Cornell Hatcher Jr. ran for 300 yards and four touchdowns to help lead No. 22
Centennial (Corona, Calif.) to a 42-35 comeback victory Friday night over No. 16
Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.) in one of the biggest high school football games of the weekend nationally.
Navi Bruzon of Liberty threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to
Jon Wilson with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter to put the Arizona squad up 35-21. From there, Hatcher took over with touchdown runs of 17, 1 and 13 yards, respectively, to lift Centennial to a dramatic home win.
Hatcher's final TD came in the last minute of game, giving Centennial its only lead of the night. He also scored from 67 yards out in the first quarter. Two weeks ago against national No. 2
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), the 6-foot, 205-pound senior ran 29 times for 233 yards and four touchdowns.
Cornell Hatcher looks for yards against Punahou of Hawaii earlier this month, a game where he piled up 336 rushing and receiving yards. (File photo: Steven Silva)
Despite his play this season, Hatcher's recruitment remains a bit of a mystery.
247Sports reports only one offer from UNLV. He ran for 1,285 yards and 21 touchdowns as a junior.
After three consecutive games against out-of-state opponents, Centennial (3-2) opens league play next week against
Chaparral (Temecula).
Liberty (4-1), which fell Friday for just the second time in its last 17 games, gets a week off before looking to rebound Oct. 6 at
Pinnacle (Phoenix).
