Mater

Despite being denied a three-peat in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, the Mater Dei High girls volleyball team still ended the season a champion — and ranked No. 1 in California.

The Monarchs (35-5) captured their second Open Division state title in three years and their third overall with a 25-13, 25-22, 25-18 sweep of Rocklin on Saturday night at Santiago Canyon College.

Getting 31 kills from USC signee Layli Ostavar and 43 assists from Cal State Bakersfield-bound setter Sam Capinpin, Mater Dei closed out the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 winners with a 13-6 run in the third set.

Dan O’Dell’s squad won 20 of its last 21 matches — its only blemish being a four-set defeat to Sierra Canyon in the CIF-SS final.

Earlier Saturday, Cypress made the most of its first state finals appearance by sweeping Clovis West, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, to win the Division II title under head coach Alex Griffiths.

Isabella Faro had 14 kills and fellow senior Hannah Schoffstall dished out 30 for the Centurions (25-10), who swept Santa Ana Foothill on November 6 in the CIF-SS Division 3 final.

It was redemption for Cypress, which had lost to Bishop Diego in the CIF-SS Division 3 semifinals and to Long Beach Poly in the first round of the Division II regionals last season.

On Friday, Harvard-Westlake earned its sixth title and first since 2021 with a 25-22, 25-14, 25-17 victory over Roseville Woodcreek in the Division I championship match.

Kylie Parker pounded 14 kills and dug 15 balls, Sophia Cotter had 11 kills and senior middle blockers Lauryn Lewis (committed to Penn) and Maya Stillwell (committed to Northwestern) controlled the net for the Wolverines (28-8), who finished third in the Mission League behind Sierra Canyon and Marymount and lost to Mater Dei in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals, a remarkable turnaround for a team that had a losing record and missed the playoffs last year.

Coach Morgan Wijay returned to the program in January after a decade-long stint at Bishop Alemany, where she guided the Warriors to back-to-back CIF titles in 2021 and 2022. Wijay was on Adam Black’s staff back in 2007 when Harvard-Westlake won the Division III state title.

Coach Matt Logan stood on the sideline with nine seconds left and his Corona Centennial team leading Mater Dei 28-27. He had called a timeout trying to ice Mater Dei kicker Jerry Shifman, who would be attempting a 46-yard field goal to decide the Southern Section Division 1 semifinal playoff game Friday night in Corona.

“I was just hoping he would miss,” Logan said.

Centennial defensive lineman Miles Schirmer broke through to block the field-goal attempt and send Centennial to face Santa Margarita in next Friday’s championship game at the Rose Bowl.

“It was unreal emotion and I’m so happy for these kids,” Logan said. “They play their butts off.”

Said Schirmer: “I reached up and it hit my forearm. I just pulled all my strength on a bull rush and jumped as high as I could.”

After Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano took a knee to run out the clock, the sold-out crowd went wild with noise and excitement as Centennial players celebrated on the field.

“We got it done,” Logan said.

It was 10 years ago that Catalano’s brother, Anthony, now the team’s offensive coordinator, led Centennial to a Division 1 championship. Now little brother will have his moment in the spotlight after a courageous performance that saw him endure a powerful Mater Dei pass rush to throw for 290 yards and run for two touchdowns.

It was his 24-yard touchdown pass to Keawe Browne with 1:35 left that provided the winning score.

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

Keawe Browne of Corona Centennial makes game-winning 24-yard touchdown catch to take down Mater Dei.

(Craig Weston)

Said Browne: “I saw the ball go up and I had to get it.”

There were so many big plays for Centennial (11-1), none more than a group sack before the field-goal attempt that pushed Mater Dei from the 17-yard-line to the 29.

Jonathan McKinley, who’s brother Javon also played on Centennial’s last championship team 10 years ago, was part of five players that surrounded and took down Mater Dei quarterback Ryan Hopkins.

“Oh my gosh, it feels amazing,” McKinley said.

Browne and receiver Ty Plinski kept making catch after catch. Plinski’s one-handed catch, something he has become known for, was another instant classic.

“He’s unreal,” Logan said of Plinski, who had four catches for 98 yards.

Mater Dei opened a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. Hopkins was six-for-six passing for 57 yards. But Centennial took a 14-10 halftime lead. Four-yard touchdown runs by Malaki Davis and Catalano gave the Huskies momentum.

In the third quarter, Mater Dei (8-3) regained the lead 16-14 on a 43-yard touchdown catch by Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Back came the Huskies and Catalano, who had a two-yard touchdown run for a 21-16 lead. Mater Dei settled for a 23-yard field goal by Shifman, then took a 27-21 lead when Shaun Scott recovered a fumble, returned it to the seven and Chris Henry Jr. caught a seven-yard touchdown pass.

Centennial made adjustments. It was expected to try to run the ball, but with Mater Dei’s secondary missing several players because of injuries, Logan turned to his passing attack. And when the Huskies needed to run the ball on their final drive, Zander Lewis came through with two important runs.

The time loop has been broken. Eight years of ending the high school football season in Southern California with either Mater Dei or St. John Bosco as the No. 1 team is over. No more Groundhog Day. Welcome to a fresh start.

