dominick catalano

Stadium lights were flashing on and off Friday night after the latest Corona Centennial touchdown against No. 1-ranked Mater Dei in the first half of a 43-36 Huskies victory, and fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing. One overjoyed Husky fan shouted, “Mater Dei who?”

It was Centennial 28-0 after the first quarter and 33-7 at halftime. Defensive end Jonathan McKinley of Centennial was making a bunch of college-bound offensive linemen look confused and ineffective with two sacks and a pressure rush on quarterback Ryan Hopkins that produced a pick six by Jaden Walk-Green.

Then came the strangest 12-minute third quarter — Mater Dei dominated with a 29-0 outburst to take a 36-33 lead. As if the game couldn’t get wilder, the fourth quarter saw Centennial rally to finish a historic victory.

It was the first time Mater Dei has been beaten by a Southern Section team other than St. John Bosco since Centennial did it 10 years ago en route to a Division 1 championship. Guess who were stars on that team —quarterback Anthony Catalano and receiver Javon McKinley. On Friday night, it was their younger brothers leading the way.

McKinley had three sacks and recovered a fumble. Dominick Catalano, playing quarterback like big bro, displayed toughness and leadership throughout.

“This was for him,” McKinley said of his brother watching from the bleachers. “From the spring, I’ve been practicing every night for this game. I’ve had dreams about this game.”

It was the first loss for coach Raul Lara since he took over as Mater Dei head coach last season. He came in 16-0.

Mater Dei lost two fumbles, had an interception and another fumble resulted in a Centennial safety, all in the first half. Mater Dei finished with five fumbles and two interceptions.

Corona Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano flies through the air carrying the football against Mater Dei.

(Craig Weston)

“It’s awesome,” Dominick Catalano said. “It’s an incredible feeling.”

It was victory No. 298 for future Hall of Fame coach Matt Logan, who said, “I had a dream we were up 21-0 and I woke up and was so excited.”

Mater Dei caught fire in the third quarter. A one-yard touchdown run by Justin Lewis was followed by a 42-yard touchdown run by Hopkins and a 76-yard touchdown reception by Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. When Kennie Leggett scored on a one-yard run, Mater Dei’s comeback was complete for a 33-30 lead.

But Walk-Green, who returned a pick six in the first quarter, made his second field goal of the night from 36 yards to tie the score. Then Mater Dei’s fifth fumble gave the Huskies the ball on the Mater Dei 31. Soon Centennial faced a fourth-and-10 from the 31. Catalano connected with Keawe Browne for a 12-yard pass. That kept the drive alive and enabled Malaki Davis to score on a four-yard run to take the lead with 2:27 left.

“This proves how good we are,” Browne said. “We played our hearts out. I did all my training in the offseason. I was watching for my moment.”

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt of Mater Dei leaps trying to catch pass, but Jaden Walk-Green came down with the game-clinching interception for Corona Centennial.

(Craig Weston)

Centennial (3-1) clinched the win with Walk-Green’s second interception, taking the ball away from Dixon-Wyatt as the two came down with both holding onto the ball. The officials ruled in favor of Walk-Green. So began a Centennial celebration repeated from 10 years ago when another Catalano led the Huskies to victory.

“It’s a Catalano thing,” Dominick said.

Mater Dei (3-1) received 248 yards passing from Hopkins, but the repeated mistakes, from fumbles to personal-foul penalties, left the Monarchs hardly looking like the No 1 team in California and facing a new challenge next week with a trip to Las Vegas to face Bishop Gorman.

It’s only the fourth week of the season, but Centennial’s victory changes the equation in Southern California high school football similar to when Servite knocked off St. John Bosco in the Division 1 playoffs in 2021. It’s been Mater Dei and St. John Bosco on a nine-year run winning championships. The Huskies put a little bit of uncertainty for 2025.

Mission Viejo High’s offense is Luke Fahey’s now — and it might be one that’s hard to stop if Saturday was a sneak peak of what’s to come.

A drive into Mission Viejo’s first pool game of the 30th edition of its seven-on-seven passing tournament, the senior quarterback wasn’t satisfied. Mission Viejo failed to score against Oceanside, a drop causing Fahey, wearing a relaxed-fit shirt and shorts, to yell toward his team.

“Offense, over here,” Fahey called out to his teammates as he hustled off to the sidelines.

