More Fireworks in Santa Ana
Final score: No. 9 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 47, Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 35
Total combined yards: 1,032.
Total first downs: 44 (22 by each team).
TDs in first 6:43: 6.
Offensive stars: RB Arthur Burns (C) 30 carries, 260 yards, 3 TDs; QB Matt Barkley (MD) 22 of 45, 453 yards, three TDs.
Other standouts: WR Ricky Marvray (C) 7 catches, 94 yards, 95-yard kickoff return for TD; WR Ario Winston (MD) 8 catches, 141 yards, 95-yard kickoff return for TD; JD Austin (C) 2 interceptions; DL Ben Letcher (C) 3 sacks; WR Victor Blackwell (MD) 3 catches, 137 yards, 2 TDs; QB Taylor Martinez (C) 223 total yards, 3 TD runs.
Time of game: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Stay tuned: For videographer Dijon Bishop's account and award-winning photo galleries later today. See Bishop's video of last year's game between the two teams.
By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Arthur Burns looked like he was going to burst.
From pride.
From joy.
From Centennial’s wildly fulfilling and entertaining 47-35 nonleague win over legendary Southern Section program Mater Dei at the Santa Ana Bowl on Friday night.
The bullish 5-foot-10, 215-pound running back rushed 30 times for 260 yards and three touchdowns as the Huskies exorcized the demons of bitter tight showcase losses past, including a 51-37 classic to the same team on the same field a year ago.
Burns, who resembled Linda Blair in the “The Exorcist” with a nasty disposition all week at practice, was all warm and fuzzy after this one and who could blame him?
He had overcome a rocky debut in his initial replacement performance for three-year starter Ryan Bass last week by constantly rocking and rolling over a well-positioned but defenseless Mater Dei defense on a national stage before 9,000 fans and a live regional television audience.
A beaming Burns, who scored on touchdown runs of 10, 1, and 11 yards, kept pointing to his heart and to the sky trying to express his emotions.
Just before bursting he came out with it.
“Bliss,” he described. “Cupcakes. Ice cream. Happiness.”
That about summed it up for all the Huskies, the nation’s ninth-ranked team who also lost the king of cupcakes in last season's CIF State Division I Bowl Game, 37-31 to De La Salle (Concord).
Between that loss and the shootout to Mater Dei last season, the Huskies felt somewhat snake bit yet teetering on national greatness.
Winning this Titanic, which took 3½ hours to complete and featured 1,032 yards, 44 first downs and 12 touchdowns, Centennial has officially joined the national elite party.
Was it the biggest win in school history?
“The biggest so far,” carefully worded dominating defensive lineman William Sutton, who helped pressure All-World quarterback Matt Barkley. “We have much more to accomplish.”
Indeed this was simply a nonleague win in the puppy stages of the 2008 season. But it certainly had a playoff feel.
Most in attendance wanted to see if this one could possibly stand up to last year’s offensive slugfest, which featured a state-record 1,298 yards and 58 first downs.
It took less than seven minutes to answer that as the teams pinballed up and down the field to score 41 points faster than anyone could say “Pass the Dramamine.”
“It seemed like last year’s game just continued,” Centennial coach Matt Logan said. “I thought we were going to be here all night. Everyone who paid $8 to get in definitely got their money’s worth.”
Many dolled out bills to watch Barkley, the strong-armed 6-3, 225-pound fourth year starter considered the top recruit in the land.
He didn’t disappoint by completing 22 passes for 453 yards and three touchdowns, two of 41 and 83 yards to long and uber-talented sophomore Victor Blackwell, who also contributed a 50-yard kickoff return.
But the young, small, resilient Centennial secondary also intercepted three passes – two by 5-7, 180-pound JD Austin – and caused 20 other incompletions. Junior Demeitri Beasley, playing his first varsity game, also had an interception and junior cornerback Anthony Goodman made a couple of spectacular one-on-one deflections.
A strong pass rush also helped as the Huskies eventually settled down defensively, giving up just one second-half touchdown. Ben Letcher contributed three of Centennial's four sacks, the other coming from Adams Lee.
“Coaches didn’t panic at halftime,” Austin said. “They just told us to play our game and that’s what we did.”
“We’re young and nerves led to blown assignments (in the first half),” Centennial defensive coordinator Dan Herring said. “The guys just settled down after halftime and made plays.”
There were no shortages by either side on this windless, short-sleeve night.
Among the many:
* Ario Winston returned a kickoff 95 yards for Mater Dei’s first touchdown and not to be outdone, UCLA-bound Ricky Marvray matched the return score for Centennial less than four minutes later to highlight the early scoring flurry. Marvray also made a circus 37-yard reception on the game’s first play from scrimmage setting up a Burns TD and finished with seven catches for 94 yards, at least three in heavy traffic.
