Logan keeps to the task

Football has always been a source of relief for Corona Centennial Coach Matt Logan, but never more than this season. He put on the headset less than two months after the death of his 41-year-old wife and mother of their three daughters, Donna, who succumbed to breast cancer in July after a four-year fight.

Publicly, he set aside the emotions and managed to prepare Centennial for its toughest nonleague schedule ever. The Huskies packed the stands for home games against Compton Dominguez and Clovis West and road games at Encino Crespi and Santa Ana Mater Dei. They won three of those games.

Logan’s spread offense then made the other Mountain View League teams appear as if they were running in place, outscoring the three opponents, 150-17.

With talk of a possible CIF state Division I bowl game bid heating up, Logan avoided the upsets that dominated the Inland Division playoffs and guided the Huskies to their fourth Southern Section title.

The next day, Centennial was chosen to represent Southern California in the state bowl game. The Huskies proved to be a great match for Concord De La Salle, rallying from 24 points down in the second half before losing, 37-31.

As usual, one of the last Huskies to walk off the field was Logan, The Times’ coach of the year.

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-- Dan Arritt