It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Centennial Huskies had no problem doing just that on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 63-39 margin over Orange Lutheran. Winning may never get old, but Centennial sure are getting used to it with their seventh in a row.
Cornell Hatcher, Jr. was his usual excellent self, rushing for 190 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 11.9 yards per carry. Hatcher, Jr. is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last eight games he's played. Husan Longstreet was another key contributor, throwing for 311 yards and three touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes.
Orange Lutheran's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Tj Lateef, who threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. The team also got some help courtesy of Aj Ia, who picked up 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Centennial's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-2. It's not like the team was facing easy opposition over that stretch either, as it included 9-1 Liberty and 7-4 Chaparral (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 62.7% over those games). As for Orange Lutheran, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 5-6.
Centennial will head out on the road to face off against St. John Bosco at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. St. John Bosco is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune. Orange Lutheran does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
