NORCO — It was not the game the Centennial football team necessarily wanted and certainly was not one the Huskies expected.
This was, however, a game Centennial football coach Matt Logan said his team might have needed.
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Norco’s Julian Medina is tackled by Corona Centennial’s Keawe Browne (2) and Corona Centennial’s Hayden Zentner during Thursday’s Big West Conference-North Division gameat Norco High School in Norco on Thursday, Oct.. 23, 2025. (Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos, Contributing Photographer)
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Norco’s Julian Medina is tackled by Corona Centennial’s Keawe Browne (2) and Corona Centennial’s Hayden Zentner during Thursday’s Big West Conference-North Division gameat Norco High School in Norco on Thursday, Oct.. 23, 2025. (Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos, Contributing Photographer)
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Centennial rarely is challenged in league games, but the Huskies found themselves trailing a determined Norco squad by a point midway through the fourth quarter. Centennial summoned up a final response, scoring the final 11 points of the contest to escape with a 59-49 victory over the Cougars in a thrilling, back-and-forth Big West Conference-North Division showdown Thursday night.
Last week, Centennial entered halftime tied with Murrieta Valley but dominated the second half and pulled away for a 48-20 win.
“It’s absolutely good for us,” Logan said of having to play 48 tough minutes in league games. “We came away with the wins, and we can learn a lot of valuable lessons from this…. It’s good to be in a close game, be tested and have to make big plays to win.”
Norco coach Dan Barlage obviously hoped to walk away with the upset victory, but he also found several silver linings in the loss. The 49 points is the most Centennial has allowed in a league game in 26 years (a 65-43 loss to Norco back in 1999). And it was the first time Centennial trailed in the fourth quarter of a league game since Norco beat the Huskies in the 2021 spring campaign.
“I’m really proud of how we bounced back from a slow start and continued to give them a battle until the very end,” Barlage said. “We just turned the ball over at times we could afford to…. But I’m proud of the effort and how they hung in there and competed.”
Norco (6-3 overall, 1-3 in league) had the home crowd in a frenzy when it took its first and only lead of the game with 6:51 left on the clock. Julian Medina tossed a 5-yard touchdown to Blake Wong and a two-point conversion gave the Cougars a 49-48 lead.
Centennial (8-1, 4-0) had an immediate response, however. The Huskies recovered an onside-kick attempt by the Cougars, and two plays later Dean Gibson took a wrap-around draw (“The Statue of Liberty”) and raced up the middle for a 50-yard touchdown.
Norco was looking to answer back, but the Cougars lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Centennial milked nearly 4 1/2 minutes off the clock, and Jaden Walk-Green drilled a 27-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining that sealed the victory for the Huskies.
Gibson had career evening, rushing for 175 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries. Centennial’s running back corps has been depleted with injuries, so the junior defensive back stepped in to make his first start this season on the offensive side of the ball.
“I played running back my freshman year, so it was second nature picking it back up again,” Gibson said. “When coach gave me the call and said they needed me, of course I said I was ready to go. I’ll doing anything that I’m asked to do to help my team win.”
Centennial had to withstand stellar performances from Norco junior quarterback Julian Medina and junior receivers Blake Wong and Jaxon Cuellar. Medina completed 35 of 43 passes for 384 yards and six touchdowns and led the team with 74 yards on the ground. Wong had 13 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and Cuellar caught 11 balls for 127 yards and two scores.
“I thought Julian did a really good job getting the ball out his hand early and escaping pressure when he had to,” Barlage said.
Centennial built a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter, as Dominick Catalano fired a 29-yard touchdown to Devan Parker and Gibson scored on a 1-yard run. Norco battled back and got within 22-20 after Medina tossed touchdowns to Tegan Ogas, Cuellar and Wong. Gibson helped give Centennial a 35-27 lead when he scored on a 3-yard run with 21 seconds left in the half.
Norco caught a break when Centennial lost a fumble near the goal line on the opening possession of the second half. But the Cougars failed to capitalize. Medina was wrapped up and his pass attempt was ruled a lateral. Walk-Green scooped up the ball and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. That was Walk-Green’s fifth defensive touchdown of the season (also four pick-sixes).
Catalano completed 15 of 17 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown and added 59 yards and two more scores on the ground.
Centennial has clinched at least a share of the league championship, and the Huskies will look to make it an outright title when the host Chaparral in the regular-season finale Thursday, Oct. 30. Norco makes the trip to Vista Murrieta on that same evening.
