PASADENA – TJ Houshmandzadeh played 11 seasons as a receiver in the NFL.
He knows what it takes to be an elite football player. And Houshmandzadeh, now Santa Margarita’s receivers coach, said Eagles senior Trent Mosley has what it takes.
“Everyone knows he’s going to get the ball the majority of the time,” Houshmandzadeh said. “And you still can’t stop him.”
Mosley was unstoppable Friday night.
He had 10 receptions for 292 yards. Mosley caught two touchdown passes and ran for two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 42-7 win over Corona Centennial in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game at the Rose Bowl.
Houshmandzadeh compared Mosley to Amon-Ra St. Brown, the former Mater Dei receiver who went on to star at USC (where Mosley is committed) and has been outstanding for the Detroit Lions.
“Trent’s Amon-Ra St. Brown without the scowl on his face,” Houshmandzadeh said. “Amon-Ra looks like he’s going to kill you. Trent’s going to smile and kill you.”
Mosley scored the game’s first touchdown by taking a direct-snap for a 2-yard run. He scored the second touchdown on a Trace Johnson pass he caught at the Eagles’ 43 and he turned it into an 80-yard scoring play.
He had 201 receiving yards on nine catches in the first half.
In the third quarter he took a screen pass and, with the help of a fine block by Ninava Nicholson, sprinted up the left sideline for a 91-yard touchdown. Mosley scored on a 1-yard run with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
Mosley missed five games during the regular season because of a foot injury. He still went into Friday’s game as the Eagles’ leading receiver, with 37 receptions for 355 yards.
Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer said Mosley brings out the best in his teammates.
“Guys understand how dangerous he is,” Palmer said. “You naturally play a little harder around him because you know at any moment he can go the distance.”
Mosley was asked to look at himself objectively, as if he was in the stands watching Trent Mosley play.
“I would like to say he gives his all,” Mosley said of his self-assessment. “He’s dynamic and he’s exciting to watch. You’re going to get everything out of him.”
Houshmandzadeh expects Mosley to have the same level of success in college football and beyond.
“He breaks a ton of tackles,” Houshmandzadeh said. “He’s fast. He has heart.
“He just had it. And he will do the same thing at the next level.”
NOTES
• It was the most one-sided game in a CIF-SS top-division final since Eisenhower beat Mater Dei 56-3 in the Division 1 championship game in 1993. …
• Santa Margarita defensive coordinator Steve Fifita was the Eagles’ interim coach last season when the school dismissed Anthony Rouzier as head coach. He applied for the head coaching position, but it went to Carson Palmer, who was wise to retain Fifita on the staff as the defensive coach. Also on the coaching staff is offensive coordinator Lenny Vandermade, who played at Mater Dei and USC, Houshmandzadeh as receivers coach, and former Ocean View and Notre Dame player Todd Norman as strength coach. …
• Fifita talked about the team’s defense after the 31-6 semifinals win over Orange Lutheran. “It’s a very selfless group,” Fifita said. “They’re genuinely happy when someone else is successful, and that’s how our whole team is.”…
• Attendance for the game was 8,775. …
• The Santa Margarita offensive line had another great night. The fivesome: Adam Iloilo, Raymond Jacobs, Aaron Klatt, Chris Kraninger and Ninava Nicholson. …
• The last time either Mater Dei or St. John Bosco did not win the Division 1 championship was 2011. The winner that season was Centennial. …
• Santa Margarita played without Jayden Crowder, a senior cornerback who committed to USC. Crowder was in a walking boot Friday, having suffered an injury in the team’s win last week over Orange Lutheran in the semifinals. Crowder was Santa Margarita’s eighth-leading tackler going into this week. …
• Centennial coach Matt Logan was 10-1 in CIF-SS championship football championship games going into Friday. …
• Friday’s game was the fourth CIF-SS football championship game to be played at the Rose Bowl. The Division 1 final was at the stadium in 2022 and twice in the 1930s. …
• Palmer during his playing days at USC threw for 856 yards and nine touchdowns at the Rose Bowl over three Pac-12 conference games against UCLA. USC was 2-1 in those games.