California Bowl: D1 Sequel - DLS vs. Centennial

CIF State Bowl Game Preview

Division I: De La Salle (Concord) 12-1 vs. Centennial (Corona) 14-0

When: Friday, 8 p.m.

Where: Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.

TV: Southern California – FSN Prime Ticket; Northern California – CSN Bay Area.

Audio: www.KBCSports.com

Rankings — De La Salle: Nationally, No. 10 by MaxPreps.com, No. 19 by ESPN, No. 16 by USA Today; State, No. 2 MaxPreps, No. 3 by Calhisports.com. Centennial: Nationally, No. 18 by MaxPreps, No. 8 by ESPN, No. 2 by USA Today.

Notable Alums — De La Salle: Amani Toomer (Super Bowl NY Giants), Maurice Jones-Drew (NFL), Brent Barry (NBA), D.J. Williams (NFL). Centennial: Lonnie Paxton (long snapper New England Patriots), Terrell Jackson (UTEP RB), Brandon Kessel (DJ). 

Leading Rusher — De La Salle: Kylan Butler (157-1,286-15 TDs). Centennial: Arthur Burns (271-1,803-27). 

Leading Passer — De La Salle: Blake Wayne (86-146-1,520-15 TDs). Centennial: Taylor Martinez (166-283-2,751-28).  

Leading Receiver — De La Salle: Jackson Bouza (33-612-6). Centennial: Ricky Marvray (61-1,019-12).

Points per game: De La Salle 39.6, Centennial 40.0.

Points allowed per game: De La Salle 14.1, Centennial 14.9.

Rosters: De La Salle, Centennial

Full team statistics: De La Salle, Centennial

FRIDAY

Small schools: Hamilton Union (Hamilton City) vs. St. Margaret’s (San Juan Capistrano) 14-0, 4:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

Division III: Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 13-0 vs. St. Bonaventure (Ventura), 13-1, noon

Division II: St. Mary’s (Stockton) 12-2 vs. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 13-0, 4 p.m.

Open Division: Grant (Sacramento) 13-0 vs. Long Beach Poly 14-0, 8 p.m.

Nike Coaches Clinic: Saturday, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Agassi Pavilion. Clinicians are Pete Carroll and Chris Carlisle. More information, click here.
Ancillary events: California State High School Cheerleading and Dance Championships
Wednesday previews: Small schools, Division I.

Thursday previews: Division II, Division III

Friday previews: Open Division, 10 Players to Watch

CARSON, Calif. - If fans didn’t get enough of last year’s heart-pumping CIF State Bowl Division I game last season, it continues Friday at 8 p.m.

Six-time mythical national champion De La Salle (Concord) attempts to defend its title against the team that almost came back from a 31-7 deficit, Centennial (Corona) at the Home Depot Center.

The Huskies (14-0) actually did come all the way back and tied last year’s game at 31-31 before returning De La Salle receiver Noah Perio caught a 25-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes, 9 seconds remaining to give the Spartans at 37-31 victory. Read last year's game story.

Centennial, with a truck load of Division I talent back, now gets a chance not only to win its school’s first state title — the Huskies’ ultimate goal — but they get a chance to payback a little pain.

“It’s just a great opportunity is how we see it,” Centennial coach Matt Logan said. “We get to play for a state championship and let’s face it, we’re playing the best high school program in the nation. Their record speaks for itself.”

Indeed, the Spartans (12-1), under head coach Bob Ladouceur, defensive coordinator Terry Eidson and staff, have a storied past, with a national-record 151-game win streak, 17 straight North Coast Section titles and a ridiculous 344-21-3 record since 1979 when Ladouceur took over.

In fact, according to the CalHiSports.com record book, a win Friday would make Ladouceur the state’s all-time winningest coach surpassing Marjion Ancich.

That matters little right now to the De La Salle coach who has the utmost respect for Logan and the Huskies, especially what they do with the ball.

“It’s a great system, he’s a great coach and they have fantastic players,” Ladouceur said. “It’s going to take our best game of the year to beat them.”

What makes this match-up so fantastic is that it pits a program that has reached the pinnacle (De La Salle) and another that appears soaring toward that height (see Centennial's plight).

Besides the state-title carrot, senior receiver Ricky Marvray said losing to De La Salle last year gives the Huskies extra incentive.

“Losing a game like that gives you a feeling you never want to feel again,” he said. “It was so painful you want to cry, but then you’re so mad you don’t.”

Said Logan: “Definitely what hurt a little more was that we came all the way back and really had a chance to win and didn’t get it done. Hopefully we’ll be on the right side of the scoreboard this year.”

