Clark’s 18-yard open field scoring burst helped clinch the Coyotes’ fifth consecutive win.

"At that point, I was just thinking situational football,” said Clark about his touchdown run. “You're looking at the sticks and where field goal range is. But on that play my offensive line opened up the hole like the Red Sea and was passing out pancakes. I didn't even get touched."

During the game winning drive, Centennial converted multiple third and fourth downs, junior receiver Kenneth Worthy III had a big 35-yard reception, and Manna kept the drive alive with a couple of runs.

Centennial took control first in the game, but O’Connor responded after trailing 14-0 late in the third quarter. In the span of a minute, O’Connor’s Kaden Armstrong scored on a 6-yard run and defensive end Ryan Davis followed with a strip sack that resulted in a safety.

After O'Connor's safety, Centennial senior quarterback Steven Urquiza limped off the field and didn’t return.

"Our starting quarterback (Urquiza) has been nursing a bad leg,” Taylor said. “One of the best things he can do and was unable to was run after that play.

"Our freshman, Sugar, has been doing really well, so we thought we'd give him a try."

O'Connor senior quarterback Cooper King scored on a 1-yard keeper to give his team a 15-14 lead with 2:50 left in the game.

But that’s when Manna started to prove his mettle.

In the first quarter, Centennial scored the lone first half touchdown after a 4-yard run on 4th & 2 by Clark.

The second quarter was quiet on the scoreboard but loud on the field. Davis, a Kansas State commit, and Centennial's three star junior defensive end, Noah Carter (Arizona State offer), were both flying around, racking up multiple tackles for loss and sacks that forced punts.

Carter made more noise but on the offensive side when Centennial scored during its first third quarter drive. Urquiza found his big tight end, Carter, for a 79-yard touchdown pass to give Centennial a two score lead.

"It was a big play that sparked our offense and gave us juice to start the second half," Carter said.

Next week, Centennial (5-1, 1-0 in Desert Valley) will host Boulder Creek, and O’Connor (4-2, 0-1) will play Valley Vista in a non-region game.