It was one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen. In the California Division I high school football championship, perennial powerhouse De La Salle dominated Corona Centennial in the first half, jumping out to a 24-7 lead at the break. Things looked even grimmer for the Huskies when De La Salle scored again in the third quarter, increasing its lead to 31-7.
The Huskies (13-2) made it a game by scoring 24 consecutive points in the second half to tie the score, 31-31, with 8:17 remaining. Their big break came with the Spartans leading, 31-15, late in the third quarter.
Michael Czyz, punting for De La Salle inside its own 10, kicked the ball into up-back Jeff Stroud and the ball caromed into the end zone, where it was recovered by De La Salle for a safety, cutting the deficit to 31-17.
Centennial then started the ensuing drive at midfield, picked up a first down on fourth and five on a 10-yard reverse by Marsel Posey and then scored on a 34-yard pass from Matt Scott to Ricky Marvray, who broke a tackle at the 10 and scored to cut the deficit to 31-24 with 14.9 seconds left in the third quarter.
De La Salle led 36-31 with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but Centennial was unable to convert on a crucial 4th and 2 deep in Spartan territory. Centennial elected to try the option, a play that the Huskies used all season but one that didn’t have much success against the Spartans. Tailback Ryan Bass was stuffed for a loss and De La Salle took over on downs.
On De La Salle’s next possession, the Centennial defense forced a punt, but the Huskies’ final drive was cut short when the Spartans’ Blair Wishom picked off Matt Scott to effectively end the game, 36-31.
Both teams showed a ton of resiliency, which is just the kind of thing you want to see in a state championship game.