DE LA SALLE OFFENSE, CENTENNIAL DEFENSE

The Spartans don’t do much different than they’ve done in previous years, running the vaunted veer attack to perfection. Plays are simple and basic but blocked precisely. Last season they implemented elements of the spread and with senior quarterback Blake Wayne back from last year, the results have been more than successful.

More than any player in recent memory, Wayne is as valuable a player as De La Salle has had, a tremendous dual threat (he’s accounted for 2,139 yards and 29 touchdowns) whose greatest contribution is probably his toughness and leadership.

“He’s very athletic and he’s a heck of a runner,” Logan said. “They’ve gone back a little more to the veer with him. Containing him is key.”

Arizona-bound Kylan Butler, who last week rushed for 185 yards, two TDs on just nine carries in an impressive 35-10 win over a very good Pittsburg squad, and diminutive but elusive Terron Williams-Ward (708 yards, 10 TDs) lead the running game.

“(Butler) reminds me of another number 21 (Maurice Drew) they had there a couple years ago,” Logan said. “He’s built the same and he’s a very, very good runner.”

Wayne has a strong set of sure-handed receivers, led by Jackson Bouza, who is the son of former NFL receiver Matt Bouza. Last year the Spartans rushed for 145 yards and passed for 211. Perio and Michael Dosen are other sure-fire and possession type receivers.

“We push each other every day at practice and just when one of us gets hot on the field and the defenses adjust, Blake goes to someone else,” Bouza said.

“Their passing game hurt us a lot last year, especially late,” Logan said. “We have to shore that up.”

The Huskies have the personnel to do it with two of the state’s best defensive players in USC-bound linebacker Vontaze Burfict (146 tackles) and defensive end and Arizona State-bound William Sutton (93 tackles, 11.5 sacks), son of former NFL defensive back Mickey Sutton. Another LB Anthony Whitlow (103 tackles, 12 sacks) is a big-play guy is DE Ben Letcher (103 tackles, 8 sacks).  Like last year, Centennial is much bigger and more physical than the Spartans.

Burfict is a special player, said Centennial defensive coordinator Dan Herring.

“He combines a great understanding of the game, he has a great feel for it with great instinct along with size and athleticism,” Herring said. “He has the combination of everything you need to be one of the greats.”

Sutton made no bones about it before the season. His team is within a victory of exactly what he predicted.

“We’re going undefeated,” he said in August. “We’re going to take it all this season.”

CENTENNIAL OFFENSE/DE LA SALLE DEFENSE

Logan and staff were one of the firsts to introduce the spread/no huddle attack to the Southland and it shows as the Huskies have been able to replace talented missing parts and put up huge numbers.

Last year’s duo of quarterback Matt Scott and running back Ryan Bass, both now at Arizona, were two of the state’s most productive players. Enter transfer and Nebraska-bound Taylor Martinez and backup Arthur Burns, now committed to Washington State .

Taylor may be even more athletic than Scott and with 703 rushing yards to go along with 2,751 passing yards and 39 touchdowns total, he’s got the numbers to back it up.

“It’s been a lot of fun watching how quickly he’s picked up things,” Logan said. “It’s a treat to see how he contributes with his arm and legs. He makes very good decisions.”

Burns, a beastly 5-10, 215-pound senior, has been even better than advertised, rushing for more than 1,800 yards including a massive 246-yard, three-touchdown performance in a win over Mater Dei (Anaheim).

Throw in an array of wide receivers, led by UCLA-bound Marvray, who had two touchdown catches in last year’s title game and no wonder Eidson might be sleeping a little less this week.

“Arthur Buns is a stud, the quarterback is really good, so are the receivers,” he said. “Last year it was impossible to stop everything and it’s the same this year.”

Eidson always gets his defense peaking at the right time and this year is no exception. A young and small defense, which starts sophomores Blake Renaud (linebacker) and Charles Wynn (lineman), allowed just 24 points in three playoff wins.

The secondary, led by Perio and Blair Wishom, is first rate. Wishom made two big plays down the stretch, a fourth-and-1 tackle on Bass and an interception, to seal last year’s victory.

“That was a great way to end my junior year not only for the team,” Wishom said. “It gave me a lot of confidence going into my senior year. If we can repeat that performance we could go out on a bang.”  

EXTRA POINTS

De La Salle is the only school in the state to be selected to a Bowl game the first three seasons. … Centennial scored 24 unanswered points last year in a span of just 8:44, unheard of against an Eidson-coached defense. “We just couldn’t stop them,” he said. … Centennial will be without one of the nation’s top juniors, linebacker Brandon Brown (6-2, 245) who broke his leg two weeks ago. He broke the other leg (fibula) before the season. “He was just getting around to being 100 percent and playing really, really well,” Logan said. “It’s a shame.”

E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.