Coming into its non-conference game with Class 6A Pinnacle, Centennial had yet to allow a point in its first three matchups of the season, outscoring its opponents a combined 134-0.

When Centennial’s streak finally came to an end Thursday with a 27-yard Pinnacle field goal to cut the Coyotes’ lead to 10-3 late in the second quarter, Class 5A Centennial coach Richard Taylor was nervous.

“I knew we weren’t going to go through the whole season un-scored upon,” Taylor said. “I was concerned about the first time we got scored upon how they were going to react -- I was hoping it wasn’t going to be against a team like Pinnacle.”

Centennial would pull out a 23-20 win in the end, but Taylor’s worry was just. Still, his team didn’t flinch. It reacted and responded to every long drive by Pinnacle (3-2) with a nice one of its own.

And on the last drive of the game, without attempting a pass on its six-play sequence, it put kicker Xavier Rojas in a perfect position to break the 20-20 tie with six seconds left.

Rojas put the 28-yard field goal straight through the uprights with just 1.6 seconds left to secure the Coyotes’ Thursday night victory at home.

“I wasn’t afraid or anything,” Rojas, a 5-foot-8 senior, said. “I knew at practice we do these situations, and the coaches have faith in me. I was just calm, cool and collected.”

Rojas’ field goal will be received as “game winning,” but Centennial (4-0)  rode on the back of its star running back Zidane Thomas – and 316 rushing yards later, he took it home for Centennial.

Thomas, who committed to Boise State on Aug. 1, muscled through every line of Pinnacle’s defense all night, leaving the Pioneer coaches without many answers.

“They’re very good up front,” Pinnacle coach Dana Zupke said.” “I don’t care who you put back there, you have to deal with that, but No. 2 (Thomas) is very special.”

Behind that line, Thomas seemed to find gaping hole after gaping hole to run through. And with his team facing its first deficit of the night, Thomas found another.

Facing third-and-3 from their own 27, the Coyotes handed it to their workhorse once again. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound Thomas broke to the outside and a few stiff-arms later found the end zone -- quickly giving the Coyotes’ the 20-17 lead.

“I just knew that the team was depending on me,” Thomas said. “Our back was against the wall, so I had to make something happen for the team.”

Thomas’ presence not only affected the Pioneers’ defense throughout the night, but their offense and special teams as well.

Facing fourth-and-6, fourth-and-9 and fourth-and-3, respectively, Pinnacle put its punter (and quarterback) Spencer Rattler back to punt – seemingly giving the ball right back to Thomas and the Centennial offense.

Instead, Rattler, who is rated as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback for the 2019 class by ESPN, used his arm to do what he does best – make plays.

Rattler, and the Pioneers, converted on all three of their fake punt attempts, keeping their drives, and ultimately their chances for victory, alive.

Pinnacle scored 13 of their 20 points in drives that included a fake punt, helping it kick start its offense and ultimately roar back in a game that at one point looked like it could get out of hand for the Pioneers.

“We just ran out of time,” Zupke said. “We believed we were going to win this game, and I think that showed tonight.”