Corona Centennial QB Wins CBSLA.com Player Of The Year Award
(CBS/Rahshaun Haylock) -- If you speak to Corona Centennial quarterback, Michael Eubank, he will tell you he's a pro-style quarteback.
The senior will say he's comfortable taking snaps under center, he's able to take five and seven-step drops and get the ball out quickly.
Last summer, while watching Eubank at a summer passing tournament, one scout said "colleges are going to have to take a good look at this kid."
They looked. The scout was eluding to his thoughts that Eubank would be a viable prospect for a team that runs the West Coast Offense.
Eubank, afterall, considered himself a pro-style quarterback. If that is the case, this fall, the Corona Centennial star twilighted as a dual-threat monster.
It was hard to see those pro-style traits as you witnessed number 18 barrel through would-be tacklers while running the football.
Eubank, in his first season as the Huskies starting quarterback, elevated his play, along with that of his teammates and guided the Huskies to their sixth CIF Championship, and the school's 3rd CIF State Bowl Appearance.
For that, he is our CBSLA Player of the Year.
To understand what made his senior season so magical, you must first understand the pitfalls that got him there.
You couldn't help but to notice the kid on the Corona Centennial sideline. The year was 2008 and then-quarterback, Taylor Martinez was on the field leading the Huskies to their first ever State Championship.
The kid on the sideline was an imposing figure, standing at 6'5", 230 pounds and donned uniform number 19. Great size for a player at any level, let alone a high school quarterback, and a sophmore at that.
Some said he was the future. It was believed, Eubank would have the keys to the Husky engine for the next two years. However, that was not to be.
There was plenty of attention and why not? Here's a quarterback with great measurables and playing for one of the top high school football teams in the nation.
It was supposed to be a seamless transition. It always is for the elite programs isn't it? Not so much in this case. Florida payed a visit to the Centennial campus to take a look as this soon-to-be junior before the start of the 2009 season.
The Michael Eubank Era was set to begin, but head coach Matt Logan put on the brakes. The summer prior to the 2009 season, Logan decided to go with a two-quarterback system, featuring Eubank, a junior and senior, Michael Arredondo.
A decision, Eubank says was "hard" to deal with sharing time throughout the season.
Splitting time also put a dent in the recruiting process.
Eubank, wasn't exactly putting up the kind of numbers that made colleges come knocking: 1,123 yards, nine touchdowns, and eight interceptions for his junior season, while completing 58% of his passes.
On the ground, Eubank rushed for 349 yards and five scores. As he entered his senior season, he held one offer --from FCS Northern Colorado.
In preparation for his senior campaign, Eubank spent his time in the summer between Gridiron Academy, where he worked on his skills under center and Centennial practices where he tried to get a better grasp of Logan's spread offense.
Colleges wanted to see if he could be a leader at quarterback as a full-time starter and Eubank was determined to show them.
He led the Huskies to an undefeated regular season, including a Big VIII League Title. Centennial breezed through the Inland Division playoffs and earned a bid to Carson for the Division I State Bowl Game.
With Eubank at the reins, Centennial averaged 51.4 points per game.
The 2010 Michael Eubank was drastically different than the 2009 version. Eubank 2010 was more accurate, confident and understood the offense much better. "His growth is unbelievable," says Logan, "I've never had a player develop more than he has."
The senior finished the season with over 4,100 yards of total offense and 41 total touchdowns -- 22 passing and 19 rushing. He completed 67% of his passes which is second all-time for a Centennial quarterback.
He also broke the Huskies single-season rushing mark for a quarterback with 1,329 yards, breaking the record held by current University of Arizona quarteback Matt Scott.
2010 was a record shattering year for the Huskies.
The 771 points in 2010 are a school record for one season. The 51.4 points per contest are a single season Centennial record. The Huskies amassed 7,985 yards of total offense this season, which is also a school record.
The 82 points scored against Corona in Week 9 is school record for most points in a game and the 69 points scored against Corona Santiago in Week 7 is tied for 3rd most ever scored in a game for the Huskies. You get the idea?
In a sentence, the Huskies lit up the scoreboard. Eubank was the catalyst.
Colleges took notice as offers poured in from SEC and Big East Schools, but it is in the PAC-10 that Eubank has decided to take his talents.
He's the next Husky go through the pipeline from Corona Centennial to Tempe.
The senior has committed to Arizona State. The Sun Devils were the only school Eubank went to on an official visit and the senior announced his committment hours after the State Bowl Game.
"His discipline [and] his work ethic is incredible. He wants to get better," says Logan. Eubank did an overall better job understanding the concepts of Logan's spread attack. He perservered through the rough times and created highlights both for his school and himself.
You can call him pro-style or a dual-threat, but simply he's a quarterback.
Robert Woods of Serra High School was the KCAL.com (now cbsla.com) player of the year winner in 2009. Woods went on to USC and won the PAC-10 freshman of the year award.
RH
