CIF Division I Bowl preview: Palo Alto vs. Centennial

DIVISION I: Palo Alto 13-0 vs. Centennial (Corona) 14-0 at Home Depot Center (Carson), 7:30 p.m. Friday.

FACTS AND STATS
Rankings — Palo Alto: Nationally, No. 72 Freeman; State, No. 11. Centennial: Nationally, No. 5 Freeman, No. 5 Xcellent 25; State, No. 2.

Notable Alums — Palo Alto: Joan Baez (folk singer), Jim Harbaugh (Stanford coach), Jeremy Lin (Golden State Warriors), Mark and Dave Schultz (Olympic wrestling champions), Timi Wusu (Oakland Raiders). Centennial: Vontaze Burfict (Arizona State LB and leading tackler), Taylor Martinez (Nebraska quarterback), Lonnie Paxton (Denver Broncos).

Leading Rushers — Palo Alto: Dre Hill (131-923-11 TDs), B.J. Boyd (83-728-7). Centennial: Barrinton Collins (224-2,325-42), Michael Eubank (120-1,165-18), Romello Goodman (121-1,038-11).

Leading Passers — Palo Alto: Christoph Bono (152-228-10-2,467-28 TDs). Centennial: Eubank (155-225-3-2,720-22).

Leading Receivers — Palo Alto: Davante Adams (59-1,036-10), Maurice Williams (25-699-10). Centennial: Larry Scott (47-1,089-10).

Points per game (allowed) — Palo Alto 31.7 (10.5), Centennial 54.1 (14.1).


OVERVIEW
When local experts call Palo Alto and Centennial the best football teams in respective school history, that's indeed a mouthful.

Palo Alto, largely because of its long and rich school history – it was founded in 1898 - and Centennial, established about 100 years later, because of its recent success: six Southern Section titles since 2000.

Then again, it's hard to argue with 27 wins and zero losses between the two teams.

Both schools have bowl experience, with Palo Alto losing the inaugural Division II game in 2006 to Orange Lutheran (42-28), while Centennial split a pair of games with De La Salle in 2007 (37-31 loss) and 2008 (21-16 win).

Those two Centennial squads were particularly talented and featured upward of 10 college players each, making the "best ever" claim particularly eye-opening and surprising.

But Palo Alto coach Earl Hansen, after he and assistants watched the Huskies in person last week, isn't surprised by such a summation.

"They are very impressive," he said. "They can score anywhere on the football field. They are consistent in what they do and extremely confident. I understand why."

Utilizing a fast break offensive attack, Centennial has racked up 54 points a game, scoring at least 42 in every game and topping out with an 82-point outburst against crosstown rival Corona.

Centennial was in the running for the Open Division game and many of the players were planning on a third-and-deciding game with De La Salle.

"I really thought we were going to get the Open Game," Centennial running back Barrinton Collins told Press-Enterprise staff writer Eric-Paul Johnson. "We're still playing, and there are few teams who can say that. … We have a bit of a chip on our shoulder. Actually, I'd say it's a big chip. We want to show them they should have picked us."

Said Centennial coach Matt Logan: "Only a few football teams get this opportunity each season. Our program has been chosen three out of five years, so we're thankful and honored."

And playing a truly balanced, mistake-free, defensive-minded team like Palo Alto will be a huge challenge. The Vikings have recorded three shutouts and only allowed more than two touchdowns in one game all season.

They are definitely battle-tested, having defeated three consecutive West Catholic Athletic League squads in the Central Coast Section's Open Division. The WCAL is considered the top league in Northern California and features nothing but private-school squads.

The Vikings toughed-out wins over Mitty (13-10), Bellarmine (35-0) and Valley Christian (21-14). Bellarmine was the Northern California Division I bowl representative last year.

"We are going to have our hands full," Logan said. "They do everything right, they have some extremely good athletes and are very well coached. This will be a huge challenge."

PALO ALTO OFFENSE/CENTENNIAL DEFENSE
With Bono in charge, the Vikings are in very good hands. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior makes superb decisions, has a strong and accurate arm (152 of 228) and knows something about the position.

His father is former NFL quarterback Steve Bono.

"Some of these (recruiters) want pre-made bodies and Christoph just hasn't reached that yet," Hansen said. "He's definitely going to fill out and get stronger. If they want a pre-made quarterback, they'll get one. He's got all the tools."

