Justin Rice breaks loose for Central Catholic

Justin Rice can change a football game – snap your fingers – just like that.

And after looking somewhat ordinary in the first half of Central Catholic’s 56-21 victory over San Marino in the CIF Open Division Small-School State Bowl, Rice did after halftime what he usually does.

He dominated.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior carried the ball seven times for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter alone, helping the Raiders turn a close game into a coronation.

The Raiders finished the regular season 16-0, becoming just the fifth team in state history to run through 16 opponents without losing, and tied mighty De La Salle (2009-12) for the longest state championship streak.

“It’s amazing,” said Rice, who finished the season with 2,698 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. “I kind of had this goal for my team. We had the talent and ability to go 16-0 and win a state championship. Everyone bought into that, and I’m really excited that I got to play and have fun with my teammates.”

Rice, who rushed for 1,331 yards and 18 TDs in the postseason, wasn’t having much fun in the first half, when he was held to 44 yards on 10 carries. But his first three carries of the second half went for 27, 30 and 17 yards as the Raiders took a 28-14 lead just one minute into the half.

Until then, San Marino was just a quick strike from getting back into the game. And it proved more than capable of doing that with long gainers to wide receivers Aiden Santino (five catches for 115 yards) and J.P. Shohfi (eight for 197 yards) in the first quarter.

It was Rice’s big third quarter that settled the nerves of coach Roger Canepa and the Raiders’ faithful.

“I was nervous because we weren’t really running the ball,” said Canepa, whose team had rushed for 4,981 yards entering Saturday’s game, more than any Raiders squad during their run of four consecutive state titles. “We gave up some big pass plays, and I’m thinking, ‘We’ve got to find a way to run the ball.’ ”

They did. A move to their double tight end formation created lanes for Rice. The Fresno State-bound Rice finished the game with 216 yards on 19 carries as the Raiders rolled up 339 rushing yards, giving them 5,320 for the season (332.5 per game).

“We’re not as accustomed to playing against two tight ends,” said San Marino (15-1) coach Mike Hobbie. “We kind of ran out of linebacker types. Give their coach a lot of credit for picking on us where we knew we were going to be a little weak.”

Now Rice will get to have fun with his brother, Jared, a starting tight end and defensive back on the 2013 and 2014 state championship teams who now plays at Fresno State. Fun because he won’t have to hear about his brother’s consecutive title runs.

“It’s great,” said Justin Rice. “Now he can’t brag to me that he was back-to-back, so it’s really special that I have that leverage on him.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 8:41 PM with the headline "Justin Rice breaks loose for Central Catholic."