Martinez gears up Centennial win

With his team’s high-powered offense stifled in the first half Friday night, Corona Centennial High quarterback Taylor Martinez realized the Huskies had to quickly make amends or they could forget about a state bowl invitation.

“This could have been the last game for our seniors,” Martinez said, “so we knew we had to step it up.”

The top-seeded Huskies were plenty proficient in the second half, scoring on their first four possessions to pull out a 23-17 win over host Temecula Chaparral in the Southern Section Inland Division championship.

Martinez helped Centennial (14-0) clinch its second straight section title and fifth in eight years when he rolled out and scored on a three-yard touchdown run to put the Huskies ahead, 20-14, early in the fourth quarter. Martinez completed seven of 10 passes for two touchdowns in the second half after completing only three of 10 passes with one interception before halftime.

Third-seeded Chaparral (12-2) pulled to within 23-17 on Nick Fernandez’s 37-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining, but the Pumas’ onside kick failed to go 10 yards before Centennial recovered. Fernandez had pulled a 30-yard attempt wide left earlier in the fourth quarter.

The Huskies, who handed Chaparral both of its defeats this season, will advance to either a state Open Division or Division I bowl game next week at the Home Depot Center against a Northern California opponent to be determined.

Centennial wiped out a 7-0 halftime deficit when Martinez lofted an 18-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Lopez on its first possession of the third quarter. The Huskies then took a 14-7 lead on Martinez’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Marvray.

Chaparral answered on Jonathan Diaz’s 48-yard touchdown run that tied the score before Martinez put the Huskies ahead to stay on his short touchdown run.

“We knew they were a second-half team,” Pumas Coach Tom Leach said. “We knew they would come out and it would be a different half.”

Chaparral capitalized on Centennial’s second turnover of the first half when quarterback Mitch Glassman lofted a perfectly placed pass to Antoine Arnold for a 17-yard touchdown play with three seconds left before halftime to give the Pumas a 7-0 lead.

Chaparral linebacker Fontayne Fuga set up the score by intercepting a Martinez pass near midfield and returning it to the Centennial 28-yard line. Martinez also could have had two other passes intercepted and the Huskies lost a fumble one play after Arthur Burns ripped off a 42-yard run to move the ball into Chaparral territory.

Centennial’s defense sacked Glassman five times in the second half.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com