The Huskies improved to 9-2 and punched their ticket for a matchup against St. John Bosco in the semifinals.
Centennial jumped to a big lead early, stumbled as Orange Lutheran clawed back within eight points early in the second half, then erupted for four consecutive touchdowns to secure a 63-39 victory in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 football quarterfinals Friday night.
The Huskies improved to 9-2 and punched their ticket for a matchup against St. John Bosco in the semifinals. The Braves, ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps.com, defeated San Clemente 35-10 Friday.
For Orange Lutheran, Centennial was the big fish the Lancers almost reeled in, only to have their trophy catch snap the line and swim away as they hauled it over the transom.
For Centennial, the Lancers were prey to be toyed with before swallowing the meal whole.
Orange Lutheran trailed 35-20 at halftime but scored on the first possession of the third quarter to shave the Huskies’ lead to 35-27.
Then Centennial running back Cordell Hatcher II broke their hearts.
On the first play of the next series, Hatcher broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, another one in the secondary, and then outran the Lancers’ defense for an 80-yard touchdown that stunned the Lancers’ sideline into silence.
Its confidence restored, Centennial scored on its next three possessions to remain undefeated against Orange Lutheran in six meetings.
