High School

5 takeaways from Corona Centennial's roller coaster win over national No. 1 Mater Dei

Monarchs can't overcome 28-0 deficit, six turnovers, 12 costly penalties, even after taking lead late in the third quarter; Huskies 'bend but don't break!'

Mitch Stephens

Corona Centennial broke through Friday to beat Mater Dei for the first time in 10 years with a wild 43-36 victory at home over the nation's No. 1 team.
Corona Centennial broke through Friday to beat Mater Dei for the first time in 10 years with a wild 43-36 victory at home over the nation's No. 1 team. / Greg Stein

There weren't just two games in one at Centennial High School in Corona (Calif.) on Friday night.

There were at least three or four twists and turns, stumbles and flurries, comebacks and breakdowns as the host Huskies of Corona Centennial pulled out an absolutely wild and emotional 43-36 victory over national No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana), ending the Monarchs' 21-game win streak.

The contest featured a 28-point Centennial first-quarter run, a 29-point Mater Dei third-quarter flurry, but finally a 10-point Huskies exclamation point aided by at least two key penalties — the Monarchs finished with a dozen for more than 100 yards — and one key referees call.

It made for a highly eventful game for those at the stadium and thos like me who watched on the NFHS Network/Southern Section Game of the Week. Watch the replay. It will be worth it.

The loss ends a 21-game win streak by the Monarchs and marks the first loss to a team other than arch-rival St. John Bosco since 2015. It also ended a seven-game Mater Dei win streak against Centennial.

THE HERO: JADEN WALK-GREEN

Every big game has one and it was no doubt Jaden Walk-Green, a 6-foot, 190pound junior defensive back and kicker. (There's a combo you don't see every day.) Walk-Green not only had two interceptions — the first a pick-6 and the second a truly heroic effort with 1:50 remaining that proved decisive and controversial (see later) — and two field goals, the second with 8:27 left tied the game at 36. Walk-Green said afterrward the win was inspired by longtime coach Matt Logan, who won his 298th career game just two weeks after being hospitalized for a rapid heart rate, which caused him to miss a 33-27 defeat to Santa Margarita.

"We bend but we never break," Walk-Green told the Southern Section Game of the Week sideline reporter Taylor Shaub after the game. "We always fight back. Always."

THE CONTROVERSY: THE CATCH/INTERCEPTION

Mater Dei, which did its own fighting back, looked largely dead in the water down 43-36 and second-and-23 from around its own 25. Wisconsin-bound quarterback Ryan Hopkins, who personified the roller-coaster game, somehow avoided a heavy rush at his feet and somehow sent a long pass to the middle of the field where Walk-Green was perfectly positioned. But Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, a highlight-reel throughout the night, came flying in and seemed to grab the ball at the same time as Walk-Green. Fifty-fifth balls are rewarded normally to the offensive side, and at first it was signaled first down Mater Deii at the Centennial 40. But after a short review by the officials, it was ruled Walk-Green had the interception. Bedlam ensued on the Centennial side. The Huskies ran out the clock. From the cheap seats, after slow motion replay, it should have been a catch. But that is definitely not why Mater Dei lost and certainly didn't guarantee the Monarchs would have prevailed. Sure might have been fun to see them go down and score and go for a two-point conversion.

When Walk-Green was asked by longtime Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Sondheimer if he had the interception he said: "I think so. I wrestled it out. I got to the ball first. That's what I feel like."

Walk-Green was 100% right on both counts. He got to the ball first and eventually wrestled it away, but it sure looked like when both hit the ground, both had the ball. The effort, the drama, the changing of the call absolutely mirrored the entire game and will of both teams.

THE PENALTIES: HELMET OFF

Once Mater Dei made its stirring comeback in the third quarter, with 29 straight points to turn a 33-8 halftime deficit to a 36-33 lead with 22 seconds left in the third quarter, capped with a 1-yard touchdown run from Kennie Leggett. After the touchdown, a Mater Dei player was so fired up, he took his helmet off and barked to no one in particular while walking to the sideline. He was whistled for unsportsmanlike penalty. The ensuing extra point was partially blocked, keeping it at a 3-point margin, another miscue which turned out huge. Because on Centennial's next possession — moved up 15 yards due to the penalty — the Huskies were sacked on 2nd-and-6 that would have made it 3rd-and-14. But a personal foul penalty was called on a Mater Dei defensive lineman after the play for stepping on the leg of a Centennial lineman. That led to a first down and a game-tying field goal with 8:27 left.

Instead of capturing all that momentum with a 29-point outburst and winning going away, as almost everyone probably anticipated at that moment, the Monarchs lost their cool, their helmet and ultimately the game thanks in part to those two controllable penalties.

Not what is expected of the national No. 1 team in the country. Then again, they're all teenagers and extra emotion is always in play, even from 4- and 5-star players. But frankly, with all the penalties and turnovers, the Monarchs didn't deserve to win. The Huskies perseverance pulled them through.

THE COMEBACK

That said, the third-quarter turn around was one of the more impressive we've seen in recent memory. To score four touchdowns against that defense required a lot of skill and top-level athletes, which was displayed by Hopkins, an athletic, resillient, fast transfer from JSerra Catholic. He had a 42-yard touchdown scamper that will no doubt make his highlight tape at the end of the. year, and 71-yard TD bomb to Dixon-Wyatt, who also scored MD's first touchdown of the game. Another long pass 4-star receiver Chris Henry Jr. set up the go-ahead TD. Dixon-Wyatt and Henry Jr. are both headed to Ohio State. The flurry even included one of Mater Dei's six turnovers, yet still took the lead. And somehow, they still lost.

MORE HEROES PAST, PRESENT

Sophomore Malaki Davis has looked like Centennial's next great running back all season and three touchdown runs didn't change that. Jonathan McKinley, the younger brother of standout receiver Javon McKinley and a Cal commit, looked ever bit of a 4-star recruit with a couple of sacks, a hurrry on Walk-Green's 9-yard pick-6 and a fumble recovery. Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano, the younger brother of former Huskies QB Anthony, also made big runs and throws all night.

As noted by Sondheimer, the two older brothers were on the 2015 team that last beat Mater Dei, 42-36. The younger brothers helped in winning a game by almost the exact score, which just punctuates a magical game and night.

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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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