CORONA, Calif. — "Grit," "toughness" and "talent" are three words used to describe the brand of football Corona Centennial has been playing for the better part of 25 years.

Head coach Matt Logan, who is all about embracing competition, has been at the center of that success. 

What You Need To Know

  • Centennial will welcome Mission Viejo on Friday night in the first round of the CIF Division 1 playoffs

  • The Huskies enter Friday as the No. 4 team in the nation, closely followed by the Diablos, sitting at No. 5

  • Both programs are widely known as two of the top public school teams in California, with storied histories of success

  • Over the last five years, the gap between public and private programs has widened, with two parochial schools winning the last four of five titles

"That's who we are," Logan said. "We're blue collar, hard-working and you know we may get beat, but we're always gonna compete."

This week, the Huskies are set to compete against a school 45 minutes down the road, another public-school power anchored by coach Chad Johnson, a leader who takes on game day with a very similar mindset.

"It comes down to having grit, being tough," Johnson said. "Lock in every play mentally and put your mind over your body when you're tired to keep going, that's what it's gonna take."

That kind of mentality is a big reason for both Mission Viejo and Centennial's success.

Over the last 21 years, the Diablos and the Huskies have combined for 18 finals appearances and 15 section championships while being consistent competitors in the Division 1 playoffs the last four years.

Although their legacy is one of great success, neither has reached the section final since 2015.

It's a year when Logan said the landscape of high school football began to change.

"The fact we won the title in 2014 and 2015, those two years changed the way some of the private schools do business," he said. "It upped the ante and since then, their reach has expanded, making it more difficult for public schools to continue competing at that level."

Coincidentally, it was a coaching staff that included Johnson at St. John Bosco that began to push forward by attracting players from near and far to their program.

"I think I was a big part of it at Bosco and unfortunately now, I'm going against them," Johnson admitted. "The biggest thing that was a shock to me was the resources a private school has that a public school does not have."

Those resources include finances, exposure and reach.

Both coaches admit that they consistently deal with losing homegrown players to private and parochial schools.

"We all see that, we all feel that," Logan said. "There're vans that come out and pick up kids and take them down to the school, so we're losing our kids."

And although the odds may be stacked against their favor, they don't want pity.

Instead, Johnson said the changing landscape has pushed him and other public programs to do better.  

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"Make your program so great the families wanna stay home," Johnson said. "If we do that throughout the community, maybe the tables will turn."

At the end of the day, the Huskies and the Diablos are still two of the best teams in the state and the nation, for the first time coming together on Friday night to make a statement.

"I kinda look at it like a 'Stars Wars' analogy," Logan said. "We're the rebel forces living to fight another day and trying to battle the big evil and all the resources they have and we don't have."