Stadium lights were flashing on and off Friday night after the latest Corona Centennial touchdown against No. 1-ranked Mater Dei in the first half, and fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing. One overjoyed Husky fan shouted, “Mater Dei who?”
It was Centennial 28-0 after the first quarter and 33-7 at halftime. Defensive end Jonathan McKinley of Centennial was making a bunch of college-bound offensive linemen look confused and ineffective with two sacks and a pressure rush on quarterback Ryan Hopkins that produced a pick six by Jaden Walk-Green.
Then came the strangest 12-minute third quarter — Mater Dei dominated with a 29-0 outburst to take a 36-33 lead. As if the game couldn’t get wilder, the fourth quarter saw Centennial rally to finish with a historic 43-36 victory.
It was the first time Mater Dei has been beaten by a Southern Section team other than St. John Bosco since Centennial did it 10 years ago en route to a Division 1 championship. Guess who were stars on that team —quarterback Anthony Catalano and receiver Javon McKinley. On Friday night, it was their younger brothers leading the way.
McKinley had three sacks and recovered a fumble. Dominick Catalano, playing quarterback like big bro, displayed toughness and leadership throughout.
“This was for him,” McKinley said of his brother watching from the bleachers. “From the spring, I’ve been practicing every night for this game. I’ve had dreams about this game.”
It was the first loss for coach Raul Lara since he took over as Mater Dei head coach last season. He came in 16-0.
Mater Dei lost two fumbles, had an interception and another fumble resulted in a Centennial safety, all in the first half. Mater Dei finished with five fumbles and two interceptions.
Corona Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano flies through the air carrying the football against Mater Dei.
(Craig Weston)
“It’s awesome,” Dominick Catalano said. “It’s an incredible feeling.”
It was victory No. 298 for future Hall of Fame coach Matt Logan, who said, “I had a dream we were up 21-0 and I woke up and was so excited.”
Mater Dei caught fire in the third quarter. A one-yard touchdown run by Justin Lewis was followed by a 42-yard touchdown run by Hopkins and a 76-yard touchdown reception by Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. When Kennie Leggett scored on a one-yard run, Mater Dei’s comeback was complete for a 33-30 lead.
But Walk-Green, who returned a pick six in the first quarter, made his second field goal of the night from 36 yards to tie the score. Then Mater Dei’s fifth fumble gave the Huskies the ball on the Mater Dei 31. Soon Centennial faced a fourth-and-10 from the 31. Catalano connected with Keawe Browne for a 12-yard pass. That kept the drive alive and enabled Malaki Davis to score on a four-yard run to take the lead with 2:27 left.
“This proves how good we are,” Browne said. “We played our hearts out. I did all my training in the offseason. I was watching for my moment.”
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt of Mater Dei leaps trying to catch pass, but Jaden Walk-Green came down with the game-clinching interception for Corona Centennial.
(Craig Weston)
Centennial (3-1) clinched the win with Walk-Green’s second interception, taking the ball away from Dixon-Wyatt as the two came down with both having holding onto the ball. The officials ruled in favor of Walk-Green. So began a Centennial celebration repeated from 10 years ago when another Catalano led the Huskies to victory.
“It’s a Catalano thing,” Dominick said.
Mater Dei (3-1) received 248 yards passing from Hopkins, but the repeated mistakes, from fumbles to personal foul penalties, left the Monarchs hardly looking like the No 1 team in California and facing a new challenge next week with a road trip to Las Vegas to face Bishop Gorman.
It’s only the fourth week of the season, but Centennial’s victory changes the equation in Southern California high school football similar to when Servite knocked off St. John Bosco in the Division 1 playoffs in 2021. It’s been Mater Dei and St. John Bosco on a nine-year run winning championships. The Huskies put a little bit of uncertainty for 2025.
