Gerhart Carries Norco to Win

Norco running back Toby Gerhart had some making up to do against Corona Centennial.

After losing to the Huskies twice last season, Gerhart couldn’t wait to play Centennial in a Mountain View League opener Friday night at Norco.

In his first full game this season, Gerhart, a senior, rushed for 441 yards and scored six touchdowns to lead Norco, ranked No. 10 in the Southland by The Times, to a 42-21 victory over No. 8 Centennial at Norco.

“I knew we could score on almost every possession,” said Gerhart, who moved to No. 2 on the state career rushing list. He now has 7,879 yards rushing in his career, trailing only the 8,495 yards of Ventura St. Bonaventure’s Lorenzo Booker.

Norco (6-0, 1-0) built a 29-0 halftime lead behind Gerhart. He scored on a 36-yard run on the Cougars’ first possession, then broke free on a 67-yard touchdown run with just over eight minutes left in the first quarter.

After Norco recovered a fumble early in the second quarter, Gerhart scored on an 11-yard run to make it 21-0 with 7:38 remaining in the half. His three-yard run with 1:15 left put the Cougars ahead, 29-0.

Centennial’s Ryan Bass, who rushed for 401 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-47 victory over Rancho Cucamonga two weeks ago, was held to four yards in five carries in the first half.

“It was just one of the poorest halves of football we’ve played that I can remember,” Centennial Coach Matt Logan said. “They kicked our butt flat-out. We couldn’t run the ball and we couldn’t stop the run. We dropped balls, we overthrew guys, we fumbled.... It was just a horrible first half.”

Centennial (4-2, 0-1) scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, including a one-yard run by Bass, a sophomore who rushed for 74 yards in 14 carries in the second half, that cut the Cougars’ lead to 29-14.

Gerhart answered with his fifth touchdown run of the game, a one-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal that pushed Norco’s lead to 36-14.