Team Preview: Centennial

<strong>Head Coach</strong>: Aaron Ocampo <strong>Mascot</strong>: Hawks <strong>Twitter</strong>: @Angrybirdfb; @CHSHawks <strong>Enrollment</strong>: 1,538 <strong>2019 Record</strong>: 10-2 <strong>Star Players</strong>: QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26168" first="Karsten" last="Rueckner"]</strong>; WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26175" first="Isaac" last="Gutierrez"]</strong>; RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26200" first="Silas" last="Carter"]</strong>. <strong>Breakout Star</strong>: ILB <strong>Sammy Estrada</strong> <strong>Overview</strong>: After playing different positions, Rueckner finally gets his opportunity to direct Centennial’s offense, and he should emerge as a true dual threat quarterback. Last season he was one of Centennial’s top defensive players with six interceptions from his DB spot. If he does win the QB job, his role on defense could diminish. Rueckner has an elite target to throw to in Gutierrez, one of the top wide receivers in Class 6A. He played in the slot last year and enjoyed a tremendous season. WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26195" first="David" last="Gomez"]</strong> missed all of last season with a shoulder injury but is healthy now. RB [player_tooltip player_id="26200" first="Silas" last="Carter"] should take on a bigger role in the offense after transferring to Centennial in 2019. <strong>Jayden Gunn</strong> anchors the offensive line. He played center last year but could shift to a different position in the spring. Defensively, the Hawks will be led by ILB Sammy Estrada, who was consistently solid until being injured last in the 2019 season. He was the vocal leader of the defense as a junior and should repeat that role in the spring. <strong>Steven Rocha</strong> is an outstanding OLB. <strong>Schedule</strong>: TBA <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: Centennial has been one of the most consistent programs in New Mexico over the past several years. How do the Hawks build on the success of past seasons and climb the ladder in 6A? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: Centennial has enjoyed a tremendous run under Ocampo since the school came into existence eight years ago (2012 marked New Mexico’s Centennial celebration as a state, hence the school name). They moved up to Class 6A in 2016 and have proven resilient at the top level of New Mexico high school football, going 34-12 over the past four seasons and advancing as far as the Class 6A playoff quarterfinals three times. However, they have run into an Albuquerque roadblock each time, getting eliminated by Manzano, Rio Rancho, La Cueva and Cleveland (narrow 21-16 quarterfinals loss in 2019) the past four years. Can the Hawks get over that hump? <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “We’ve had some good seasons the past few years with two 10-win seasons. We’re still a pretty good team. We’ve lost some games to some pretty good teams. This upcoming season is going to be a challenge because we have a lot of new starters. We’re only going to have about 13 seniors on the team. But some of those seniors are pretty good athletes. We have some young guys that are pretty good athletes too. I’m expecting big things from guys like [player_tooltip player_id="26175" first="Isaac" last="Gutierrez"]. He’s fast and a really good route runner with a good work ethic. Even if you have a lot of returners, every year is sort of a rebuilding process. The key is finding your leaders and meshing together. We knew going into the off-season that we were going to have a bunch of new guys.”