Hayden Gavett’s speed fuels last-half comeback for Corona Centennial
Led by fleet-footed quarterback Hayden Gavett, Corona Centennial sprinted from behind, scoring 21 consecutive points to steal Santa Ana Mater Dei’s lead late Friday night.
But with 27.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Mater Dei stood eight yards from a touchdown and a potential two-point conversion that would tie it up before about 6,000 at Santa Ana Stadium.
Overtime loomed, it seemed.
But Centennial didn’t let that happen.
Huskies senior defensive back Allen Avelar intercepted Mater Dei quarterback Ryan McMahon’s fourth-down pass in the end zone to help preserve Centennial’s 28-20 win.
Centennial’s record improved to 1-1 after its season-opening loss to St. Bonaventure, while Mater Dei dropped to 0-2, as it did after two games last season.
Mater Dei, which built a 20-7 third-quarter lead, had twice the time of possession of Centennial — 31: 46 to 16:14 — but the Huskies didn’t need long to score. After Romello Goodman rushed 14 yards for a touchdown to cut Mater Dei’s lead to 20-14, Centennial recovered a McMahon fumble with 10:08 in the fourth quarterand tied the score two plays later. Gavett rushed eight yards for the touchdown. The extra point gave Centennial a 21-20 lead. Later, Centennial sped 69 yards down the field in six plays, and Gavett rushed nine yards for another touchdown.
Gavett ended up rushing for 154 yards in 16 carries and completing eight of 17 passes for 119 yards. Goodman, who had 198 yards rushing in his team’s opener, got 68 yards this time in 17 carries.
But with less than two minutes to go, McMahon marched the Monarchs to within striking distance only to watch Avelar stop them.
McMahon completed 16 of 27 passes for 180 yards, Freddie Mora rushed for 76 yards in 15 carries, and JC Genova rushed for two one-yard first-half touchdowns to give the Monarchs a 13-7 halftime lead.
Early after halftime, Mater Dei’s Jonathan Lockett took a punt return 75 yards for a touchdown that would be his team’s final score.
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