“All blocking up front,” Marvray said of his kickoff return. “We had to match their special teams play.”
* Centennial first-year and ultra talented Nebraska-bound quarterback Taylor Martinez threw for 177 yards, rushed for 46 yards and three scores and numerous times evaded pressure with his breakaway speed.
“It was the biggest game of my life and I’m just glad I could help,” he said.
Said Logan: “He’s still very new to the offense and is only going to get better.”
* Mater Dei, which outgained Centennial 548-484 but also had three turnovers to none for the Huskies, had inspired offensive games from senior running back Jaron Hytche (13 rushes, 100 yards) and first-year wide receivers Winston (8 catches, 141 yards), Blackwell (3 catches, 137 yards) and Derek Campbell (5 catches, 74 yards, TD).
“I liked what we did most of the night,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “The things we fell short on are fixable. Frankly, we just didn’t have an answer for (Burns). The kid impressed me. We were where we were supposed to be but we just couldn’t stop him.”
Indeed Burns, who rushed for 511 yards and 10 TDs last season, was the difference.
Coming off a pedestrian 53-yard performance in a sluggish 26-16 opening night win over Chaparral in which he averaged less than 4 yards per carry, Burns wasn’t so chummy all week. It was supposed to be his breaking out party after Bass, one of the Southern Section’s all-time rushers and touchdown makers, graduated and moved on to Arizona State.
“He was flat out mad this week,” Martinez said. “He had something to prove.”
It didn’t help that guys like Sutton, USC-bound linebacker Vontaze Burfict (10 tackles) and Division I linebacker Anthony Whitlow were laying it on all week, both with the pads and the gums.
“We were hitting him hard all week,” Burfict said. “We kept saying, ‘this is how Mater Dei is gonna be hitting you.’ He came in here strong and determined. We all did.”
After Barkley and Blackwell hooked up on their 41-yard score to put Mater Dei up 21-20, Martinez and Burns scored back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter to give Centennial the lead for good.
Mater Dei always seemed in striking range, but Burns put it away with an Earl Campbell-type 50-yard romp through the Monarchs line and secondary midway through the fourth quarter. It set up a Martinez 12-yard TD run, putting the Huskies up 47-28 with 5:35 to play.
Burns lost his left shoe at the line of scrimmage on the big run, but like all night, nothing was going to deter him. He’s also determined to get a college scholarship and despite lack of breakaway speed he’s getting plenty of interest from Cal, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State to name a few.
After Friday, he'll likely get more inquiries.
“Frankly, I didn’t know how I was going to do tonight or if we were even going to win,” he said. “But by the second series I thought ‘I can do this. We can do this.’ “
And boy did they.
Read more notes on both teams and commentary on this game throughout the day. E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
Centennial 47, Mater Dei 35
Centennial 20 13 14 0 – 47
Mater Dei 21 7 0 7 – 35
First quarter
C – Arthur Burns 10 run (Trevor Romaine kick), 10:06
MD – Ario Winston 95 kickoff return (Zac Chocek kick), 9:53
C – Taylor Martinez 6 run (Romaine kick), 6:57
MD – Jordan Allen 9 run (Chocek kick), 6:17
C – Ricky Marvray 95 kickoff return (kick failed), 6:03
MD – Victor Blackwell 41 pass from Matt Barkley (Chocek kick), 5:17
Second quarter
C – Martinez 1 run (run failed), 10:53
C – Burns 11 run (Romaine kick), 3:58
MD – Blackwell 76 pass from Barkley (Chocek kick), 3:03
Third quarter
C – Burns 2 run (Romaine kick), 10:45
C – Martinez 12 run (Romaine kick), 5:35
Fourth quarter
Derek Campbell 3 pass from Barkley (Chocek kick), 3:12
Team Statistics
First downs: Centennial 22, Mater Dei 22
Rushing attempts-yards: Centennial 39-307, Mater Dei 26-96.
Passing: Centennial 16-28-0-177, Mater Dei 22-45-3-453.
Total yards: Centennial 484, Mater Dei 548.
Turnovers: Centennial 0, Mater Dei 3
Penalties: Centennial 12-80, Mater Dei 5-65
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Centennial: Burns 30-260, Martinez 7-46, Collins 2-1; Mater Dei, Hytche 13-100, Allen 8-30, Barkley 4-(-20), team 1-(-15).
Passing
Centennial, Martinez 16-28-0-177; Mater Dei, Barkley 22-45-3-453.
Receiving
Centennial, Marvray 7-84, Lopez 3-37, Nick Beasley 2-20, Geshun Harris 2-15, Zach Fazli 1-17, Burns 1-10; Mater Dei, Ario Winston 8-141, Derek Campbell 5-74, AJ Roth 4-39, Blackwell 3-137Allen 1-24, Hytche 1-20.
