4. Centennial (Corona) vs. Long Beach Poly, 2007

Coach Raul Lara didn't get a shot at De La Salle in the 2007 state title game, but won a different trophy by beating Northwestern of Miami in the 2008 opener.
Photo by Lou Novick
Centennial and Long Beach Poly both finished the regular season with one loss. Poly fell to Birmingham (Lake Balboa) 20-7 early in the season while Centennial lost a barnburner to Mater Dei 51-37. Poly ended up winning the Pac-5 championship, but didn't have to get through Mater Dei to win it. Instead, Long Beach Poly defeated Crespi 13-3 to claim the title. Centennial was much more impressive in winning the Inland Division, and it also had a 41-20 win over Crespi early in the season.
Centennial went on to lose to De La Salle 37-31 in the Division I Bowl game. Both Centennial and Long Beach Poly qualified for the bowl games the following season with Centennial defeating De La Salle in the Open Division Game and Poly losing to Grant in the Division I final.