Corona Centennial rolls to victory over San Diego Cathedral

Corona Centennial’s scheduled opening week showdown against Mater Dei turned into more of a tuneup after COVID-19 protocols forced the Huskies and Monarchs to scrimmage instead.

It’s clear the Huskies bottled up that energy and used it on their real season-opening opponent, San Diego Cathedral, the No. 1-ranked team out of San Diego and the fifth-ranked team in the state according to CalHiSports.com.

Centennial, ranked eighth on that same list, made sure those rankings change the next time they’re updated, putting on an offensive display in a 57-14 win over the Dons.

Centennial’s offense was difficult for Cathedral to figure out because it has so many playmakers at different positions.

Dual-threat quarterback Izzy Carter and running back Jayson Cortes each rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Carson Conklin threw for 188 yards and two scores.

Carter added to his impressive night with a 13-yard passing touchdown to both passers’ favorite target, Malachi Riley, who finished with five receptions for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

The Huskies, as they normally do, wasted no time putting points on the board, engineering a five-play, 80-yard scoring drive which lasted just 52 seconds.

A 42-yard run from Cortes set up an eight-yard score from Carter to open the scoring. The Huskies defense got into the action on its first series as Carter Plewe recovered a Cathedral fumble on the Dons’ first play of the game.

Centennial (1-0) capitalized on the good field position created by the turnover with Conklin hitting Riley for a 32-yard touchdown, giving Centennial a 13-0 lead at the 10:55 mark of the first quarter.

The Dons’ first scoring chance came on a 36-yard field goal attempt from Joey Cheek, who missed wide left, and again Centennial scored quickly.

Cornell Hatcher broke off a 21-yard run, which was followed by a 55-yard touchdown pass from Conklin to Eric Denham, giving the Huskies a 20-0 lead at the 6:07 mark of the first.

Cathedral (0-1) settled down late in the first quarter and rode the reliable hands and legs of running back Lucky Sutton.

Sutton rumbled up the middle for a 60-yard touchdown to put the Dons on the board with 2:28 left in the first.

Centennial extended its lead to 27-7 on a 13-yard pass from Carter to Riley, but the Dons cut the Huskies’ lead back to two scores, 27-14, on a six-yard scoring run from Sutton late in the first half.

The Huskies took full control of the game in the second half, holding Cathedral scoreless in the final two quarters, while still flowing offensively on the legs of Carter and Cortes.