monarchs

It took 10 offensive plays for Corona Centennial to have an opening-round playoff win wrapped up against Mater Dei. The Huskies held a three-touchdown lead at Santa Ana Stadium on Friday, and not even nine minutes had ticked off the clock.

This dominance began with an efficient drive. Senior quarterback and Hawaii commit Jaden Jefferson led the Huskies 80 yards down the field on eight plays, including three runs for 27 yards and a 32-yard screen pass to former Mater Dei player and senior wide receiver Kennie Leggett for a touchdown.

The Monarchs went three-and-out on their first drive, and a very short pooch-punt from freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess gave the Huskies great field position. That immediately turned into points when junior running back Malaki Davis broke tackles and took the ball 52 yards for a score.

After another three-and-out, Mater Dei punted the ball to Washington commit Jaden Walk-Green. The senior took it 37 yards to set up the Huskies’ offense inside the red zone. Jefferson immediately took off for the remaining 14 yards to the end zone on a quarterback draw.

From there, it was no contest. Mater Dei’s inability to tackle plagued it all night long, and Centennial (8-3) won 45-15 in the Southern Section Division 1 playoff opener. The Huskies led 35-0 at one point in the third quarter. Everything went according to plan.

“No turnovers,” Centennial coach Matt Logan said before the game. “If we can hang on to the football, control ourselves and maybe create a turnover or two, the game will go in our favor.”

Centennial defensive back Jaden Walk-Green brings down a Mater Dei receiver Friday night.

(Nick Koza)

Logan also said his team hasn’t done things the easy way all season. Injuries and close losses put the team at 7-3 coming into the game, forcing Centennial to play away from home. And on Friday, the start of the game had to be pushed back 30 minutes because a crash on the freeway made the Huskies late.

Against Mater Dei, however, adversity was hard to come by.

Jefferson finished the game completing 11 of 20 passes for 126 yards with four touchdowns, while rushing for 158 yards and another score. Star wide receiver and USC commit Quentin Hale, who returned after a month out because of a shoulder injury, had 55 yards on six catches and two touchdowns, including an almost impossible back-shoulder grab in the corner of the end zone.

The star of the night, however, was Walk-Green. He missed a large chunk of the season, including Centennial’s 10-9 loss against Mater Dei on Sept. 11, and made up for it by doing everything possible on the field.

He kicked extra points, made a field goal, caught passes, punted and returned punts and made a couple of tackles in open space in his primary position as safety. On one play, Walk-Green ripped the ball out of his opponent’s hands and took it 30 yards down the field.

And, as the cherry on top, he completed a 21-yard pass to Jefferson. The “athlete” designation beside Walk-Green’s name on the roster is the most accurate description possible. He also plays baseball for Centennial.

Corona Centennial linebacker Matt Salmeron lets out a yell after making a play against Mater Dei on Friday night.

(Nick Koza)

After the game, Walk-Green said he had been itching to get on the field. He put on a performance worthy of a comeback story.

“My parents taught me to be versatile and use every ability that I’ve got. That’s all I do,” Walk-Green said. “I always do good against Mater Dei. I love playing against them.”

A comedy of offensive errors in the second quarter, with the ball on the one-yard line, destroyed Mater Dei coach Raul Lara’s plan for a controlled performance. It started with a bad snap, then a sack and then another bad snap on a field-goal attempt, which kept the home team scoreless at halftime.

Guess finished with 55 yards passing, completing 33% of his passes. He was subbed at halftime after taking sacks and tackles for losses. Senior Cameron Pooley got a chance to make a mark in his final high school game and finished with 228 yards passing and a 59-yard touchdown. He did have a pass intercepted by junior cornerback Caleb Bynum, but was able to give the Monarchs some life in the second half.

Freshman wide receiver Tristan Brown was the other bright spot for Mater Dei, with six catches for 151 yards and a touchdown. The Monarchs finish the season 8-3.

A wild third quarter, which included an onside kick recovery for both teams, made a blowout into an intriguing affair. The craziest part of the night, however, was that a Centennial and Mater Dei playoff game ended with a running clock for the fourth quarter.

