By Anthony De Bono

Peoria­ – Centennial’s head football coach Dick Taylor has one goal this year: win a championship. Now ranked No. 4 in the state of Arizona, the Coyotes have outscored their opponents 90-0 in the first two games.

Taylor believes the only thing between Centennial and a championship is injury.

“The thing that could hurt us is if we start to get injured.” said Taylor.

Senior running back, Zidane Thomas is optimistic after the 2-0 start.

“I don’t see us letting up. Further down the schedule teams do get harder. But I believe with preparation and hard work, the results will stay the same” Thomas said.

Players at practice seemed excited to get back on the field after a bye week. Senior cornerback Dominique Hampton said, “The morale of the team is high,” Hampton said, “The morale is nobody is better than the team and the team is always first.”

Senior captain offensive guard Trevor Renfro knows Taylor is the key to winning a championship this year.

“He does a lot of things for us. He gets us hyped up and with him we always have to work hard. He’s been around for a long time and I’m so thankful to have him as a coach.”

However, Renfro made it clear he and the team are taking each game week by week.

“We just take it one game at a time. Nothing is given to us we have to take it one game at a time and nothing is more important than the game this week against Maricopa.”

The Coyotes have a challenging September. They play host to both the No. 5 team in Arizona, Pinnacle Sept. 14 and the No. 3 team in the nation in St. Thomas Aquinas Sept. 29.

Taylor turning to his four key seniors this year: Zidane Thomas, Dominique Hampton, Trevor Renfro, and quarterback Ruben Beltran.

All four have performed at an elite level to begin the year.

Thomas has rushed for 281 yards on 20 carries including two touchdowns in each of the first two games. Hampton has shown that he is a shutdown defender with two interceptions. Renfro kept defensive linemen in front of him giving Beltran time to throw or run. Beltran is firing out of the gates. He has an 82.6 percent completion percentage, 249 passing yards, and four touchdowns. He also has been able to pick up 21 yards on the ground.

The Coyotes look to continue their dominance Friday on the road to face Maricopa.