It’s a Centennial Celebration

Corona Santiago’s quest for a first Mountain View League title was tough enough just knowing it was going against its unbeaten in-town rival, Centennial.

It was tough enough knowing that Centennial averaged 201 yards rushing and 210 passing per game.

And Santiago made it even tougher on itself.

Centennial had two first-half returns for touchdowns in building a 28-point lead, and went on to score a 55-13 victory over host Santiago to win its second consecutive Mountain View title before an overflow crowd of 7,000.

It is the fourth title in eight years for Centennial, 9-0 overall, 5-0 in league. The Huskies are The Times’ eighth-ranked team in the region, and scored all those points against a defense that had allowed fewer than 10 a game. Santiago (8-2, 4-1) was going for its first league title in six varsity seasons.

Centennial opened the scoring with a 57-yard interception return by senior Jason Wolf, and after Santiago had pulled to within 12-6 in the first quarter, Scott Mellatti blocked a Santiago punt and Danny Foster returned it 20 yards for a touchdown in the opening seconds of the second quarter.

“That helps incredibly,” said quarterback Cory Campbell, who completed 18 of 22 passes for 306 yards with three touchdowns, and rushed 11 times for 63 yards and two touchdowns. “That’s what makes us a whole football team instead of just an offense or a defense.”

Centennial turned another turnover into a touchdown in the fourth quarter when Carlos DeAlba recovered a fumble in the end zone.

Campbell ran in for the two-point conversion after Foster’s return, giving Centennial a 20-6 lead that was just the beginning.

“When you play a team the caliber of Centennial, you can’t give them those kinds of shots,” said Steve Mitchell, Santiago’s first-year coach.

“I expected us to play a lot better. And we will.”

Campbell passed for 212 yards in the first half, completing 16 of 19 passes with touchdowns of 31 yards to Terry Richardson and five to Marcus Angelus, the latter coming with 47 seconds left in the half to complete a 91-yard drive and give the Huskies a 34-6 lead.

Campbell also rushed for 61 yards in the half and scored on a two-yard run.

Campbell added a 22-yard scoring pass to Angelus and a second two-yard touchdown run as Centennial opened a 48-6 lead after three quarters.

Campbell’s performance was more than enough to offset the efforts of Santiago’s sophomore running back Terrell Jackson, who gained only 19 yards in five carries in the first half and finished with 93 in 15 attempts.

Centennial had gained 424 yards by the time it replaced Campbell near the end of the third quarter.

“Actually, I think we played real sloppy on offense,” said Centennial Coach Matt Lang, who watched his team commit 15 penalties for 110 yards.

“Cory did a great job of making something out of nothing ... and we’ve been able to create big plays all year on defense and special teams.”