[ad_1]

The 5A playoff title game between No. 1 Peoria Centennial and No. 3 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep is a rematch of last year’s final. The Saints are seeking redemption to win the conference crown and not lose for the second consecutive year to Centennial.
Both teams boast dominant 13-0 records, and they’ve lost just one game over the past two seasons.
They were two of just seven teams who went unbeaten during the regular season in Arizona. Superior (1A) and Thatcher (2A) maintained their perfect marks en route to state titles. Centennial and Notre Dame look to join the club with a win on Saturday.
But only one will prevail. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium.
It’s easy to perceive both teams, and the schools, as viscerally different.
Centennial represents a blue-collar image, but one with a high-scoring offense that puts up almost 40 points per game. Plus, its intimidating defense has a whopping 62½ sacks this season.
Notre Dame Prep has a swanky campus located in North Scottsdale and a roster consisting of highly touted recruits.
The Saints are led by their two Jakes. One is their Swiss Army-knife senior wide receiver/cornerback/punter Jake Smith (1,070 receiving yards, 7.4 yards per carry, 39 total touchdowns), who is committed to play college football at Texas. The other is senior quarterback Jake Farrell (3,230 yards, 41 touchdowns, seven interceptions).
They create a strong passing game to drive the Notre Dame offense, producing 251.9 yards per game compared to the Coyotes’ 160.4. But Centennial has the edge on the ground, averaging 257.8 rushing yards per game versus Notre Dame’s 216.
“It’s not going to be a one-sided game,” Farrell said. “It’s going to be a huge contest but I think if anyone can do it, it’s us.”
Notre Dame head coach George Prelock added of Centennial, “They’re going to do their game. They’re going to be physical. They’re going to try and take away what they do best and we gotta find a way to counter that.”
Farrell also recognizes Centennial will smother Smith to break his team’s one-two punch. But his confidence in Notre Dame’s other playmakers can make the difference.
“He’s an amazing player,” Farrell said of Smith. “We’re going to do whatever we need to do to get him the ball, but I know if they cover him, we have so many other playmakers like (senior wide receiver) Zack Gray, (senior wide receiver/defensive end) Robby Brodar and (senior tight end/defensive end) Luke Roberts to make plays for me.”

Smith said, “I’ve always played on the offensive side of the ball, but defensively, I come in late game situations where we need a stop and usually I rush the quarterback or I play DB. I really impact the game the game defensively if we need to shut down a receiver. I can be that guy who goes to play corner just to lock off one guy if he’s hurting us.”
The most recent example of Farrell and Smith at their best and maintaining the Saints’ poise in the clutch was their nail-biting 5A semifinal win against No. 2 Gilbert Williams Field. Farrell went 24-for-39 for 259 yards and two touchdowns, while Smith contributed 103 all-purpose yards, one touchdown, four punt returns for 160 yards, two forced fumbles and two tackles.
“My favorite game was the last game we played versus Williams Field,” Smith said. “It was 21-14 final score and it came right down to the wire. I think if I can play how I played last game against Centennial, we’ll definitely have a chance at winning. I really helped the team not only offensively but defensively. So, if I can do that again we’ll have a good chance.”
Farrell added, “A lot of confidence in my guys, and they have a lot of confidence in me, which has really benefited us. We’re really truly a brotherhood which has helped a lot down the stretch. It really has for winning close games.”
Farrell embraces an iron-sharpens-iron mentality going into the game.
“I think they’re wonderful, a great team and they really have a lot of depth which is going to be tough,” he said of Centennial. “We’re going to have to bring everything we’ve got. That’s going to be a lot of fun.”
5A championship
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe
No. 1 Peoria Centennial (13-0) vs. No. 3 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep (13-0)
4A – Friday, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium, Tucson
No. 1 Tucson Salpointe Catholic (13-0) vs. No. 2 Scottsdale Saguaro (12-1)
6A – Saturday, 4:30 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe
No. 1 Chandler (12-1) vs. No. 6 Gilbert Perry (11-2)
MORE SPORTS
- Arizona high school football state championship schedule, results 2018
- Thatcher routs Round Valley to claim 2A state championship
- 4A championship preview: Salpointe RB Bijan Robinson has NFL dreams
[ad_2]
Source link