Column: Corona Centennial is again unstoppable for Orange Lutheran
Corona Centennial running back JJ Taylor (21) gets past Orange Lutheran defender Milshon Lathan on a touchdown run in the first half.
Orange Lutheran football players are gluttons for punishment. Five times this season, they’ve faced teams ranked among the top four in the state. Twice they’ve had to play unbeaten Corona Centennial.
“God has got a unique and funny sense of humor,” Coach Chuck Petersen said. “You go through this gantlet and he’s giving us a chance to redeem ourselves every step.”
Unfortunately for the Lancers, no one is beating No. 1-seeded Centennial (12-0) these days or even coming close.
With J.J. Taylor rushing for 138 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Anthony Catalano passing for two touchdowns and scoring another on a 68-yard run, Centennial cruised into the Pac-5 Division semifinals with a 49-27 victory at Orange Coast College on Friday night.
“Those guys are playing at an unbelievable level right now,” Orange Lutheran offensive tackle Logan Bathke said. “No one’s going to stop them.”
As good as the Huskies’ offense has looked, their defense is so much better than a year ago, when Centennial won the Pac-5 title. Perhaps the most underrated player in Southern California is linebacker Zach Brumbaugh, a tackling machine with a scholarship offer from Air Force. He made a couple of key stops early in the game and the Huskies were never threatened in opening a 49-7 lead through three quarters.
“It’s amazing the tackles he makes,” Centennial Coach Matt Logan said.
Brumbaugh, 5 feet 11, 225 pounds, knows how to find a ballcarrier amid the big linemen trying to block him. He helped stuff the Lancers’ option attack and chased down quarterback L.J. Northington.
“As long as the team gets credit, that’s what I want,” Brumbaugh said.
Taylor had touchdown runs of eight, 49 and one yard. He has 10 touchdowns in two playoff games. Catalano had touchdown passes of 25 yards to Cameron Jackson and 28 yards to Javon McKinley. He’s another underappreciated Huskies standout who keeps delivering in the clutch.
As for the Lancers (6-6), their season is done, but they have nothing but good things to remember. From the Harvard-bound Northington to the Oregon-bound Bathke, the Lancers never stopped battling and had three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
“They’re probably the best six-loss team in the nation,” Brumbaugh said.
Petersen will have no regrets about the schedule he put in front of his players against the likes of Concord De La Salle, Bellflower St. John Bosco and Centennial.
“They’re going to come back in 20 years at the high school reunion and talk about the experience we had,” he said.
Meanwhile, Centennial gets a semifinal next week against Santa Ana Mater Dei, a 28-27 winner over Gardena Serra when freshman quarterback J.T. Daniels found Curtis Robinson for a two-point conversion pass with 1:44 left.
In City Section Division I semifinals, Dorsey will be at Harbor City Narbonne and Arleta at Crenshaw.
Twitter: @LATSondheimer
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