Photo By Loren Orr - #7 Keyon Horton
Preseason Coaches' Poll
Foothills Divison
T-1. Meridian
T-1. Rocky Mountain
3. Eagle
4. Timberline
5. Skyview
6. Boise
River Division
1. Mountain View
2. Capital
3. Owyhee
T-4. Borah
T-4. Centennial
6. Kuna
Written by: Wayne Dzubak
2020 was one of those years everyone wants to forget and not least among those is Centennial football coach Matt Greene. His Centennial Patriots suffered through an 0-6 campaign and to top it off, Mike Shulikov graduated. Shulikov stood 6-6 and was a big play wide receiver, not to mention state high jumping champion. Coach Greene said, “Shulikov’s jumping skills were unmatched at this level.”
So, where does coach Greene start looking for a brighter 2021? “Building off a successful offseason program,” says Greene. “The guys did some great things this summer and I’m excited for them to play a full season.”
There you have it, the best way to turn an 0-6, COVID-19 shortened nightmare into something to boast about is hard work. According to Greene that is exactly what his Centennial squad did this summer and he fully expects dividends when the Patriots open the season against newcomer Owyhee August 27th.
The Patriots return Kenyon Horton at quarterback and coach Greene names Josiah DeChambeau at running back as a potential impact player along with a pair of new wide receivers in Dominic Hines and Ben Conder. Those three will help the seasoned Horton at QB since coach Greene wants his offense to create space and make plays.
On defense the Centennial strength is in the secondary, especially the safeties who, according to Greene, are experienced, fast and strong tacklers who can make a play on the ball.
Winning the turnover battle every game will be the key to getting in the win column and Coach Greene says will be an emphasis.
To that end, coach Greene points to a pair of incoming impact players on defense, namely defensive end Fabrice Ndaitouroum and cornerback Jacob Carney.
Centennial’s other defensive challenge according to Greene will be to stop the run.
We asked coach Green what he was especially excited about heading into 2021 and he echoed what many have said: “Just having fans in the stands and a student section cheering for the team.”
The biggest challenge of any coach is to erase the “zero” in the win column. 0-6 in 2020 is something no team wants to experience and thus the emphasis on the hard work this summer hopefully paying off on the field come August 27th.
Besides the season opener against Owyhee, other big play dates this year for Centennial include: at Rocky Mountain September 17th, hosting Mountain View on October 1st and the regular season finale at Eagle October 15th.