CORONA— Ahead of the 2019 season, Centennial’s senior star WR Gary Bryant prepares for a big season. Bryant knows he has a lot of eyes on him, with over 26 offers in seven of the biggest conferences in college football, but he’s only focused on this team right now. The Southern Californian native has already locked in offers from the entire Pac-12 conference.
Gary Bryant looks to be a leader first this season, but ultimately his main goal is getting this team to a state championship, and winning it. While everyone will be waiting to see where Bryant commits to following this season, everyone will also be tuning into Week 0’s matchup against Mater Dei, a game that Bryant has a good feeling about.
CORONA– Matt Logan wrapped up his 22nd season as Head Coach and in his time he has compiled and incredible record. One State Championship (2008), three Southern Regional Championships (2012,2014,2015), 10 CIF Championships, and 16 League Championships.
His success isn’t just reflected in his teams’ success either. Logan has received over 35 coaching honors himself and deservingly so.
During his tenure, over 130 players have been awarded scholarships to play after high school. No matter the division, athletes have gone on to play in college and those that made it to the NFL still owe some of their success to Matt Logan.
Many players make it a point to recognize Logan’s ability to teach them much more than the game of football. For example, how to be responsible and accountable young men. Logan, a father to only daughters, continues to shape these boys as if they had been his own sons.
It is his style of coaching however, that many of the people within his organization attribute their achievements. Logan’s coaching has been described as “meticulous” and “OCD”, and that large amount of detail and repetition is what breeds success.
Matt Logan is returning for the 2019 season and still has the same love for the game as when he first started. “One of my favorite quotes is ‘If you choose a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” Logan said.
Head Coach Matt Logan (Photo courtesy: Bridget Smith)
Posted at 11:16 AM PST
By: Tyler Myerly
SANTA ANA– The Huskies finished their season Friday night with a loss to Mater Dei, their only loss in 13 games. The score of 48-14 looks worse than it was considering defense only gave up three of the seven touchdowns scored by Mater Dei.
(Photo courtesy: Bridget Smith)
The first four touchdowns were scored by Mater Dei’s defense in the first half, three of the four pick-sixes by Elias Ricks alone. Centennial’s offense noticeably deflated after their first touchdown, during the first possession of the game, was called back due to an inadvertent whistle.
“I think that play alone, really changed the complexion of the game,” Coach Logan said. The Huskies were down 35-0 at the half, but within the first few minutes of play time in the second half it looked like they might have had a ball game.
After halftime, defense forcing turnovers and allowing offense to make those plays and score. Sivi Nomura blocking the Monarchs’ punt and putting the Huskies in the red zone to score again. Those two possessions however, were followed by penalties and missed plays that the Huskies couldn’t recover from.
Centennial had more total plays, more first downs, and more possession time than Mater Dei did, but their execution just wasn’t enough. Mater Dei even had 199 penalty yards compared to Centennial’s 75 penalty yards.
It was a tough loss for the team, considering this first loss was a season-ending one. Emotions were running high following the game as Centennial gathered together for their traditional Senior Tunnel. “I’m really proud of the Seniors, the senior leadership they displayed,” Coach Logan said. Each Senior taking their turn shaking hands and hugging teammates and coaches through the tunnel after their last and final high school game.
Senior Sivi Nomura hugging Coach Matt Logan following Friday night’s loss. (Photo courtesy: Bridget Smith)
Last year the Huskies lost in the semifinals round against St. John Bosco. Mater Dei advances to the CIF-SS Division 1 Championship game against St. John Bosco where they will face off again.
CORONA— Junior wide receiver Gary Bryant has been making moves for Centennial’s football team, on offense, defense, and special teams. Before the quarter-finals matchup against Rancho Cucamonga, Bryant had 83 receptions, 1,639 yards, and 23 touchdowns in his career.
Bryant has been a phenomenal part of the Huskies’ offense. In the first game of the 2018 season he had 9 receptions for 265 yards, helping set the pace for a long season ahead.
