The long awaited showdown between St. John Bosco and Corona Centennial finally took place in the CIF-SS Pac-5 Division Championship game. In a battle between two top-class offenses, it was Centennial who walked away with a 62-52 victory and the trophy to prove it.
The Huskies got off to a stellar start, jumping out to a 20-10 lead in the first quarter. Centennial forced two interceptions out of Bosco’s Quentin Davis in the opening quarter, the same number of picks Davis had thrown all season. Shortly after, Davis went down with a shoulder injury, forcing sophomore Re-Al Mitchell to step into his big shoes.
Both teams found success on offense in the second quarter, but again Centennial had the upper hand, leading adding on another 35 points to take a 55-31 advantage into the half.
The fireworks subsided in the third quarter with each team only scoring a touchdown each. Centennial was forced to punt its first two possessions, reminiscent of last year’s finals with Bosco when the Huskies gave up 20 unanswered points in the third quarter though still clung on for the win. This time around, Centennial did find a way to get on the board with a score on its third possession of the quarter.
In the fourth, Bosco made every effort to catch the Huskies, keeping them off board and putting up another 14 points. None the less, the Braves fell 10 points short, and Corona Centennial walked away with its second consecutive Pac-5 Division championship.
Centennial finished with a total of 624 yards of total offense. J.J. Taylor record 269 of those yards on the ground with 41 carries and an incredible five touchdowns. Anthony Catalano completed 11-of-18 passes for 225 yards and three scores. Javon McKinley caught one of those TDs on his seven receptions for 132 yards. On a trick play, McKinley also threw a touchdown pass to Cameron Jackson. Jackson finished with three receptions for 122 yards and two TDs.
The Huskies entered the contest right behind John Bosco ranking 3rd in the DigitalSports National Football Rankings and 2nd in California.
As Pac-5 Division champions, Centennial faces De La Salle for the second consecutive California state championship bowl game. The Huskies have just a 1-3 record against De La Salle in bowl games, falling 63-42 a year ago. The two California heavyweights face off on December 19 at 8:00pm.
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