Peoria Centennial celebrated a 36-12 homecoming 6A football victory over Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor with fireworks on Friday, Oct. 2.
On the field, running back Jaylee Abraham added big-play explosives of his own in his season debut after having to sit out the first half of the season due to the Arizona Interscholastic Association transfer rule.
He caught a 42-yard touchdown pass in Centennial's first series. He scored the team's second touchdown with a 15-yard run, cutting to his right and finding a clear lane to the end zone.
"I practice like I play, so when I came out here nothing changes," said Abraham, who ran for 1,700 yards and 33 touchdowns as a sophomore last season at Tucson Desert View. "I just did me and boom."
Abraham adds another dimension the second half of this season for a Centennial team that has one of the more dynamic duos in the state with quarterback Titus Hill and his twin brother Torrin Hill. The two hooked up for an 82-yard scoring pass in the second half.
Abraham can catch passes out of the backfield and he can take it the distance with only a small open seam.
During summer 7-on-7s, he played slot receiver for Centennial, which was ranked No. 5 in 6A this weekby The Arizona Republic. But his visiion, cut-back moves and speed set him apart at running back. He's the home run hitter out of the backfield that will be needed when the Coyotes take on the likes of Chandler in a couple of week and rival Peoria Liberty on Nov. 6 to wrap up the regular season.
"Great vision, great quickness and speed," coach Andrew Taylor said of Abraham. "Excellent hands. Great return game. We wanted to make sure we didn't do too much all at once."
The Coyotes already have one of the state's best defenses, led by end Luke Franklin and safety Elijah Carothers, who had a first-half interception. They will be tested following a bye week when the Coyotes take on Chandler and quarterback Will Mencl on Oct. 16.
"I think we're complete now (with the addition of Abraham," Titus Hill said. "We're on a roll the rest of the year."
But there is still much to clean up. The Coyotes were penalized quite a bit, which helped O'Connor move the ball into the red zone a couple of times in the first half. But the Coyotes turned them back both times.
"Our kids with about five minutes left thought the game was over, and it wasn't," Taylor said. "But overall it was good effort. Just sloppy. We have to do better with the penalties."
Centennial (6-0) got the game into a running clock midway through the final quarter when backup quarterback Jonah Garcillano saw a clear space and took off for a 49-yard run for a 36-0 lead.
The Eagles (3-3) got two touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Arnel Ahmetovic after the game was well decided.
"Penalties, we had a lot tonight," Franklin said. "It was bad. It's going to take better than that to be a championship team."
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jaylee Abraham provides big lift for Centennial in season debut
