INLAND FIELDHOUSE

I covered the Riverside North-Corona Centennial varsity football game for the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 and came away thinking Centennial is just warming up for its matchup with Norco in two weeks.

Centennial (6-1 overall, 4-0 Big VIII) was in total control of North from start to finish on Friday, forcing turnovers and scoring at will.

Watch a video from the game here.

Senior DB Anthony Goodman (5-8, 175) got Centennial going when he intercepted North QB Dom Carr (6-6, 220) on the eighth play of the game and returned the ball more than 50 yards to within North’s 20-yard line.

Senior RB Denzel Hawkins (5-10, 185) once again gave way to junior RB Dion Bass (5-9, 190) in the second quarter as the Huskies pounded the ball and took advantage of play-action. Bass scored two of his three TDs, and QBs Michael Arredondo (6-0, 175) and Michael Eubank (6-5, 220) each passed for one touchdown in the quarter as Centennial built an insurmountable  39-13 halftime lead.

Centennial coach Matt Logan’s team runs the fastest prep offense I’ve ever seen. If you’re not careful you’ll miss a play or two. This may be part of what frustrates their opponents. There’s virtually no time off between Centennial plays, which leaves defenses gasping for air as Logan chooses whether it’ll be Hawkins or Bass or Arredondo or Eubank or any of a half-dozen other lightning-fast athletes. It’s truly amazing the depth Logan possesses.

Just as in Centennial’s 56-16 victory over Riverside Poly in Week 6, the Huskies were the beneficiaries of mistakes made by the other team in Week 7. Twice a North long snapper hiked the ball over the head of senior punter Dylan Schul (6-3, 185), forcing Schul to kick the ball through the back of the end zone for fear of an even worse result. North’s Carr also seemed out of sync with the option offense and twice pitched the ball to no one in particular.

North was missing senior tailback E.J. Schexnayder, who said he pulled a hamstring in the Huskies’ loss last week. They could have used him in pass blocking — Carr was running around like a chicken with his head cut off most of the night. This also speaks to the performance of North’s offensive line, which looked inexperienced and under-sized.

Senior scatback Sadale Foster picked up the majority of the slack, running for more than 175 yards and one TD on 20-plus carries. If not for Foster, North would have gained less than 100 yards of offense.