The two top teams in the latest High School Football America showed Friday night that they are deserving of their lofty position in our algorithm rankings.
#1 Corona Centennial (3-0) found itself in a 7-7 battle at halftime with #8 Orange Lutheran, before pulling away for a 35-14 victory. Second-ranked St. John Bosco topped the sixty point mark for the third straight game as its whipped two-time defending Oregon 6A state champ Central Catholic 66-17 in Portland.
Related: High School Football America/SoCal Top 25 Scoreboard
Centennial put-up 28 second half points thanks to a fine performance from its Big 3 — quarterback Anthony Catalano, running back J.J. Taylor and wide receiver Javon McKinley.
It was Catalano’s 60-yard touchdown run at the start of the second half that jumped-started the Huskies’ offense, giving Centennial a lead it would never relinquish. Catalano finished with 140 yards rushing and 270 yards passing. Taylor, who scored three touchdowns, ran for 136 yards and McKinley caught ten balls for 201 yards and the final touchdown of the game.
Orange Lutheran fought hard throughout the game behind Harvard-bound QB L.J. Northington, who threw for 252 yards.
The victory was the 200th for Corona Centennial coach Matt Logan, who was happier after the game about the way his team responded in the second half than his personal milestone.
Next week, OLu travels north to face to national power and reigning CIF Open Division champ De La Salle.
In Portland, it was another offensive explosion for St. John Bosco with Sean McGrew leading the way with three second quarter touchdowns. McGrew, who has verbally committed to the University of Washington, finished with 179 yards rushing and four total touchdowns for the Braves, who improved to 3-0.
#3 Mater Dei (3-0) continued to improve behind freshman QB J.T. Daniels, who tossed six touchdown passes in a 42-7 win over La Mirada. Daniels, who only played two-and-a-half quarters, was 17-of-25 for 292 yards.
#4 Bishop Amat has rebounded from its season-opening loss to Mater Dei with two straight victories. Friday night, the Lancers (2-1) beat Colony 59-20. Quarterback Damian Garcia threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns. All three TDs went to USC-bound Tyler Vaughns, who had five catches for 136 yards.
#6 Mission Viejo (4-0) had all it could handle in its game against #25 La Habra (2-1). The Diablos beat La Habra 24-14 without its top lineman Zack Aylor and running back Isaiah Miller, who were out with injuries. Quarterback Brock Johnson picked-up the slack with 219 yards and a touchdown. Colin Schooler sealed the win with a Pick-6 with 2:30 to go in the game.
Defending Division II state champ Redlands East Valley (1-1), ranked #7 in our latest SoCal rankings, was routed by St. Bonaventure 63-34. Seraphs’ QB Darius Vines threw for 342 yards and five TDs.
#9 Vista Murrieta (2-0) beat Corona Santiago 55-33 behind junior quarterback Karson Greeley, who was 16-of-21 for 239 yards and two TDs.
#10 Alemany improved to 3-0 with a solid 42-6 road win at Downey.
#11 Serra (Gardena) bounced-back from last week’s loss to top-ranked Corona Centennial with a 43-0 shutout of Carson. Khalil Tate, who sat out last week’s game while serving a suspension, ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 112 yards.
#13 Santa Margarita (3-0) topped Dorsey 33-13 behind three rushing touchdowns from Trey Green. The Eagles’ defense forced four turnovers.
#14 Oaks Christian (3-0) beat Venice 42-6 to improved to 3-0.
#15 Los Al (2-0) beat Lakewood 53-16 Thursday night behind senior quarterback Jack Telenko, who has thrown for 556 yards in the first two games with six TDs. He’s also rushed for three scores.
#16 Narbonne (1-1) was able to bounce-back from last week’s last second loss to #5 Long Beach Poly (idle this week with Bishop Gorman on Friday) with a 45-17 win over Palos Verdes. Quarterback Roman Ale threw for 355 yards and five TDs.
Rancho Cucamonga (2-1) quarterback Angel Matute threw three first half TDs to lead the #17 Cougars to a 35-10 win over Don Lugo.
#18 JSerra improved to 3-o with a 39-8 win over Huntington Beach. Avery Williams ran for 130 yards for the Lions.
Running back Drake Beasley ran for two touchdowns in #20 Loyola‘s 23-20 win over St. Augustine from San Diego.
#21 Tesoro topped Upland 30-28 when Hayden McGinnis booted a 23-yard field goal with 6.5 seconds to go in the game.
Lawndale shocked #23 Crespi 35-19 by coming back from a 19-7 halftime deficit.
And, #24 Heritage improved to 3-0 with a 34-16 win over La Quinta Thursday night.