The next five drives ended in the same way, the budding college football prospect — holding offers from Ohio State, Stanford and Indiana — dotting passes to his younger wide receivers on the regular, a trend that would continue throughout Saturday on Mission Viejo’s way to a 35-23 tournament final victory over Mater Dei.

Fahey is ready to take the next step. He split reps with Drai Trudeau two seasons in a row, and learned how to become a leader sitting behind Kadin Semonza as a freshman. Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson said playcalling was up to Fahey, who picked up on his successes and helped his teammates through their mistakes.

“It’s his turn to take over,” Johnson said. “He’s the leader of our team. Every single break we have is led by him. He’s another coach on the field.”

Fahey pulled over a freshman teammate to the side midway through a game Saturday, helping explain to him the intricacies of routes so that he’d better understand what to do in a game. With standout wide receiver Vance Spafford unavailable, Johnson said, it was Fahey’s turn to teach.

After passing for 17 touchdowns and 1,638 yards as a junior, Fahey could be set for a big senior year for the Diablos.

“When we come out here, we want to be the best,” Fahey said. “We want to do everything right, 100%, no matter what it is, no matter who we play.”

Saturday, Fahey and Mission Viejo were the best — but he was not the only quarterback to showcase his skill in seven-on-seven action.

Mater Dei, with Dash Beierly out of the picture, primarily split the series between JSerra senior transfer Ryan Hopkins and junior Furian Inferrera (Beierly’s backup in 2024).

Hopkins, more of a prototypical pocket passer, seemed to have a strong connection with star tight end Mark Bowman — a passing display between the duo that was featured early in Mater Dei’s contests. Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said that Hopkins, a Wisconsin commit, and Inferrera, a Minnesota commit, are battling for the starting position.

“The two kids that are battling out for the first spot at quarterback, I just love their competitiveness,” Lara said. “They’re both buddies. It’s neat to see.”

Crean Lutheran quarterback Lucas Wong.

(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)

Among younger quarterbacks, Crean Lutheran freshman Lucas Wong emerged poised and controlled in the pocket — enjoying a standout moment Saturday when he tossed a 30-plus yard touchdown pass on the last play of regulation to defeat Huntington Beach 21-19 in one of its five games.

“We saw a lot of confidence in him,” Crean Lutheran coach Rick Curtis said, adding that expected starting quarterback Caden Jones was out for the tournament. “We said, ‘Hey, let’s put his feet for the fire, and we’ll see what he can do.’ He’s doing a great job today.”

Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds, listed at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds despite being two years from fulfilling his current Ohio State commitment, was far and away the most physically imposing quarterback in the tournament.

Edmunds’ touch on his passes was hit or miss Saturday — Huntington Beach scoring the third-fewest points in pool play — but his power behind every throw kept the Oilers in every contest.

La Habra quarterback DJ Mitchell.

(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)

One of the sneakier standout back-and-forth games ended in a tie — thanks to La Habra junior DJ Mitchell and Oaks Christian sophomore Treyvone Towns Jr. matching each other blow for blow.

Mitchell ended the dueling programs’ pool-play game with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion as the time limit expired to secure a split.

“We practice it every day,” Mitchell said. “Two-minute drill — I know how to execute, make my reads and just hit it. Hit a touchdown.”

Both Mitchell and Towns appear primed for breakout years as they grow into their respective frames.

Etc.

Corona Centennial primarily used Dominick Catalano as its quarterback in Mission Viejo. Catalano backed up Husan Longstreet — now at USC — last year. …

Corona Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano at the Mission Viejo passing tournament on Saturday.

(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)

San Juan Hills senior quarterback Timmy Herr, one of a couple southpaws at Mission Viejo, was accurate and controlled, much like he was last year for the Stallions and coach Rob Frith. Mater Dei third-string quarterback Trevor Scott is a left-hander standing 6–foot-4, whose skill set showed rawness as well as potential. Lara said the seven-on-seven tournament was a perfect place for Scott to get his feet wet against Southern Section competition. …

San Clemente won the St. John Bosco passing tournament, defeating the hosts in the final. … Junior quarterback Deshawn Laporte led Burbank to the title at the Simi Valley tournament, defeating the hosts in the final and taking down Sierra Canyon and Chaminade along the way.