The Centennial Coyotes (3-5) match up with the Chaparral Firebirds (4-4) in our Arizona high school football featured GameTime matchup this week – Friday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 pm MT/9:00 pm CT.
How To Watch
Watch it on YurView Arizona – Cox channel 4 in Phoenix and channel 7 in Tucson. Cox customers can also watch the games on their phones using the Cox Contour App. Download the Contour App on Apple and Android.
Live streams and replays of all games will be available to rent or purchase at watch.yurview.com.
Watch it now: 40 Years of Arizona High School Football
Game Preview
We’re at that point in the season that teams have been run through the gauntlet and are battling injuries as well as the mental taxation of the season.
The Chaparral Firebirds (4-4) have dealt with several injuries to their starters this season.Heading into this week, they’ll be without five starters from the beginning of the season.
“Mentally too, it’s a grind,” Chaparral head coach Brent Barnes said. “The way the schedules are set up with all the best teams playing each other every week, they’re more physical, longer games and you just have to survive through them.”
Chaparral is coming off of three close losses to three of the top teams in 6A in Hamilton, Brophy and Liberty. Their other loss on the year was in the season opener to Queen Creek which was also a close game.
“The opening loss woke us up to how we need to practice and play and the kind of toughness it takes to play at this level consistently,” Barnes said. “Our guys went to work and we got better each week.
“We were able to come out with a victory against Saguaro…(In those other losses) two or three plays here or there make all the difference in the game. For our guys now, the mindset is we need to find a way to come out on top in those games. Every week is going to be a battle in the fourth quarter and you have to make plays.”
For Centennial (3-5), the Coyotes are facing uncharted territory in the way their season has played out thus far.
“It’s been tough,” Centennial head coach Richard Taylor said. “We haven’t lost this many games in 20 years.”
Despite the adversity his team has faced thus far, Taylor said his team is still playing hard every week and doing their best to make a push for the 6A playoffs.
“They are resilient, they’re working hard and they still believe,” Taylor said.
Check out the players to watch ahead of Centennial vs. Chaparral.
Sr. QB Brayten Silbor, 6’3” 205 – Chaparral
Silbor is rated as the No. 27 overall athlete and the No. 5 quarterback in the 2022 class in Arizona by 247Sports.
The pro-style QB leads the 6A Division in passing yards with 2,418 on the season. He has 22 touchdowns and a .651 completion percentage.
@ChapfootballAZ and @HuskiesGridiron go down to the wire last Friday night in the KOTG Game of the Week! #KingOfTheGame
Full 🎥: https://t.co/Z7DSsjnyzr pic.twitter.com/vdNRpWF4iz
— King of the Game (@KotgMedia) October 13, 2021
“He always makes great throws, every week,” Barnes said. “It’s gotten to the point where I’m not really surprised when he does it, but when I go back and watch the film, last game against Liberty, he had 17 straight completions.
“During the game, you don’t really notice that, and it didn’t register for me until I did the stats that he did it. But that’s what we expect of him. To me, he’s one of the most accurate passers from the pocket of anybody that I’ve been around in the game.”
Last week, Silbor decommitted from New Mexico after the Lobos decided to make some changes to their offense that just did not fit Silbor’s skill set.
Silbor has offers from NAU, Penn and Columbia.
Jr. DT Dylan Roberts, 6’3” 290 – Centennial
Roberts is rated as the No. 8 overall athlete, the No. 1 defensive lineman in Arizona in the 2023 class by 247Sports.
Power night!!! New PR 440lb @Cehsfootball pic.twitter.com/C1eo7PtjQb
— Dylan Jett Roberts (@DylanJettRober1) August 7, 2021
“He’s just a junior, but he looks like a man,” Taylor said. “He maybe had his best game last week. (Brophy) just stopped running at him and went strictly to the pass and he was still chasing the quarterback around. I think he’s going to be a big-time recruit.”
On the year, he has totaled 33 tackles, two tackles for loss.
The defensive tackle has offers from Cal, Arizona and NAU.
Sr. WR Grady Hickey, 5’10” 175 – Chaparral
Hickey leads the 6A Division with 935 receiving yards. On the year, he has 64 receptions with five touchdowns and is averaging 117 yards per game.
“He never played the wide receiver position until the spring,” Barnes said. “Now he’s the 6A leading receiver. You’re talking about someone who has never played the postion, that’s the kind of athlete he is.”
❓Who the best QB-WR duo in Arizona?! @BraytenSilbor and @hickey_grady in that convo pic.twitter.com/fhYQG36Wad
— King of the Game (@KotgMedia) September 17, 2021
In the Firebirds last game against Liberty, Hickey had 13 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
Jr. QB Austin Glimpse, 6’5” 205 – Centennial
Glimpse is a young quarterback that has made big improvements for the Coyotes this season, Taylor said.
On the year, he has 881 passing yards, three touchdowns.
Centennial first big play of half. Glimpse to Noah Carter to BCP 36 pic.twitter.com/SsGXGBIRVs
— Richard Obert (@azc_obert) October 30, 2021
“He always has had a big arm,” Taylor said. “He throws really well long. In the beginning he had no touch at all, the (receiver) would be 10 yards away from him and he’d fire a bullet that no one could catch, so I think he’s learned touch and learning to take the short pass.”
Taylor said he’s also learning to take advantage of the run game and utilize his running backs in Kavaughn Clark and James Scott specifically.
The Centennial Coyotes (3-5) take on the Chaparral Firebirds (4-4) in our GameTime Arizona featured matchup – Friday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 pm MT/9:00 pm CT.
