centreville — Baseball state championships are becoming commonplace for Centreville Academy under head coach Jason Horne.

Horne led his Tigers to a 27-5 record and their second-consecutive state title this season.

Centreville returned all but one player from its 2011 title team, and Horne said the stable of talented players made his job easy this season. But Horne’s ability to manage his talent and keep his team focused throughout a season of great highs and a few lows earned him All-Metro Coach of the Year for 2012.

“We had a good group of seniors that came back,” Horne said about his 2012 team. “They had that never-quit attitude that no matter what the situation was they didn’t give up.”

Horne said he was very proud of the way his players responded to the pressure of trying to repeat.

“You always have the target on your back when you win it and have a successful program like we have the last three years,” he said. “People want you, and they throw their best and play their best. We had to prepare every game to match their intensity.”

Horne’s biggest challenge this year may have come before the regular season began. The Tigers dropped three preseason games to Oak Forest, Bowling Green and Central Private, and he knew adjustments needed to be made.

“I think we kind of thought we were really good, and we could just walk out there and beat people,” Horne said. “We had a little meeting after that game on the bus, and got some things straight. They listened and took it to heart.”

The Tigers went on a 14-game winning streak to start the regular season after Horne’s speech.

Centreville hit another lull in the middle of the season that required another adjustment.

“We got relaxed and thought we’d just step out and win,” Horne said. “Our pitchers pitched well all year, and we thought we were going to pitch well, but our hitting brought us down.”

Horne said in Centreville’s four-consecutive losses the team collected just four total hits.

“That brought us back down, and we had to work, regroup and get refocused on state.”

The Tigers hit their stride with 10-straight wins after their slump, and would only drop one more game — a 7-3 loss to Brookhaven Academy in the South State Championship series.

“It’s just like I tell everybody, if you have great talent you win, and my job was to just lead the ship,” Horne said. “I just kind of managed, and we hit and ran and bunted. I called a few things, but their job was to go out and play and make plays, and I put them in position to make plays. I tried to take the pressure off of them.”

Horne said Centreville is traditionally a football school, and he likes to take a football mentality onto the diamond.

“It’s tough to play football, and I think that adds to other sports. They know what we expect out of them,” Horne said. “I’m hard nosed, and we put them through the grinder. I coach them up, and I’m tough on them.”

Horne shared Coach of the Year honors with Trinity Episcopal’s Mitch Ashmore last season.