By Annaliese Leon

Coach Richard Taylor and his Centennial Coyotes are headed to their third consecutive state championship game after their 56-21 win Friday night against the top-seeded Cienega Bobcats.

Taylor is not new to a possible three-peat. From 2006-08, his Coyotes not only won titles but only lost one game during those seasons.

“I think you’ve got to run the ball, stop the run, and have great special teams. I think those are the three ingredients to get this far,” Taylor said.

Centennial has done exactly that, especially running the ball. 

Junior running back Zidane Thomas has been lights out for this team so far.

“Zidane will be the first one to say he wanted to thank his offensive line. If they give him a crease, he can pop through there, and good things happen. He had a great night,” Taylor said.

A great night indeed.

Thomas had five touchdowns Friday, rushing for 324 yards, more than doubling his average (121 yards) per game.

“In last year’s semifinal we played an undefeated team, so we felt this year we just had to prove our point again,” Thomas said.

On Friday, Centennial proved its point by more than doubling its point total from its last two playoffs games.

Taylor is already looking forward to the next “big” game.

“I think limiting turnovers are going to be important, limiting penalties, running the ball, stopping the run, and special teams being special,” said Taylor about Saturday’s objectives against Williams Field in the 5A Conference title game at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Coyotes will definitely need to stop the run, as running back Josh Alexander has been a focal point of Williams Field during its postseason run.

Alexander ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’s semifinals. In the playoffs, he’s totaled 288 yards and five touchdowns.

Will it be a battle of run games? We will find out.

Leon is a sports journalism student at Arizona State.