AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week: No. 5/SN No. 3 Centennial vs. No. 6/SN No. 7 Mater Dei

Kendall Webb

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AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week: No. 5/SN No. 3 Centennial vs. No. 6/SN No. 7 Mater Dei image

Centennial and Mater Dei will meet in a rematch of their epic September 12 encounter won by the Huskies, 43-36.

Same time. Same place. Same two California high school football powerhouses.

And the No. 5/SN No. 3 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies will be hoping for the same outcome when they host the No. 6/SN No. 7 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs Friday night in AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week.

The Huskies defeated Mater Dei, 43-36, back on September 12, and they knew their path to California's Division 1 state championship – and, possibly, a national title – was bound to run through the Monarchs again. They probably would have preferred that it come a week later in California's Division 1 Southern Section championship game, but instead, they got paired in the same bracket as the Monarchs. The game is one of two semifinal matchups Friday night with the No. 10/SN No. 25 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles hosting the No. 34 Orange [CA] Lutheran Lancers in the other semifinal.

At the very least, Centennial will be spared the challenge of having to face the bracket's top-ranked St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves after they were upset by Orange Lutheran a week ago, but they might very well have to face Santa Margarita in the championship game if they can figure out a way to beat Mater Dei a second time. Santa Margarita is responsible for the only blemish on Centennial's record, having beaten the Huskies, 33-27, in overtime way back on August 28.

Suffice it to to say, there is no easy path through the Southern Section bracket, but the Huskies have proven they can beat the mighty Monarchs once. The question now is... Can they do it again?

MORE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

No. 6/SN No. 7 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs at No. 5/SN No. 3 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies

LAST WEEK'S GAME OF THE WEEK SN No. 17 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles 21, No. 10/SN No. 11 Sierra Canyon [Chatsworth, CA] Trailblazers 9

Friday, November 21, 2025
Centennial High School Football Field, Corona, California | 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
TV/Streaming: NFHS Network

Local Media Coverage: Los Angeles Times High School Sports

School Athletics Websites: Mater Dei Monarchs Athletics | Centennial Huskies Athletics

School Social Media: Mater Dei Monarchs on X.com @MDFootball | Centennial Huskies on X.com @Cen10Huskies

The Background

If you follow national high school football, then you probably don't need us to tell you how things have gone in this series. But just in case you aren't up to speed, then it's important to know that this has been a one-sided series over the past decade. After beating Mater Dei, 42-36, nearly 10 years ago on November 27, 2015, Centennial lost the next seven games in the series, and only one of those was close – a 21-16 loss in the 2021 matchup.

That streak included a loss in every season starting in 2018 with the exception of the 2020 season when California schools played a limited schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And it culminated in last year's disaster when Centennial lost twice to the Monarchs in the season opener (42-25) and again in the Southern Section semifinals (36-7) to close the season.

That brings us to the 2025 season, and on September 12, the Huskies finally broke the curse, defeating the Monarchs in a wild 43-36 shootout in which both teams dominated the other for long stretches. That brings us, of course, to Friday's matchup which is again taking place in the semifinals. Centennial has the opportunity to match Mater Dei's 2024 feat by beating the Monarchs twice in one season while moving on to the Southern Section championship game next week.

That is, of course, easier said than done.

Top Recruits

Mater Dei has 10 seniors listed on the 247sports.com Class of 2026 for California, and they've got 12 more in their junior class. That doesn't even begin to count the sophomores and freshmen that will eventually receive star ratings in the future. Top senior prospects include 5-star TE Mark Bowman (USC) and 4-star recruits like OT Kodi Green (6-6, 320 lbs., Washington), WR Chris Henry Jr. (Ohio State), WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Ohio State), DL Tomuhini Topui (6-3, 320 lbs, USC) and EDGE Shaun Scott (6-3, 230 lbs., USC). Top 4-star junior prospects include CB Aaryn Washington and CB Danny Lang.
Centennial counters with five seniors of their own that are listed as ranked prospects. All of them are 3-stars, including TE Keawe Brown (Boise State), LB Jonathan McKinley (California), CB Therman Williams (Wyoming), DL Kingston Schirmer (California), and LB Fifita Moore (Princeton). One of the team's biggest playmakers is junior S Jaden Walk-Green, one of four 3-star junior prospects, including EDGE Miles Schirmer (uncommitted), S Brett Smith, and CB Augus Saunders, none of whom have settled on their college destinations, yet.

When Mater Dei has the ball...

Senior 3-star QB Ryan Hopkins (Wisconsin) is the triggerman for Mater Dei's offense, and he has plenty of talent in receiver in Dixon-Wyatt and Henry Jr., both of whom are committed to Ohio State. They'll look to stretch the field with their two senior wideouts while creating running lanes for an offense that has relied heavily on senior RB Justin Lewis to help move the chains. And, of course, there's Bowman, the 5-star tight end, who's got skills more like a wideout but is big enough (6-4, 225 lbs.) To go across the middle on underneath routes to give Hopkins another option.

On the other side, Walk-Green is the star of Centennial's defense with a team-leading 89 tackles and a mind-boggling 9 interceptions for 291 yards with 5 of those returned for touchdowns. For good measure, he's also the team's kicker.

When Centennial has the ball...

Quarterback Dominick Catalano isn't the most accurate passer, completing just 56.9 percent of his passes this season, but 18 of his attempts have ended up in touchdowns through the airways. He does a good job of spreading the ball around, too, with six Huskies recording double-digit reception totals on the season led by Ty Plinski's 31 grabs for 510 yards and 4 touchdowns. Catalano is a dual-threat, however, so you can't judge him solely by his passing numbers as he also has 531 yards on the ground with 5 more touchdowns. He's one of three players on the team with more than 500 yards rushing led by the engine for the Huskies' offense – sophomore RB Malaki Davis who has 863 rushing yards with an 11.1 yards per carry average. He's also scored 18 touchdowns on the ground to lead the team.

Mater Dei will rely heavily on Scott who has been a beast, making 18 tackles for loss over the course of the season. CJ Lavender Jr. Has been dominant in the secondary with 7 interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Keys to the game

Mater Dei wins if the Monarchs continue to play at the level they've played in their previous two games. The Monarchs have mostly played to the level of their opponents in 2025, and that's okay when you're taking on a No. 1 St. John Bosco or Bishop Gorman. Mater Dei has also struggled, however, against lower-ranked opponents, but after beating Bosco three weeks ago, the Monarchs came out in their playoff opener last week and mostly dominated the Mission Viejo [CA] Diablos in a 20-0 shutout. That's the Mater Dei we're more familiar with, and the reality is this: the Monarchs have a much deeper roster than Centennial, and if they show up prepared and get rid of the silly penalties and untimely mistakes that have plagued them all season, they will be hard to beat. If the error-prone version that got smoked by the Huskies in the first half of their regular-season contest back in September shows up, then this is likely to be another game that goes the distance.

Centennial wins if the defense is at its best and Walk-Green is making plays all over the field as is his habit. If the defense is suspect, then Catalano and company will have to win in another shootout, and they might have used up most of their luck in the first meeting between these teams.

Looking Ahead

The winner will advance to California's CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game against the winner of Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita. It's worth noting, that Santa Margarita has beaten both Centennial and Mater Dei in 2025.

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