CORONA – It’s going to be Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco again.
Mater Dei dismantled Centennial of Corona 36-7 on Friday in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal at Centennial High.
The Monarchs (11-0) will play St. John Bosco (11-1) in the championship game next Friday, Nov. 29, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.
Mater Dei beat St. John Bosco in last year’s Division 1 final 35-7 for the Monarchs’ 13th CIF-SS football championship.
They are 3-3 in championship games against the Braves since their first championship-game encounter in 2018.
This season Mater Dei beat St. John Bosco 59-14 in a Trinity League game.
The Monarchs, No. 1 in the Orange County top 25 and in various national rankings, paid a price for Friday’s semifinal win; how steep of a price remains to be seen. A couple of players limped off of the field during the hard-hitting game, including senior quarterback Dash Beierly. Beierly was blasted on an end-around run late in the second quarter, was on the ground for a few minutes and after being helped to the Mater Dei sideline did not return.
Furian Inferrera, a sophomore, replaced Beierly, threw a touchdown pass in the second quarter and played much of the second half. Senior quarterback Chase Wegener finished up in the fourth quarter for the Monarchs.
Mater Dei’s Penn State-committed senior cornerback Daryus Dixson returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown, Aaryn Washington had an interception for the Monarchs and they recovered two fumbles.
Centennial (9-3) was averaging 45 points a game going into Friday’s semifinal. The Huskies beat O.C. No. 2 Mission Viejo 25-20 last week in the quarterfinals.
Mater Dei scored on its first possession, a 28-yard field goal by Dominic Zante. The kick made Zante 6 for 6 on field goal tries this season. That was the only scoring of the first quarter.
The Monarchs got their first touchdown on a 1-yard sneak by Beierly.
Centennial unsuccessfully tried a fake punt a fourth down at its 14-yard line, giving Mater Dei possession at the Centennial 1-yard line. Following Beierly’s touchdown the snap on the point-after try was off target for no kick attempt, leaving Mater Dei with a 9-0 lead with 9:29 to go in the second quarter.
Centennial got a 16-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Dean Gibson to make it 9-7.
Beierly connected with tight end Mark Bowman on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds left in the half. Again an extra-point attempt did not come together during the snap-to-holder portion, so the Monarchs had a 15-7 lead.
The Monarchs got the ball back quickly when senior linebacker Nasir Wyatt, an Oregon commit, slapped the ball out of Centennial quarterback Husan Longstreet’s right hand, with Alabama-committed Abduall Sanders making the recovery at the Huskies 3-yard line.
Beierly was injured when he carried the ball around the right side for no gain, so the Monarchs inserted sophomore Furian Inferrera at quarterback. On the next snap Inferrera floated a pass to his left to receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for a touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the half. The point-after kick was successful this time, giving Mater Dei a 22-7 halftime lead.
There were three turnovers in the first half. Washington made his interception, Wyatt caused the fumble recovered by Sanders, and Beierly threw an interception. It was only Beierly’s second interception of the season. His first interception came last week when Mater Dei beat Sierra Canyon in the quarterfinals last week; he went into the Centennial game with 195 passing attempts.
Centennial got its first first down on its sixth possession of the first half.
Mater Dei’s two second-half touchdowns were a 1-yard run by senior running back Jordan Davison, another Oregon commit, who rushed for 47 yards on seven carries of that scoring drive, and Dixson’s interception return. There was no scoring in the fourth quarter.
Centennial junior running back Malachi Roby, who rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns last week in the Huskies’ win over Mission Viejo in the quarterfinals, did not play Friday.
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