The Corona Centennial Huskies defeated the Narbonne Gauchos 41-34 in a heart-stopping CIF Open Division regional championship game Saturday night at Cerritos College in Norwalk. The Huskies pulled out a thrilling victory in the final minute on a 14-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Robert Webber to junior running back Tre Watson.
Corona Centennial took control of the game early behind their powerful offensive line. Senior running back Austin Renken scored on a fourth down 4-yard touchdown run to give the Huskies a 7-0 advantage.
Late-game hero Tre Watson doubled the Centennial lead with a 20-yard touchdown scamper.
Leading 14-0, Webber connected with playmaking junior wide receiver Barry Ware on a 13-yard touchdown pass. B Ware had 15 touchdowns during the regular season.
After digging themselves into a 20-0 deficit, the Narbonne offense, led by Washington commit quarterback Troy Williams started clicking and moved the ball down the field culminating a 23-yard touchdown from Williams to sophomore Jon’tae Roberson. The Gauchos added a two-point conversion to make it 20-8.
Shortly before halftime, Webber engineered another scoring drive that was cashed in on a 17-yard touchdown strike to the automatic touchdown machine B Ware. The Huskies led 27-8 at halftime.
Narbonne displayed great resiliency and showed their championship spirit in the second half. The Gauchos stormed back into the game behind the playmaking of Cal commit AJ Richardson whose touchdown reception cut the lead to 27-15.
After the Huskies missed a long field goal, Narbonne moved the ball down the field again, scoring on a 27-yard run by Williams.
Leading 27-22, Centennial regrouped and went back to work. The gun-slinging Webber sprayed the ball around to his bevy of weapons including Chase Krivashei, Ryan Pascarella and B Ware.
The Huskies converted on fourth and 16 with a big time pass play from Webber to Pascarella. The same combo linked up again on third and long for a 16-yard touchdown strike to give the Huskies a 34-22 advantage.
True to form, the Gauchos refused to go down without a fight and showed immense heart in rallying back into the game behind the play of Williams and Richardson. After Williams linked up with Roberson for another touchdown, Richardson punched in the game-tying score on a short touchdown run.
Unfortunately for Narbonne, Richardson was injured on the play and unable to hold the point after try as usual. As a result, the Gauchos went for two but Williams was unable to cash in on a scramble up the right sideline. The game was tied 34-34 with a little under a minute to play.
Even worse for the Gauchos, there was time left on the clock for Webber and company to work their magic. After a few nice completions and two pass interference penalties, the Huskies were suddenly in position for the winning score.
The under-sized Webber put forth a performance Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel would appreciate, throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 73 yards.
After Webber connected with Watson for the go-ahead touchdown, the Centennial defense shut down Narbonne’s final drive, securing a berth in the state title game against perennial powerhouse Concord De La Salle. The Open Division final is Saturday night Dec 15 at Home Depot Center in Carson.
Game-winning Touchdown Pass from Robert Webber to Tre Watson:
Both teams left it all out on the field and showed why they are champions, but in the end it was the Corona Centennial Huskies that reigned supreme.
