PREP FOOTBALL ‘93: PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE : Facts and Figures : 1992 in Review

Century proved just how little nonleague games mean in the grand scheme of things. The fourth-year program opened with an 0-3-1 record and was shut out three times. The Centurions scored only one touchdown.

After a 21-14 nonleague victory over Troy, the Centurions lost their Pacific Coast League opener to Estancia, 22-15.

But a not-so-funny thing happened to Century opponents after the Estancia game. Trailing, 14-0, at halftime, the Centurions came back to upset Trabuco Hills, 21-20, the next week. They didn’t lose again until a 16-14 setback to San Marino in the Southern Section Division VIII semifinals.

Sure, there were some close calls along the way--against Costa Mesa (17-16) and Laguna Hills (30-28)--but the young Centurions (7-5-1, 4-1) were happy to claim the league’s co-championship.

The biggest loser in Century’s shocking emergence was defending Division VII champion Laguna Hills (9-3, 3-2), which finished tied for third but could have shared the league title with a victory over Century in the season finale.

Trabuco Hills (10-2, 4-1) had to settle for a share of the league title with Century. The Mustangs beat Laguna Hills, 42-0, but their playoff journey ended in the quarterfinals with a 35-21 loss to La Mirada. One of Century’s losses was to La Mirada, 30-0, but nonleague games mean nothing, right?

Trabuco Hills quarterback Pat Barnes (California), who passed for 1,944 yards and 20 touchdowns, was the offensive player of the year.

Other standouts included Justin Vedder of Laguna Hills, who completed 61.8% of his passes, threw for 20 touchdowns and had the county’s highest quarterback rating; Pat Wood, who passed for 2,052 yards and 16 touchdowns for Laguna Beach (1-9, 0-5); Laguna Beach’s Luke Matjas, the county’s second-leading receiver with 57 catches for a county-best 1,026 yards, and Binh Tran, who rushed for 1,632 yards and 18 touchdowns for Costa Mesa (3-7, 1-4).

Trabuco Hills’ Chad Peare and Century’s Abel Perez were league defensive players of the year.