Centennial’s defense comes through to beat Mission Viejo in Division 1 quarterfinal

On a frigid Friday night for high school playoff football in Southern California, defensive end Elijah Riley of Corona Centennial made a play to assert how much he and his teammates wanted to defeat unbeaten Mission Viejo. Using all-out pursuit and with no concern for his body, he went airborne at the 30-yard line like he was Superman and landed on the ballcarrier from behind.

“I just took off,” he said.

It was Centennial’s defense delivering at decisive moments in a 25-20 victory, sending the Huskies (9-2) into a Southern Section Division 1 semifinal rematch at home against unbeaten Mater Dei. Mission Viejo ended its season at 10-1.

The most important stop for Centennial came when Mission Viejo had fourth and goal from the two-yard line with 4:51 left. Quarterback Drai Trudeau tried to escape the pocket, but Centennial’s Jonathan McKinley applied the pressure. The ball ended up in the hands of Fifita Moore for an interception. Soon Malachi Roby broke loose for a 47-yard run on third down to clinch the victory.

“They came through all night,” Centennial coach Matt Logan said of his defense while wearing his customary shorts despite temperatures in the 50s. “It feels great.”

Roby rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Husan Longstreet, who was held out of the regular-season finale to make sure he was healthy, looked the part of an All-American. He completed 18 of 25 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown and also made big plays running the ball. He’s committed to Texas A&M, but USC still is pursuing him. For now, he’s focused on Mater Dei. He didn’t get to play against the Monarchs in a season-opening 42-25 loss. He knows many of the Mater Dei players from passing competitions.

Malachi Roby (3) celebrates for Corona Centennial. He had 187 yards rushing and two touchdowns in win over Mission Viejo.

(Craig Weston)

“We’re coming back for revenge,” he said.

Centennial’s offense received strong blocking from its line and effective performances from Longstreet and Roby to open a 19-10 halftime lead. Roby had touchdown runs of one yard and 25 yards. Longstreet completed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Cory Butler after Mission Viejo failed on an onside kick late in the half.

The Diablos’ two-quarterback rotation of Luke Fahey and Trudeau was not clicking. There was no rushing attack and a couple of snaps from center put the quarterbacks in awkward positions. Receivers Vance Spafford and Dijon Lee made a couple of big catches. Mission Viejo was fortunate it didn’t trail by a wider margin because Lee recovered a Centennial fumble at the Diablos’ 14.

Mission Viejo took the lead in the third quarter with a 47-yard touchdown catch by Cash Semonza from Fahey, then a 22-yard field goal by Caleb Sylvia, his second of the game. But Longstreet came back with a 10-yard touchdown run for a 25-20 lead near the end of the third quarter.

Butler was a big spark on offense for Centennial, catching nine passes for 157 yards. Spafford had nine catches for 121 yards for Misison Viejo. The Diablos’ two quarterbacks combined for 362 yards passing.

Now Logan has to figure out how to beat a Mater Dei team that just doesn’t look beatable.

“We’ll be ready,” he said. “That’s all we can do. They’ll show up, we’ll show up.”