The Inland Division championship game has a familiar ring

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The last time Corona Centennial and Corona Santiago met, the Huskies ran away with a 69-7 Mountain View League victory on Oct. 19. The Sharks? They were just lucky to walk away.

Both coaches said you shouldn’t expect a repeat performance when the team’s meet Saturday at noon in the Inland Division championship game at the Home Depot Center.

‘I think it was one of those situations.... We played well and they didn’t,’’ Centennial Coach Matt Logan said of the previous meeting. ‘We’ve got to take care of business. It doesn’t matter what you did before.’’

Santiago Coach Steve Mitchell said the Sharks haven’t perceived their losses this season as setbacks, but rather as learning experiences. Sure, they were blown out by the Huskies, but they also led Servite, 7-3, midway through the third quarter before losing, 17-7. They also knocked off two unbeaten teams in their last two games, second-seeded Vista Murrieta and third-seeded Redlands East Valley.

‘We lost some close games, but that’s why we schedule Servite and Bosco and Chaparral,’’ Mitchell said. ‘Whether we win or lose, playing those tough opponents is what gets us ready.’’

There’s one advantage to playing a league opponent a second time, Logan said, and that’s the workload that goes into the game.

‘We’re both happy we don’t have to prepare as much because we pretty much know what each other does,’’ Logan said with a laugh.

-- Dan Arritt

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