BOISE, Idaho — The Centennial Patriots have had a few down years on the gridiron, but they are confident, saying 2022 is the year they turn it all around.
How do they plan to do it? By being more physical than ever before.
As the Patriots break a team huddle at practice, they disperse with a unison "BONS!" That's been the motto for Centennial, "Bring It On, Never Stop."
"Just that mantra of bringing it on, never stop. [It] doesn't matter whether you're up, down, whatever situations you got, you're just never going to stop," Centennial head coach Matt Greene said.
For a team that never stops, Centennial is looking to get more stops. Each opponent scored a minimum of 25 points against the Patriots defense in their 2-7 2021 campaign.
However, Centennial says those days are in the past, now that they are more comfortable in their new defensive scheme.
"They've kind of taken the role of the culture, getting the ball out, creating turnovers, swarming to the football and you can kind of see it," Greene said. "We're flying around and a mistake here or there is gonna be masked up by the next guy getting there and just that team mentality of getting to the football."
Brad Ames, who landed on the 5A Southern Idaho Conference (SIC) River Division all-conference team, said the Patriots have a brand new mentality on both sides of the football.
"You come in, you're punching at that ball, we're going at it and if everyone has that mindset, no one's going to be gashing us for 40 points anymore," Ames said. "It's air tight now and that's what I'm really excited about and our team's a thousand times more physical, both sides of the ball and we're just going to run it down everyone's throat."
Senior wide receiver Dominic Hines says he's already feeling the difference in the early days of practice.
"If you get a big play, you're going to feel someone on you trying to hit that ball out and that's definitely different than last year, where you kind of just run loose," Hines said. "Being a physical team. I feel like we got a lot more physical than last year and we're ready to come out and hit."
Above all, the Patriots believe they have come together, ready for the hard work to pay off and continue the upward trend they have started.
"It's all been a build up to this year I feel like," Ames said. "We've got a good schedule going, you know, the coaching is all coming together, the players are united under one. It's the year."
"They've done a really good job of embracing the culture of working hard, while also having some fun, talking some trash, doing all the football stuff we love to do," Greene said. "They've been busting their butt in the weight room, they wake up at 6 in the morning, you know, we're rocking and rolling and coming out here and every kid is on the same page, wanting to work hard, have fun and enjoy their football experience."
Watch more Friday Night Football:
See the latest scores, highlights and interviews from Friday Night Football KTVB's YouTube playlist: