Chino Hills looking for wild outcome against Centennial
Juggernaut Corona Centennial (12-0), the No. 1 seed in the CIF-SS Inland Division, will take on fourth-seeded Chino Hills (10-2) tonight for the right to play in next week's CIF-SS INland Division finals. In the semifinals for the second season in a row - albeit in the much tougher Inland Division as opposed to last year's Central Division - Chino Hills will host a Centennial team that hasn't played a game decided by less than 29 points all season.
55.9 is not a misprint: Yes, Corona Centennial is averaging 55.9 points per game, a total that dropped last week after a 52-23 win over an Upland team that allowed 10.7 points per game on its way to last season's CIF-SS Central Division championship. Centennial has yet to be held under 44 points this season behind the duo of quarterback Michael Eubank and running back Barrinton Collins.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Eubank, who has thrown for 2,300 yards and 20 touchdowns, was intercepted for just the second time this season against Upland. He is 28 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards with 17 touchdowns. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Collins has 1,929 yards and a whopping 34 touchdowns on the ground. They combined for 646 total yards last week.
"It's going to be a huge challenge to slow them down," Chino Hills coach Derek Bub said. "They've obviously got a lot of talent and can move the ball in a lot of ways."
The Wild Ifo: While the Chino Hills defense will have its hands full, so will Centennial. Chino Hills has scored 115 points in two playoff games thanks in large part to Chino Hills' version of the wildcat with Oregon-bound senior Ifo Ekpre-Olomu at quarterback.
The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder rushed for 112 yards in a 45-21 win over Etiwanda last week and 177 in a 70-42 win over Corona in the first round. Ekpre-Olomu, who likely will play cornerback in college, was moved from receiver to running back in last season's playoffs. This season it's quarterback.
All the while playing safety, Ekpre-Olomu began this season at running back but some nagging injuries limited him primarily to the defensive side of the ball. As a result, senior Nate Harris, who also is being recruited as a defensive back, played running back most of the season and has 1,124 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The backfield of Harris and Ekpre-Olomu has combined for 616 yards and nine touchdowns in the playoffs.
No. 1 in California: Centennial isn't just the top seed in the Inland Division. Maxpreps.com has it ranked as the top team in the state and No. 6 in the nation. USA Today ranks Centennial 22nd in the country.
Chino Hills has its work cut out but it believes it can compete with one of the nation's best teams.
"If we're going to win our defense has to play great," Chino Hills defensive tackle Auston Johnson said. "They have a lot of weapons."
Prediction: Centennial 46, Chino Hills 32
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About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
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Daily Bulletin there is no write up on the other semi-final game with, Rancho Cucamonga and Vista Murrietta.Rancho had a great season and your paper shows them no love.What's that about?