Upon hammering her 19th kill on a cross-court attack, Westley Matavao leaped into the arms of her teammates to celebrate Mater Dei’s 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 triumph over Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball final Saturday night at Cerritos College.

Having avenged a loss in the section finals last season, the Monarchs’ next goal is to defend their state championship, and they will be the top seed when the Southern California Regional Open Division bracket is released Sunday.

Westley Matavao goes on the attack for Mater Dei against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball championship match on Nov. 7, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“This season it’s important for us to win everything because I’ve been here all four years, this is my last one and I wasn’t going to take losing as an answer,” said Matavao, a senior outside hitter headed to UCLA.

The Monarchs (39-1) have dealt Sierra Canyon (32-2) its only losses this season and the top two programs in the nation could meet for a third time, but for now Mater Dei reigns supreme after earning its second section title in three years. It swept the Trailblazers in the finals two years ago.

Freshman Jimin Seung had 14 kills, Cal-bound middle blocker Emma Kingston had 11 kills and sophomore libero Sienna Cicero finished with a match-high 23 digs, diving all over the floor to keep points alive.

“It was definitely tougher this time around — over half of them are high Division I level players — so you can’t underestimate a team like that,” Cicero said. “Our blockers played great and funneled the ball perfectly for me. My mentality is we’re going to win no matter what.”

Mater Dei beat Sierra Canyon, 25-18, 25-17, in the gold division final at the Durango Fall Classic in September before suffering its only loss to Trinity League rival Santa Margarita 11 days later.

Katherine Nowak, center, celebrates a kill with Mater Dei teammates Jael Smith, left, and Riley Stringer against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Sierra Canyon trailed by seven points midway through the first set but rallied to take an 18-17 lead on an ace by McKenna McIntosh, who blasted through a left-side block on the Trailblazers’ first set point. McIntosh, a hitter headed to USC, finished with 10 kills and 19 digs and Nebraska-bound middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi had a match-high 22 kills.

The Monarchs were clinging to a 21-20 lead in the second set when Matavao took control, hammering spikes for her team’s last four points. An ace by Kalea Lee gave Mater Dei a 21-19 lead in the third set and another by Matavao had the Trinity League champions one set away from victory.

Lee (22 assists) and fellow setter Riley Stringer (25 assists) ran the Monarchs’ offense with precision and Matavao, the cousin of Trailblazers setter Lucky Fasavalu, who is committed to Missouri, added 14 digs.

Sierra Canyon’s Kendall Omoruyi hits over Mater Dei blockers Emma Kingston, center, and Jimin Seung in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Concentrating on the task at hand, Matavao said the two did not talk before the match.

“I’m grateful to be part of this team,” Matavao said. “We did all this together.”

In the preceding Division 2 final, Long Beach Poly trailed 14-12 in the fifth set before reeling off the last four points to beat Redondo Union, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 16-14. It marked the second section title in three seasons for the Jackrabbits, who won the Division 3 title in 2024.

Avery Milburn had 18 kills for second-seeded Poly (29-7) and blocked the Sea Hawks’ top hitter, Asofiafia So’oto, on match point.

“I could see her approach going angle and I knew I had to get my right hand on it and make it the best block ever,” said Milburn, who got a kill to thwart the first of the Sea Hawks’ two chances to end it.

Long Beach Poly’s Alison Wetteland plays a ball at the net in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls’ volleyball final against Redondo Union on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

McKennah Iamaleava had 29 kills, 15 digs and two aces and teamed with Alison Wetteland for a block to level the final set at 14-14. Mina Orbiso finished with 32 assists, Cedra Talaga had 20 digs and Aleeya Salima added 18 kills and seven digs for Poly.

So’oto had 17 kills, Abigail Hairrell had 11 kills and Leah Blair had nine kills and 14 digs and Addison Uphoff had five blocks, including one to end the fourth set for Redondo Union (22-12), which had upset No. 1-seeded Newport Harbor in the quarterfinals and No. 4 San Juan Hills in the semifinals.

