Stavros Tseheridis of the Santa Ana Mater Dei football team holds American flag on 9/11 as team starts to come out for its showdown game on Friday vs Corona Centennial. Photo: Mater Dei High School Football / Facebook.com.
Monarchs hold potent Centennial of Corona offense to one touchdown and pick up key late score of their own in a one-point win in a Friday matchup of two teams both inside of the top five in our state rankings. Mater Dei has nationally ranked Bishop Gorman next while Centennial will play up north vs De La Salle in two weeks. First reactions as well for other big state ranking wins on Friday for Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills, Granite Hills of El Cajon and Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa.
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The Friday night matchup between Cal-Hi Sports No. 3 ranked Centennial of Corona and No. 5 and host Mater Dei of Santa Ana was expected to be close, as it should be when two of the state’s top five teams meet on the gridiron. But few thought each of the teams would have offensive woes and only be able to muster one touchdown each.
In the end, it was Mater Dei (4-0), who rotated three quarterbacks, that dug deeper, particularly on defense. After giving up a score on the opening drive, the Monarchs held Centennial to a safety for the final 32 minutes and 42 seconds. The result was that they pulled out a 10-9 victory in what can only be called a defensive grinder and somewhat ugly game played in front of a large crowd of supporters of both teams at the Santa Ana Bowl.
Mater Dei was only two of 10 on third downs, committed 10 penalties for 87 yards, with seven of those penalties and 66 yards coming in a first half that saw the Monarchs facing a 9-0 deficit.
“Yes, it was kind of ugly and we’ve got some stuff to clean up again, oh yea, there is no doubt,” said Mater Dei head coach Raul Lara, who recorded career coaching win No. 219 according to the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book.
Mater Dei may have only converted two of its 10 third down chances, but it was the last two that really counted. Plus, the Monarchs recovered three fumbles, sacked Centennial senior Hawaii-committed Jaden Jefferson six times, and intercepted him once that led to their only touchdown.
“The kids really obviously rose to the occasion and did a great job dealing with some adversity,” Lara remarked. “And our defense. Oh my goodness. I don’t think Centennial has been held to one touchdown in a long, long time. Our defense did a remarkable job.”
It didn’t start that way.
Kennie Leggett scores for Centennial during game on Friday vs Mater Dei. It helped Huskies get out to a 9-3 lead at halftime. Photo: Cen10football / Instagram.com.
Centennial (1-2) received the opening kickoff and proceeded to march 80 yards in 14 plays culminating in a 3-yard reverse by Northern Arizona-committed senior Kennie Leggett. The point after made it 7-0 at the 7:18 mark of the first quarter.
Mater Dei went three and out on the ensuing series, and Centennial looked like it might strike again after a 36-yard punt return by sophomore Koti Fultz set up the Huskies at the Mater Dei 45-yard line, but the Monarchs started to dig in. The first of two sacks by UCLA-bound senior linebacker Michael Davis and a 15-yard offensive pass interference penalty killed the Huskies’ drive.
Mater Dei got the ball at itx own 18 after a pooch punt by Jefferson, but a sack of senior starting quarterback Cameron Pooley by Centennial junior Matt Salmeron backed up the Monarchs and they were forced to punt. The snap was high and sailed into and out of the end zone for a safety, and all of a sudden it was 9-0 as the first quarter came to an end.
The first of two sacks by Mater Dei New Mexico-committed senior linebacker Dailon “DJ” Clanton pretty much ended the next Centennial drive, and Lara replaced Pooley with freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess. The move seemed to energize the Monarchs and Guess had them moving. However, after a 28-yard pass to senior wide receiver Gavin Honore got the ball to the Centennial 1-yard line on the very next play Guess lost the ball and it rolled into the end zone where a host of Huskies swarmed on it to kill the scoring opportunity.
A fumble recovery by Mater Dei junior David King III ended the next Centennial drive, and once again Lara went to the bench and brought in big junior quarterback Russell Sekona. On the ensuing drive, he completed a 20-yard pass to Honore but after two incompletions the drive stalled and on came junior Jerry Shifman to attempt a 34-yard field goal. The dependable Shifman nailed it and with 33.6 left in the half the Centennial lead was cut to 9-3.
Centennial was not done. A 29-yard pass play from Jefferson to USC-bond senior wide receiver Quentin Hale and a 49-yard pass to senior Dean Gibson on third-and-13 got the ball to the Mater Dei five with eight seconds left, but Gibson could not get out of bounds and before Jefferson could spike it the clock expired leaving the score 9-3 at the half.
The teams traded punts in the third quarter with no score. What looked like a promising drive by Centennial ended when Mater Dei junior Troy Bishop recovered a fumble in the early fourth quarter. Guess was back at quarterback but an incompletion marked the eighth-straight third-down non-conversion.
Centennial got it back with 8:40 remaining to play at its own 20, but on the very first play Jefferson attempted a shuttle pass that popped in the air and Davis came up with an interception he returned to the 15 of Centennial. Finally, on the ninth third down attempt Guess handed off to sophomore Asir Nembhard and on third-and-two he rushed for five yards to the two. Lara brought in Sekona and he bulled his way into the end zone behind a wall of Mater Dei linemen. The extra point by Shifman was good and it was 10-9 Mater Dei with 6:58 left to play.
