St. John Bosco outlasts Corona Centennial in high school football track meet: Live updates recap

Corona Centennial has a chance to send it to OT with an extra point but goes for two and fails

It looked like a points fest on paper, and St. John Bosco vs. Corona Centennial didn't disappoint on that front Friday night in Bellflower.

St. John Bosco (11-1) and Corona Centennial (9-3) went toe-to-toe for four quarters in a classic high school football game, but the Braves are heading to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum after winning 43-42.

In a back-and-forth game, St. John Bosco won it by stopping Corona Centennial on a two-point conversion with eight seconds left.

Corona Centennial recovered the onside kick but couldn't get in position for the win.

(See wild final sequence c/o NFHS above)

St. John Bosco will face Mater Dei next week in the Southern Section Division 1 final.

See below for our live-updates recap of one of the best high school football games of the season, in California or elsewhere in the country.

California high school football Friday night scoreboard

California high school football playoff brackets 

FINAL: St. John Bosco 43, Corona Centennial 42

FOURTH QUARTER UPDATES

But wait. Onside kick works. Centennial ball.

TWO-POINT TRY DENIED! Jordan Lockhart sacks Longstreet and it's 43-42 Bosco with eight seconds left. Game over?

TOUCHDOWN CENTENNIAL! Cornell Hatcher plunges in from 1 yard out for his fifth TD of the game with eight seconds left. Huskies going for two for the win.

Less than a minute to go and Centennial has it on the Bosco 15. Big third-down play coming up. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Bosco on third and long helped extend this drive.

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! Caleb Sanchez fires a 4-yard TD strike to Tommy Maher and it's 43-36 Braves with 3:29 left. Sanchez's deep ball to Madden Williams on third and long set it up.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! After a long Centennial drive that included a huge conversion on third and long, Bosco stops the Huskies on fourth down on the Braves' 35 with 5:38 left. Big pass deflection by Tay Lockett. It's 36-36 and down the stretch we come!

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! Madden Williams gets wide open in the end zone and makes a 7-yard TD catch. Two-point conversion is good and it's 36-36 with 9:22 left in the game. Caleb Sanchez had a huge 37-yard completion to Stacy Dobbins (who also had the two-point conversion), plus some Centennial penalties pushed Bosco down the field.

TOUCHDOWN CENTENNIAL! Another one for Cornell Hatcher, but the two-point conversion is picked off and it's 36-28 Huskies.

THIRD QUARTER UPDATES

And then a terrible Bosco penalty. On third and 15 the Braves get called for pass interference on a 2-yard route. Then a roughing the passer penalty on Bosco has Centennial at the Bosco 10, first and goal heading into the fourth. It's 30-28 Huskies, threatening for more.

Disastrous punt attempt by Bosco that looked like an intended fake and nets 2 yards. Centennial starts in great field position but gets a penalty on the first play of the drive. Huskies ball on the Bosco 39, 1:45 left.

TOUCHDOWN CENTENNIAL! Cornell Hatcher scores his third rushing TD of the game from 11 yards out but the extra point is blocked. It's 30-28 Huskies with 3:08 left in the half.

FUMBLE! Husan Longstreet drops the ball on the snap and Bosco has it on its own 10 with just over seven minutes left in the quarter. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play backed Bosco up. Still 28-24 Braves.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Intentional grounding on fourth down gives Centennial the ball on its own 49.

Second half has begun! Bosco starts on its own 29.

As we approach kickoff, it's worth noting that both quarterbacks have over 200 yards passing and each team has over 100 yards rushing at the half.

SECOND QUARTER UPDATES

FIELD GOAL NO GOOD! Kenneth Junger misses from 34 yards out — the kick was partially blocked — and it's 28-24 Bosco at the half. The Braves will get the ball first in the second half.

Centennial has it in Bosco territory with less than 20 seconds left.

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! Stacy Dobbins with a 74-yard touchdown catch with no defender anywhere near him. Bosco has its first lead, 28-24 with 43 seconds left.

Centennial makes it look like they're going for it fourth and 4, but Husan Longstreet punts it 66 yards from his QB position. Bosco ball at its own 10 with 2:11 left.

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! 65-yard TD connection from Caleb Sanchez to Owen Tomich to trim Centennial's lead to 24-21. Bosco made it look like they were doing a double pass using Dobbins but faked it. Four minutes left in the half.

FIELD GOAL CENTENNIAL! Kenneth Junger connects from 31 yards out on a penalty-filled drive for the Huskies. Centennial leads 24-14 with 4:55 left.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Finally a stop. Centennial takes over at its own 49, 8:08 left.

TOUCHDOWN CENTENNIAL! Cornell Hatcher gets his second TD, this time from 5 yards out. It's 21-14 Huskies with 10:42 left.

And Centennial gets a first down on the first play. Huskies offense looks dangerously balanced.

FIRST QUARTER UPDATES

Whew. What a first quarter. Centennial will start the second quarter with a second and 12 from its own 48. It's 14-14.

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! Stacy Dobbins grabs a short pass from Caleb Sanchez and races 62 yards for a touchdown. It's 14-14 with 53 seconds left.

TOUCHDOWN CENTENNIAL! Cory Butler with the 24-yard touchdown catch on fourth and 8 to give the Huskies a 14-7 lead with 3:08 left. What a throw by Longstreet.

Quarterback Husan Longstreet with a huge 9-yard run on fourth and 9 to keep Centennial's drive alive in Bosco territory.

TOUCHDOWN BOSCO! After grinding out the drive on the ground with Cameron Jones and Chauncey Sylvester, Bosco gets a 23-yard touchdown catch from Daniel Odom to tie it up 7-7. 6:44 left.

TOUCHDOWN CENTENNIAL! Cornell Hatcher takes it 42 yards to the house on an impressive, very fast opening drive. It's 7-0 Huskies.

We're underway in Bellflower! Corona Centennial starts with the ball at its own 20.

PREGAME READING

St. John Bosco struggled in the first half last week against San Clemente but got on track in the second to win 35-10.

The Braves' only loss this season was to Kahuku (Hawaii), while Corona Centennial's two losses came against Mater Dei and Bishop Gorman (Nevada), which finished No. 1 in the final regular-season SBLive/Sports Illustrated Top 25.

Southern California high school football playoffs: Best performances from Round 2 (11/13/2023)

Corona Centennial RB Cornell Hatcher Jr. 'under the radar' as college football recruit, but not undervalued

California high school football recruiting notebook: Utah, USC add Southern Section talent

CIF Southern Section, LA City Section football semifinal matchups

(Feature photo by Heston Quan)

—

-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports