Liberty hopes for breakthrough in Honor Bowl against Corona Centennial
Liberty’s last loss came last year against Corona Centennial in California. This Saturday, the Lions can take revenge for that loss in the Honor Bowl.
Peoria Liberty has lost only three of its last 39 football games.
There was the 27-21 overtime loss to Chandler in the 2021 Open semifinals. The 43-42 thriller in the Open semifinals against Scottsdale Saguaro in 2022. And the 42-35 loss last year in California to Corona Centennial during the Lions’ first state championship season in the Open Division.
The Lions have a chance to avenge their last loss on Saturday at 7 p.m. when they host Corona Centennial (2-2) on the second night of the Honor Bowl, which honors fallen military heroes. The first Honor Bowl in Arizona will be held Friday night at Mesa Red Mountain, with a game against Downey of California.
“We’re trying our best to be as good as we can for this game,” said junior linebacker Hudson Dunn, who had six tackles against the Huskies last year.
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Liberty is the top-ranked team in Arizona. It’s been that way since the previous season. Corona Centennial was considered one of the top teams in the nation before five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet was injured and missed the season opener.
Centennial was ranked the second-best team in Southern California before the season began, behind No. 1 Mater Dei. At the end of last season, both Corona Centennial and Liberty were among the top 25 high school football teams in the country.
However, Centennial started 0-2, losing to No. 1 seed Mater Dei (42-25) and Santa Margarita (31-15) from California. Santa Margarita is 3-1, losing only to No. 10 nationally ranked Mission Viejo (35-7).
By the way, Mission Viejo hosts Arizona’s second-place team, Chandler Basha, on Friday night.
California versus Arizona. It has always been a big challenge for teams from Arizona to defeat one of the heavyweights from their neighboring state.
Centennial, which has Longstreet back, is coming off a 49-35 win over a tough Utah team, Lone Peak, and heads to Liberty with a chip on its shoulder. It’s also confident having Longstreet back, who threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries last week and rushed for 146 yards and three scores.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior who committed to Texas A&M and is rated as the nation’s top quarterback for the class of 2025 by the 247 Sports Composite was intercepted three times by Liberty last season, but he finished 21 of 33 interceptions for 333 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 101 yards on 10 carries.
In the three games Longstreet has played this season, he has completed 30 of 48 passes for 445 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions and has rushed for 187 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries. The Huskies get to the line of scrimmage quickly after each play and line up in shotgun position for Longstreet, who can quickly get going with the ball.
“They definitely have a high pace,” Dunn said. “They have a lot of guys on offense with a lot of talent.”
“(Longstreet) is dynamic. He’s also fast. He can run the ball. So we have to make sure we can limit him as much as possible.”
Meanwhile, Liberty’s offense under senior quarterback Hayden Fletcher has shown signs of improvement since its season-opening 22-0 win over Goodyear Desert Edge. Liberty has moved on from the Navi Bruzon era and traded away all of its talent from last year’s Open championship team, and the team needed time to settle in.
Fletcher, who has been Bruzon’s backup for the past two years, completed 13 of 25 passes for 104 yards and not a single touchdown in the opening game as an experienced defense dominated.
The next week, Fletcher completed 12 of 20 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns in a 46-0 win over Phoenix’s Sandra Day O’Connor. Last week, Fletcher set a school record for most passing yards (450) in a game in a 49-20 win over Mesa Mountain View. He completed 22 of 30 passes for six touchdowns. Since throwing an interception against Desert Edge’s speedy secondary, Fletcher has not been intercepted.
But in Centennial he faces another fast, athletic team.
“It was definitely a little bit of a wake-up call for our offense in that game (at Desert Edge),” Fletcher said. “But week to week we’ve gotten better and better. We’re getting into the swing of things. Week to week we have to prepare even more. We have to keep working.”
Centennial overcame a two-touchdown deficit last year to win 42-35 over Liberty.
Coach Colin Thomas makes it clear to his players how important a strong finish is.
“They play a different style than what we see all year long,” Thomas said. “It definitely presents a challenge. We have to rise to the challenge.”
Defensive lineman Caden Branston called the Corona Centennial game probably the most physical game he has ever played.
“Respect to the guys and the coach,” said Branston. “They’re getting really good preparation there. For them from California, it’s a big challenge. And on a national level. It’s great.”
Richard Obert has covered high school sports for The Arizona Republic since the 1980s. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest human story ideas and other news, reach Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