It was the second time this season that Centennial had beaten Mater Dei. Centennial taking on Santa Margarita should be a crowd-pleasing final. Carson Palmer, the first-year coach of Santa Margarita, taking on Logan, who passed the 300-win mark this season. Santa Margarita’s defense has been extraordinary. Santa Margarita beat Centennial earlier this season 33-27 in overtime in a game Logan missed because of a heath scare.

“I’ll be there this time,” said Logan, who was eating healthy watermelons before the game but wearing his usual short pants during the game on a night to remember.

The Mater Dei High girls’ volleyball team had a lot to play for after coming within one victory of a third consecutive Southern Section title.

The Monarchs quickly turned the page and set their sights on the state championship. Now they find themselves one win away from attaining that after upsetting No. 1 Sierra Canyon, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-16, in the Southern California Regional Open Division final Tuesday night in Chatsworth.

Outside hitter Westley Matavao led the way with 18 kills and afterward gave a shout-out to her cousin on the opposite side of the net, Missouri-bound setter and fellow junior Lucky Fasavalu.

“We’re family, I love her as a person, she comes to play every match and she knows how to run an offense,” said Matavao, an early commit to UCLA. “We wanted this so much after losing to them last time and we came out swinging tonight.”

A thunderous kill by Addison Coady ended the third set and Mater Dei opened a seven-point lead early in the fourth to ensure there would be no comeback by the home side.

“We played with so much confidence and our energy showed up,” Matavao added. “We have specific serving targets so we focused on that and were in great position on our blocking.”

Mater Dei will try to capture its third state Open Division title at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, where the Monarchs (34-5) face Northern California champion Rocklin (37-4), which upset top-seeded Archbishop Mitty in five sets Tuesday.

Layli Ostovar had 14 and 21 digs, Emma Kingston had 10 kills and six blocks, Lizzy Robinson had 19 digs, Kalea Lee had 24 assists, Sam Capinpin had 17 assists and Jael Smith had six blocks.

The Monarchs not only avenged their loss in the section final, they snapped Sierra Canyon’s 19-match winning streak and handed the Trailblazers (41-4) their only defeat in California all season.

Mater Dei won its first nine head-to-head meetings with Sierra Canyon before losing in four sets in the Southern Section Division 1 final Nov. 8 at Cerritos College. It was the Trailblazers’ fourth section title and halted Mater Dei’s bid for a three-peat under head coach Dan O’Dell.

Mater Dei won its first state Open Division title in 2018 and its second in 2023.

“Los Angeles sports legend” is the most appropriate way to describe the contributions of Gail Goodrich, who returned to Southern California on Friday as an 82-year-old full of stamina and humbleness after his alma mater, Sun Valley Poly High, named its gymnasium the Gail Goodrich Sports Complex.

“This is where it all started,” Goodrich said. “I have great memories here. I’m emotional that they’re going to name the gym after me. I had great coaches. I had great teammates. I’ve been one to always look to the future. Today is a day to recall and look back.”

There are few individuals in sports history who achieved what he accomplished in his hometown as a basketball standout. He led Poly to the City championship over Manual Arts in 1961, helped UCLA win two NCAA titles under coach John Wooden, including a record-setting 42-point performance in the 1965 final, and won an NBA title as the Lakers’ leading scorer in 1971-72 on a team that had a 33-game winning streak and featured fellow future Hall of Famers Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain.

In the 1961 title game, Goodrich suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter. He came back to dominate the fourth quarter, finishing with 29 points. He played the game on a Wednesday, graduated on a Friday and was at UCLA that Monday.

Four of Goodrich’s high school teammates attended Friday’s ceremony, including center Ernie Brandt, who said, “I’m the guy who passed the ball to him all the time.”

This was the second gym-naming ceremony for Goodrich, who traveled from his home in Idaho in 2015 to see Madison Middle School in North Hollywood name its gym the Gail Goodrich Sports Center.

He graduated from Madison at 5 feet 2 and 99 pounds. At Poly, by his senior year, he was nearing 6 feet tall. He was known for his accurate left-handed shooting touch. He recalled how his father built a basket at home and he practiced into the night.

“I lived at the Poly gym. I became a gym rat. The gym became my second home,” he said.

He helped launch Wooden’s UCLA basketball dynasty that would lead to 10 titles in 12 years. Assistant coach Jerry Norman was one of the few recruiters to pay attention to him in high school and was at Poly on Friday. Goodrich was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.

In 2014, Goodrich wrote about Wooden, “He never talked about winning. He talked about being a success and being able to look in the mirror at the end of the day. If you did the very best you could, that’s all anybody could ask.”

Poly opened its gym two seasons ago. Officials sought recommendations for dedicating the gym. Poly coach Joe Wyatt said there was no need for debate.

“I said, ‘Gail Goodrich.’ That’s an easy one. That’s perfect,” Wyatt said.

“As a friend told me, ‘I reached the top of the mountain for my craft,’” Goodrich told Poly students who filled up the bleachers. “Yes, you will get roadblocks and get knocked down. Sometimes you have to take three steps back, but find your mountain and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it.”