In the Division 3 final, Corona del Mar outlasted Newbury Park 24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 15-13 to capture its first section title in 22 years and the eighth in program history.

Corona del Mar’s Sofia Dajnowiec, right, tips the ball over two Newbury Park blockers in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls’ volleyball championship on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“I’m glad I was able to score that final point,” said senior outside hitter Sofia Dajnowiec, who pounded her 36th kill to end the match. “To win this means everything, it’s the best thing that could happen. We really worked hard in practice and stuck together as a team.”

Isabella Spinella dished out 44 assists, Savannah Dennis had 14 kills and 18 digs, Olivia Rosowski had 25 digs and Dajnowiec added 17 digs for the Sea Kings (26-9), who served 13 aces.

Charley Knupp had 18 kills and 15 digs, Emmery Reynolds had 10 kills and 10 digs, Olena Harasymowycz added 29 digs and Keira Overbeck handed out 32 assists for the Panthers (34-10), who were making their second finals appearance in three seasons, having lost the Division 4 title match to Campbell Hall in 2024.

Taft takes City Section Open Division title

Making its fourth finals appearance in five seasons, Taft defeated West Valley League rival Cleveland in five thrilling sets at Birmingham High to claim the Open Division championship — its seventh City title under coach Arman Mercado since he took over the program in 2000.

The fourth-seeded Toreadors (34-7) avenged two league losses to the third-seeded Cavaliers (31-12), who were vying for their first section crown after going 10-0 in the West Valley League to capture their first outright league title since 2004.

Mercado piloted the Toreadors to the City championship in 2006, the Invitational title in 2008, Division II titles in 2009, 2013 and 2014 and their first Open Division championship in 2024.

Second-seeded Granada Hills Kennedy upset top-seeded Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in four sets in the Division I final.

The two best high school girls’ volleyball teams in California, and possibly America, will meet for the Southern Section Division 1 volleyball title at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Cerritos College, where top-seeded Mater Dei takes on second-seeded Sierra Canyon.

The Trailblazers from Chatsworth and Monarchs from Santa Ana are meeting in the finals for a third consecutive season. Mater Dei swept the title match in 2024 and Sierra Canyon prevailed in four sets last November.

Both teams are loaded with talent. Mater Dei is led by UCLA-bound outside hitter Westley Matavao, middle blocker and Cal commit Emma Kingston, libero and San Francisco State commit Savanah Capinpin and outside hitters Saaliyah Brown (Long Beach State) and Katherine Nowak (Georgetown). Sierra Canyon counters with Missouri-bound setter Lucky Fasavalu (Matavao’s cousin), Nebraska-bound middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi, Tennessee-bound opposite hitter Eva Jeffries and outside hitters McKenna McIntosh (USC) and Hanna McGinest (Texas Tech).

Mater Dei (38-1) dealt the Trailblazers their only loss, 25-18, 25-17, in the gold division final at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas on Sept. 19. The Monarchs’ lone defeat came 11 days later at Trinity League rival Santa Margarita. Sierra Canyon (32-1) swept Santa Margarita in nonleague play Sept. 16.

In the preceding Division 2 final at 3:30, Redondo Union takes on Long Beach Poly in a rematch of the teams’ nonleague meeting just before the playoffs in which the visiting Jackrabbits (28-7) prevailed in five sets. Pacing the Sea Hawks (22-11) is libero Addison Choi, who is committed to play beach volleyball at Oregon. Poly is led by Irvine-bound outside hitter McKennah Iamaleava.

West Valley League rivals Taft and Cleveland will battle for the City Section Open Division championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at Birmingham High. Mayli Hernandez had 22 kills in the fourth-seeded Toreadors’ five-set semifinal upset of No. 1 Venice. Taft (33-7) is making its fourth finals appearance in five seasons and is chasing its sixth title. AnaJoleen Bell and fellow hitter Cate Friedman lead the third-seeded Cavaliers (31-11), who beat Taft twice in league play and are after their first section crown.