Football: Centennial, St. John Bosco have one final test before showdown game

It has been talked about for weeks: No. 1 Corona Centennial taking on No. 2 St. John Bosco for the Pac-5 Division championship.

Now both schools have one final task to set up the meeting for Dec. 5 at Angel Stadium. They must get past determined opponents in the semifinals on Friday night. Centennial plays Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium. St. John Bosco plays Bishop Amat at Cerritos College.

What’s the scenario for an upset?

Mater Dei will need to run the ball effectively and protect its freshman quarterback, J.T. Daniels. It will have to answer the usual scoring barrage that Centennial offers and deny the big plays that running back J.J. Taylor creates with his speed.

Bishop Amat has shown it can score with the best. Quarterback Damian Garcia will need to make the right decisions when to pass, when to run, when to throw it out of bounds. No turnovers is a must and somebody better block St. John Bosco’s Jacob Callier.

Denying the big play to Sean McGrew is a must. Bishop Amat defenders must make tackles. St. John Bosco’s defense is much better than a year ago, so the Lancers better not think they’re going to score 61 points in this game.

Anything is possible, but Centennial and St. John Bosco have been the two best teams in Southern California by far all season. They’re 12-0. If they execute and avoid turnovers, the meeting everyone has expected will become a reality.

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