Centennial RB Kavaughn Clark seeks rebound football season a year after mother's death
A year ago this month, Peoria Centennial running back Kavaughn Clark was reeling after his mother, his No. 1 fan, died of complications from COVID-19.
Leona Diggs, who was 42, attended all of his games growing up. She kept him up when he got down. She was everything to Clark.
"She was my biggest cheerleader, always the loudest in the stands," Clark said.
A year later, Clark, 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, is determined to make last year a distant memory. Injuries plagued his junior season and he never was able to show what made him the state's top running back after his sophomore season.
Clark and Centennial hit the reset button on Friday when they travel to play perennial Open Division playoff team, Chandler Hamilton.
Centennial has much to prove after falling off the football map last season when it went 3-8.
A new season, a new chance to show last season was a fluke. This is a proud program. And Clark is a proud player. They're used to winning, so last year was something that grounded them, got them back into the weight room, lifting heavier weights, getting stronger, faster and more athletic.
"We have a way bigger chip on our shoulder," Clark said. "We're super hungry for that state championship. Our team motto is 'redemption.' We're going to get that."
Clark ran for 968 yards and 11 touchdowns on 123 carries as a sophomore. He ran for 118 yards against Chandler, 284 yards and four TDs against Chaparral (which won the 6A title that year), and 223 yards and three TDs against Liberty (which fell to Chandler in the Open semifinals that year).
Last year, Clark struggled after losing his mom.
He ran for 623 yards on 113 carries and seven TDs. He gutted through injuries the final four regular-season games, carrying the ball a total of 20 times for 99 yards. In the 20-19 first-round 6A playoff loss to Mesa Red Mountain, he ran 14 times for 110 yards. He did not score a touchdown in his final five games.
"Last year, it was like a mental roadblock in the middle of the season," he said. "Her (dying) right before the game. All you could do was go out there and play.
"I'm in a way better head space now. I've had time. I had to take a little break from things. But I've come back and I feel good."
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Coach Richard Taylor, who has led the Coyotes to seven state championships, the last one coming in 2018 when they went 14-0, feels better about his team physically coming into its opener against Hamilton.
He noted that last year he had six players in the program who could bench 300 pounds, which was way down from the previous Centennial team. That team began the season with a 28-7 loss at Chandler.
"This year we have 26 kids who have benched 300 pounds," Taylor said. "They've really worked hard. Those guys want to prove it was a blip on the radar last year. They're ready to go."
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To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Centennial running back Kavaughn Clark seeks rebound football season
