Matt Logan of Pac-5 champion Corona Centennial is Times’ coach of year
Overcoming a season-opening loss to Santa Ana Mater Dei, using a two-quarterback rotation that no one else would dare try, winning the Pac-5 Division championship in his first attempt — those are just a few of the coaching achievements in 2014 for Matt Logan of Corona Centennial.
He has been selected the Los Angeles Times’ high school football coach of the year.
It was way back on Aug. 30 that the Huskies had one of their worst performances in Logan’s 18-year coaching career in a 38-18 loss to Monarchs. No one could have imagined four months later that the Huskies would win the Pac-5 championship and beat private school powers Gardena Serra, Mater Dei, La Puente Bishop Amat and Bellflower St. John Bosco during a four-game playoff run.
The margin of victory in those four victories was never more than seven points.
“He always finds a way to get the most out of his players,” said a coaching colleague, Manuel Douglas of City Section Division I champion Narbonne. “What he did was phenomenal. Those close wins are about coaching and getting his players in position to win.”
Logan said he never had a team develop so well over the course of a season. Centennial finished 12-3 and lost a back-and-forth battle to Concord De La Salle in the CIF state championship Open Division bowl game.
“I credit the kids’ believing what we’re doing and listening to criticism, which is hard,” he said.
Twitter: LATSondheimer
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