Bono has thrown for 2,467 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Not fleet, he knows how to get out of the pocket and scrambles well, particularly near the goal line. He accounted for eight of his team's 10 touchdowns in the postseason including three rushing touchdowns.

What's nice for Bono is he has a variety of weapons and he knows just how to use them.

Hill (923 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Boyd (728 yards, seven TDs) are strong and fleet backs, while Adams (59 catches, 1,036 yards) and Williams (25-699) each have 10 TD catches. Tight end T.J. Braff (6-4, 210) also has five TD catches.

"He really knows how to spread the ball around," Logan said. "You can't key on one area, which makes them tough to defend."

Controlling the ball and keeping Centennial's offense off the field is vital for the Vikings.

No matter where Bono goes with the ball, you can count on Centennial's Ryan Jack to be nearby.

The 6-1, 220-pound senior linebacker leads the team with 143 tackles. No one else on the squad even has 90. But the Huskies' first unit gave up barely half of the 198 points they allowed all season, utilizing superb team speed and physicality.
 
Jack may not be as dominating or flashy as former prep All-American Vontaze Burfict, but he may be as effective.
Junior Ngata Tuihalamaka (6-1, 225) spearheads a rugged defensive line with 81 tackles and co-captain and linebacker Daniel Mireles (5-11, 190) supports Jack on most of the tackles.

Chris Gonzalez (82 tackles, six interceptions) and Izaac Colunga (five interceptions) leads a talented secondary.

"Their DBs are real strong and (Jack) is everywhere," Hansen said. "They're solid everywhere."

CENTENNIAL OFFENSE/PALO ALTO DEFENSE
As strong as Palo Alto's schedule has been this season, clearly they've never seen an offense as talented, fast or effective as Centennial.

Unless they've been watching college football's top-ranked team on television this year.

"They remind me of Oregon," said Braff, Palo Alto's leading tackler. "It's like a fast break in basketball. You have to be alert and disciplined every single play and trust one another. They use a lot of fakes and have a lot of weapons. It's a major challenge but our defense thrives on challenges."

With physical specimen Eubank in control, the Huskies are always in motion and in control. The 6-5, 220-pound senior has accounted for almost 3,900 yards of offense himself and 40 touchdowns. He leads an offense that averages a staggering 536 yards per game.

Eubank has followed in the footsteps of some awfully talented quarterbacks currently playing college football in Matt Scott (Arizona) and Taylor Martinez (Nebraska).

Logan told reporters that Eubank is a combination of Vince Young and Dennis Dixon.

He has some large threats in Collins, a 5-9, 185-pound tailback who has rushed for 2,325 yards and 42 touchdowns. Goodman, a 5-5, 160-pound scatback, is the team's third 1,000-yard rusher (Eubank has 1,165 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns) with 1,038 yards at almost 10 yards per carry.

Eubank's favorite receiver is Scott, a nimble and graceful 6-1, 180-pound senior who has 47 catches for 1,089 yards and 10 scores.

All the weapons and no-huddle attack will be hard for Palo Alto to simulate at practice, but they have the goods to deliver, led by Stanford-bound defensive end Kevin Anderson.

The 6-4, 245-pound senior has 88 tackles, 11.5 sacks and is a huge kick- and punt-block specialist. He's constantly in the backfield and he's actually big enough and fast enough to deal with Eubank.

Braff, a 6-4, 210-pound strong safety is everywhere with 154 tackles and four interceptions. Will Glazier (5-11, 190) and Michael Cullen (6-2, 195) are a pair of active linebackers who have combined for 207 tackles. Glazier also has nine sacks.

EXTRA POINTS
Centennial's closest game all season was a 42-23 victory over Chino Hills. … Logan said Eubank looks even taller out on the field: "He's 6-5 but looks like he's 6-8 when he's out there," he said. "Funny, when I need to find him or chew him out on the sideline, I can't find him." … Steve Bono is a Palo Alto assistant. … Centennial kicker Ezequiel Rivera might have a tired right leg. He's booted 89 extra points this season and six field goals. … Bono, also the team's kicker and punter, has 54 extra points. ... Palo Alto has two state titles in boys basketball (1993 and 2006), the latter when Lin led them to an upset victory over Mater Dei. … In 2007, US News and World Report magazine ranked Palo Alto No. 85 out of more than 18,000 public high schools.