Once again Centennial was not done. A 40-yard kickoff return by Hale ignited the Huskies. Mater Dei senior Ezekiel Su’a and sophomore Isaiah Danns then had sacks that hurt the Huskies. After a 6-yard scramble by Jefferson on third-and-11 Centennial lined up for a 27-yard field goal with 2:35 remaining to potentially win the game, but the attempt by sophomore Lucas Gallagher sailed low and wide left.
Mater Dei got the ball on a touchback and that’s when the second and equally important third down conversion sealed the game. Facing third-and-six from its own 24, Guess connected with Honore once again for an 18-yard gain and from there Mater Dei was able to run out the clock.
“I’m definitely proud of our defense but we have a lot of work left to do,” Davis said. “But a win is win whether it’s by an inch or a mile, and the guys came out here tonight and did their job on defense, focusing on speed and attacking them at different angles.”
Has Guess earned the starting job at signal-caller? Maybe, but the youngster is fine either way, and he doesn’t mind Lara calling on him in tough spots. He made some mistakes but in the end Mater Dei prevailed.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Guess responded. “There’s always room for improvement but I feel like I played okay. It was a really ugly game but as much as we messed up a few times we still came out with a win and that’s what we’re here for.”
Senior linebacker Michael Davis makes a tackle for Mater Dei of Centennial’s Jaden Jefferson during Friday’s showdown game at the Santa Ana Bowl. Photo: Mater Dei Football / Facebook.com.
And what about sharing time behind center.
“I don’t mind sharing time with all these other guys,” said Guess, who passed for 59 yards and rushed for 16 more. “I’m still young, so sharing time is a part of it, but making the most of opportunities when I’m in is a big part of sharing with them.”
Honore had four receptions for 77 yards.
The elusive and tough Jefferson put up some decent numbers considering it was a defensive slugfest but they didn’t translate into scores. He completed 16 passes for 209 yards and rushed 19 times for 57 yards including the sacks.
When asked about rotating three quarterbacks Lara had this to say: “We’re trying to figure it out but we’re starting to get our answer a little bit. We’ll keep on working and figure it out.”
And as for Guess?
“He’s very blessed with a lot of athletic ability,” remarked Lara. “He’s just a freshman coming in and just needs to learn the offense. I also love Russ and Cameron but they have to perform and if they don’t perform we have to go with the hot guy, and tonight we felt we needed to go with the freshman.”
It’s anyone guess who will get the start next week when Nevada powerhouse Bishop Gorman comes to town, but if we had to guess we might say it’s Guess.
In some other top games played on Friday around the state:
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 28, Crean Lutheran (Irvine) 21
In its efforts to try to get a win over Sierra Foothill League rival Folsom (not just in league but in Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs), the Oak Ridge team has traveled to play a game against a top Texas team (Argyle), hosted state top 10 Central East of Fresno and this week traveled south to take on one of the projected top teams from the CIF Southern Section D2 playoffs. The Trojans essentially have succeeded in what they’ve wanted to do with a win in Texas, a close 20-14 loss to Central East and now a win at Crean.
Oak Ridge, which entered the game at No. 17 in the state, took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Crean Lutheran kept making it a one-score game, including one score in the fourth quarter, but could never get completely past the early deficit. The Saints, who lost 37-29 in their previous game to JSerra of the Trinity League, were ranked No. 22 in the state.
Granite Hills (El Cajon) 28, Mission Hills (San Marcos) 27
Mission Hills became the new No. 1 last week in the San Diego Union-Tribune media poll and also moved up to No. 16 in the state. There is going to be another new No. 1 next week after the Eagles, who had a loss to Oceanside in their first game, won their third straight outing since then. The new No. 1 will be either Carlsbad (now 4-0 after a win on Friday) or preseason favorite Cathedral Catholic (two losses but those are to Orange Lutheran and Chandler of Arizona and a 63-0 winner on Friday vs Mater Dei Catholic). Granite Hills improved to 2-1 and should move up from its No. 47 state ranking.
Mission Hills QB Furian Inferrera tossed a 11-yard TD pass with 13 seconds left to Ryan MacKenzie that gave the Grizzlies a chance to steal the win, but the Granite Hills defense stopped Inferrera on a two-point conversion run that decided the outcome. Zac Benitez, Granite Hills’ four-year starting QB, hit on a 22-yard TD pass to Courtney Miller-Thompson with 50 seconds with what looked like would be the game-winning play. Benitez earlier had rushed for two TDs and he had a TD pass to Jacob Hamilton.
Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 31, Archbishop Riordan (SF) 0
One week after getting blasted 42-3 by state No. 6 De La Salle of Concord and two weeks after going to overtime in a loss to state No. 8 Folsom, the Cardinals displayed some legitimate strength with a shutout of defending CIF Central Coast Section Open Division champion and state No. 24 Archbishop Riordan.
Cardinal Newman, which was No. 22 after it lost to Folsom but back down to No. 27 after playing De La Salle, led 14-0 on two first-half TD runs of 20 and 13 yards by junior running back James Curoso. The Cardinals then completely took control in the third quarter after a 77-yard fumble return TD by Gavin Brockett. According to reporter Gus Morris of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, defensive linemen Finn Dyck (2.5 sacks plus fumble recovery) and Kahlio Vaetoe (1.5 sacks) contributed mightily to the shutout victory.
Publisher/Editor Mark Tennis contributed to this report.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
