Nasir Wyatt, Mater Dei pounce on backup Corona Centennial QB Dominick Catalano early

Five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet had to miss the season opener with an injury

Corona Centennial coach Matt Logan called on Dominick Catalano (18) to start the 2024 opener against Mater Dei. / Heston Quan, SBLive

Dominick Catalano started at quarterback for Corona Centennial on Thursday night against national high school football No. 1 Mater Dei, and Nasir Wyatt and gang have not made it easy on the junior backup.

Five-star QB Husan Longstreet has been questionable all week after sustaining a foot injury earlier this summer, but he was declared out shortly before the game between California high school football titans.

Catalano started the game with a long run, but he finished that first drive with an interception. A fumble followed on the next possession for Corona Centennial, and suddenly Mater Dei had a 15-0 lead with the game barely underway.

Then a scary moment came on Corona Centennial's third drive when Oregon commit Nasir Wyatt cleaned out Catalano on a handoff:

Nasir Wyatt with a BIG hit pic.twitter.com/RYVLs9Yd7x

— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) August 23, 2024

Catalano missed one play but returned for the next one.

He confirmed his health late in the first quarter by barreling in for the first touchdown of the game for Corona Centennial, making it 15-7 Mater Dei with 1:33 left in the quarter.

Catalano saw limited playing time as a sophomore, getting in six games and completing 15 of 19 passes for 119 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

Live updates: Follow along here for live updates from Mater Dei-Corona Centennial

How to watch: Watch Mater Dei vs. Centennial live on the NFHS Network

Mater Dei is No. 1 and Centennial is No. 2 in the California SBLive Top 25 preseason rankings. The Monarchs are also No. 1 in the national SBLive/SI Top 25, while the Huskies are No. 8.

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