INLAND FIELDHOUSE

I covered the Fontana Miller-Corona Centennial CIF-SS Inland Division first-round playoff game for the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 and came away wondering if Miller tailback David Dash would have made a difference in the game’s outcome.

My initial impression? Probably not.

Dash, the Rebels’ best offensive threat, did not play because of what he called “a banged-up knee.” When I asked him, during the first quarter, whether or not he’d play, he told me “I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Without him, Miller went behind 36-0 by halftime and lost 56-20. Certainly not the ending Dash or the Rebels had in mind for 2009. For Dash, it also meant the end of his prep career. Not to worry — I’m thinking he’ll play at some collegiate level, wherever that may be.

Putting the game in perspective, Centennial’s offense was just too much for Miller’s defense to handle. Senior Denzel Hawkins scored three times and was one of about a dozen ball carriers for the Huskies. This team, as I’ve written before, is so fast that I think coach Matt Logan probably had their backup DBs taking handoffs.

Local media have lauded the Huskies’ defensive play. I agree with the plaudits to a point — Centennial’s defense ultimately benefits from the team’s offense. The Huskies offense is so productive and efficient that the defense rarely plays under pressure, the lone caveat being Week 9 against Norco. They just score more points than the other team… usually.

QUOTES FROM COACHES AND PLAYERS:

“We had lots of turnovers. We had a couple shots. We turned the ball over we maybe could’ve had one or two more touchdowns. It didn’t work that way. We had a chance to do something, we didn’t do it. Does that make sense? Lotta ups and downs. A lot of growing pains and a lot of ups and downs.” — Miller coach Jeff Strycula

“I was a little disappointed in our execution. On a couple of drives we had penalties that we didn’t need to have but overall… not bad. We move on to the next round and down to eight teams. I thought defensively we played well. we held them scoreless for two-and-a-half quarter so…uh… we were able to get everybody in so it was really good. I even got my freshman in so it was good. (Miller) has had a great offense all year long — scored lots of points on good teams — so we anticipated a battle so I was surprised by their miscues early which we cashed in a few of them. I thought we throw the ball real well for the first quarter, quarter and a half, so I want to go back and work at that. I know it’s a little different, the weather’s changing, balls get wet and stuff like that but we have to learn to deal with that. We have to throw the ball better to win next week, bottom line.” — Centennial coach Matt Logan