Eagles 31 - Centennial 15
CORONA, CA., August 30, 2024 – Santa Margarita Catholic rebounded from a distressful season-opening loss at Mission Viejo to stun perennial power Centennial in Corona, 31-15. The Eagles were on the road for the second-straight week against a nationally-ranked opponent and rose to the occasion as they bolted to a 31-0 lead in the early fourth quarter. The game, televised by Bally Sports SoCal, displayed the talent SMCHS possesses to the greater Southern California audience. The Huskies had come into the contest ranked No. 16 in the nation and No. 3 in California by MaxPreps.com. The victory is most certainly the “signature win” in Head Coach Anthony Rouzier’s tenure at SMCHS thus far. Many players on offense and defense provided highlights and statistics in the triumph.
Highlights
- SMCHS tallied 333 yards of total offense, including 226 through the air from the arm of John Gazzaniga. Underclassmen Jaion Smith and Hayes Cloutier combined to amass 88 yards on the ground.
- Junior sensation Trent Mosley had another superb game with 11 receptions for 207 yards (18.8 average) and two scores. He also added a rushing touchdown. The scoring receptions were 51 and 67 yards in length.
- The defense played rugged and spirited as they coaxed Centennial into four turnovers. Junior linebacker Dash Fifita was a cyclone on the field with his 14 total tackles. Leki Holani was equally as deliberate with 11 total tackles (4 tackles for loss) and one sack.
- J.J. Hanne registered a sack while Luke Anderson notched his first career interception as did freshman Ca’ron “Prime” Williams. For the entirety of the contest, Anderson and fellow defensive back Logan Hirou delivered resounding hits and tackles to the opposition.
- Newcomers Ivrick Carrigan and Jayden Crowder each recovered fumbles in key situations, coming from strips by Leki Holani and Joseph Terry.
- Kicker Ryan Gass calmly booted a 42-yard field goal in the first half. This was the longest of his prep career and first over 40-yards in distance. The senior is now 5-of-6 on field goal tries in his career (83.3%).
- The Eagle’s win over the Huskies avenged last season’s 35-21 setback at Saddleback College and evened the all-time match-up at one win each.
| Eagles | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Centennial | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 |
SM – T. Mosley 51 pass from Gazzaniga (Gass kick)
SM – T. Mosley 1 run (Gass kick)
SM – Gass 42 FG
SM – T. Mosley 67 pass from Gazzaniga (Gass kick)
SM – Smith 2 run (Gass kick)
CEN – Waller 8 pass from Catalano (Junger kick)
CEN – Saunders 65 interception return (Butler pass from Catalano)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Smith 17-48, Cloutier 3-40; CEN - Roby 20-86, Catalano 5-43
Passing: SM - Gazzaniga 13-22-0-231; CEN - Catalano 12-25-0-109, Longstreet 8-18-2-79
Receiving: SM - T. Mosley 11-212, CEN - Butler 5-52, Westbrook 4-42
Compiled by Chuck Nan
Statistics by Shane Mielke
Centennial football team struggles mightily in shocking loss to Santa Margarita
CORONA, CA., August 30, 2024 – There were several contributing factors behind Centennial’s shocking 31-15 loss to Santa Margarita on Friday night.
After the game, however, Huskies coach Matt Logan said the finger needs to be pointed in one direction.
“This is 100% about coaching, so this result is entirely on me,” Logan said. “Santa Margarita outplayed us, they outcoached us … they out-everythinged us today. I know we’re better than this. And if a team isn’t playing up to its potential, that’s on the coach.”
Centennial’s offense struggled, as the Huskies turned the ball over four times and had four additional possessions end on downs.
Another headache for the Huskies was Santa Margarita senior receiver Trent Mosley, who sliced his way through Centennial’s defense in the opening half. Mosley finished with 11 catches for 212 yards and also scored three of the Eagles’ four touchdowns.
Mosley did most of his damage after the catch, including screen passes he turned into touchdown plays of 51 and 67 yards.
“That’s my favorite thing to do and probably the best part of my game,” said Mosley, who currently has offers from 17 colleges.
Santa Margarita’s defense set the tone at the start of the evening, forcing Centennial to punt on each of its first two possessions.
That led to excellent field position for the offense, as Santa Margarita started its first two drives in Centennial’s end of the field. Mosley’s 51-yard catch and run and his 1-yard scoring run helped the Eagles build a 14-0 advantage 8 minutes into the game.
Centennial senior quarterback Husan Longstreet made his season debut after missing last week’s opener against Mater Dei with a foot injury. Longstreet completed 8 of 17 passes for 79 yards, threw a pair of interceptions and also lost one fumble.
“Husan hasn’t had a lot of reps recently, so there’s still some rust there that needs to be shaken off going forward,” Logan said.
Mosely delivered another big play midway through the second quarter with a 67-yard touchdown play to help extend the lead to 24-0.
Centennial has not been shut out since the 1998 season opener against Eisenhower, a streak of more than 340 games. But the Huskies found themselves down 31-0 entering the final quarter. Centennial (0-2) finally broke through when Dominick Catalano connected with Dylan Wallner for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 10:06 remaining.
Catalano shared snaps with Longstreet on Friday night and completed 12 of 22 passes for 106 yards and also ran for 33 yards.
Santa Margarita (1-1) nearly made a costly error on the ensuing possession, throwing the ball on first down while trying to run time off the clock. Centennial’s Augus Saunders intercepted the pass and returned the ball 72 yards to help the Huskies get within 31-15.
Centennial had new life, but Santa Margarita’s defense again answered the bell and closed out the win. Luke Anderson intercepted a pass with 6 minutes to play, and J.J. Hanne had a sack and quarterback pressure on Centennial’s final possession.
“I just told my defensive coordinator that was one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen in a high school game,” Santa Margarita coach Anthony Rouzier said. “When you consider the amount of talent and that coaching staff at Centennial … I could not be prouder of the way those guys continued to stand up and knuckle up. The entire defense played their tails off.”
Centennial finds itself in unfamiliar territory. This marks the first time since the 1998 season the Huskies have started 0-2.
“We have no other choice but to bounce back,” Logan said. “We have to get better and that needs to start happening next week.”
By Eric-Paul Johnson
Friday, August 31, 2024
The Orange County Register