Even though he was out for two weeks due to an ankle aggravation, that didn’t slow him down at all. Gary leading the offense in yardage and when you include his defensive and special teams’ touchdowns, he leads in total touchdowns this season.
The fact that it is only his junior year gives him more opportunity to “get bigger, stronger, and faster, so I can play at the next level,” Bryant said. The next level of course, still undecided. With 16 offers so far, Bryant has options.
Football programs like Notre Dame, USC, Washington, Nebraska, and Florida all want Gary Bryant. “I’m looking for a family, you know. Anyone that welcomes me in and treats me good,” Bryant said.
So, what sets this receiver apart from the rest? Bryant plays both sides of the ball, and when he has the ball he executes. He knows the mindset of a defensive back. “My mindset is, if anyone lines up one-on-one with me, I have to win,” Gary said.
This Centennial offense truly benefiting from Gary Bryant’s place on the team, and they get to utilize him for another season. With only a few potential games left in the 2018 season, Bryant intends on making every play count and getting his team to State.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA- The Huskies beat the Cougars last night 58-20. With this win Centennial is headed to semi-finals where they will take on Mater Dei on the road.
CORONA- Last night Centennial High School defeated Roosevelt High with a game ending score of 84-14. This win sealed the Huskies’ season 10-0, an undefeated season.
Within the first half the Huskies had put up 77 on the board and only allowed seven points. However by the start of the second quarter, much of the team’s starters were pulled, allowing time for the rest of the Centennial roster to get playing time.
QB Carter Freedland was out of last night’s game, which was the first game we saw just one of the team’s two quarterbacks start for an entire quarter. In the first quarter, Ala Mikaele was 11/13 for 184 yards, and had two rushing touchdowns himself.
Gary Bryant dominating on both sides of the ball, offensively with 112 receiving yards in the first half alone. Bryant also contributing to the numerous interceptions the Centennial defense had last night.
With regular season coming to a close, both the team and the fans are ready to embrace the playoffs. The Huskies know how difficult their potential matchups can be, but Coach Logan and the players don’t seem to be too worried.
Everyone is ready for Week 1 of playoffs which begins next week. Who the Huskies will be facing however, is still unknown.
CORONA—Drake Jackson is one of Centennial High School’s most explosive defensive players. At 6’4” and 264 lbs he is noticeably the largest guy on the team and plays like it too. Combine that with a respectable public-school football program like Corona Centennial and it’s no surprise this senior has multiple college offers.
Drake started playing flag football at 5 years old, just like many of the kids his age. He is now a little over half way through his last season of high school football and has 14 college football offers.
With PAC-12 and BIG-10 school offers like the University of Southern California, University of Oregon, University of Washington, Arizona State University, and the University of Illinois, it’s clear to see why Drake is having a hard time committing.
“I need a family,” he said. He told me he wants a program where there is a genuine coach who is there to mentor young men in addition to coaching football.
Jackson hasn’t dialed down on a college football program just yet, and in the meantime his commitment to the Centennial Huskies hasn’t wavered either. “I want to be one of the best D-linemen to ever leave here,” Drake said when asked about the legacy he wants to leave on Centennial football.
This season alone, Jackson has 31 total tackles, 2 defensive touchdowns, 3 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, and 4 pass deflections. However, it’s the lessons both on and off the field that Drake has internalized and grown from.
“Coach Logan is teaching us how to be a man,” Jackson said. Drake spoke very highly of his four-year varsity football head coach, Matt Logan. Those are the lessons that he is ultimately looking for in a college football program.
The rest of our conversation consisted of life after football, and most importantly, family. Jackson said after football, he would most likely want to be a sports broadcaster or maybe even making video games for young kids.
When it came to family, Jackson talked about the support from his mom, dad, and the rest of his family. “They’re working hard for me so I’m just gonna’ do it right back for them,” he said. After all the hard work, Drake knows he has made his family proud and he is excited to continue making them proud.
The Husky Huddle 