Central Catholic’s fourth state title game in a row: This one’s different

Qualifying for the state championship game is nothing new for Central Catholic High football.

The Raiders have played in, and won, the last three CIF Division IV state championship games, making up for a loss in the 2007 final.

On Saturday, the Raiders (15-0) will make their fifth trip to the state’s ultimate game in the last nine years when they face San Marino (15-0) for the CIF Small School Open Division title.

Since 2012, no other team in the Golden State has played as many games (63 on Saturday) or won as many state titles as Central Catholic. Not even powerful De La Salle (58 on Saturday), which has a 2-1 record in state bowls during that stretch.

But many of the Raiders who have played key roles in recent seasons say this year’s run to the final feels different than the rest, and not just because the CIF has gone to a new format that allows all section winners throughout California to qualify for a regional bowl game.

For the first time in the state bowl era, which started in 2006, the Raiders will take the field against a Southern California opponent with an unblemished record.

“We’ve got some mentally tough kids,” said coach Roger Canepa, whose Raiders have reeled off 22 consecutive playoff victories. “A lot of the seniors on this team we brought up as sophomores; I think that’s huge. They got six games on the varsity level before they got to be a varsity guy.”

Junior linebacker Montell Bland was a starter on the 2013 and 2014 title teams. He’s back for a third consecutive trip. Still, this year presents a different vibe.

“This is the first time I’ve been a team captain, the first time I’ve been able to lead,” he said. “It’s way different. I try to lead and help players, the way those ahead of me did.”

In years past, the Raiders have taken advantage of the fact that, despite their enrollment of fewer than 400 students, they’re the big fish in the Division IV pond.

That was never more evident than in the state championship games, where Southern California’s smaller schools don’t match up well with Northern California’s.

In 2012, the Raiders beat Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) 66-7, a state record for most points scored and largest margin of victory until Folsom beat Oceanside 68-7 in last year’s D-I final. A year later, Central Catholic breezed to a 36-23 win over Bakersfield Christian, and last season was another laugher, 31-19, with St. Margaret’s (San Juan Capistrano) scoring a meaningless touchdown as time expired to make it look a tad more competitive.

All this despite the fact that the championship games were played in Carson, giving the SoCal teams something of a home-field advantage.

Will it be closer this season? We’ll know Saturday night.

But this much we do know: Southern California is sending about as large a team as it can to battle the Raiders.

San Marino boasts an enrollment of about 1,200, while Central Catholic checks in at around 375. Nevertheless, CalPreps.com has projected the Raiders to win 38-24.

“We faced more competition this year, and it made us a better team,” said Raiders senior middle linebacker Austin Escobar, one of the sophomores pulled up for the 2013 title run. “The Valley Oak League really prepared us.”

But that 15-0 record hangs over the team, like a balloon destined to pop.

“We don’t even care about that,” Escobar said. “It’s just a record. “We play hard each and every week, as hard as we can.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Central Catholic’s fourth state title game in a row: This one’s different."