Centennial’s Javon McKinley catches on as Times’ back of the year
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If anyone didn’t know about junior receiver Javon McKinley of Corona Centennial High before the playoffs, they surely were aware of him afterward.
During the Pac-5 Division playoffs, he caught 14 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns against Gardena Serra. There were 11 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns against Bishop Amat and 13 catches for 151 yards against St. John Bosco. He was close to unstoppable in helping the Huskies win the Pac-5 championship.
McKinley, 6 feet 2 and 195 pounds, has been chosen The Times’ high school back of the year.
He finished the season with 97 receptions for 2,062 yards and 25 touchdowns. In the Open Division bowl game against Concord De La Salle, he had a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and touchdown receptions of 25 and 87 yards.
As his mother, Estrilla, wrote on Twitter: “One word for my son’s junior season. Amazing.”
“As we progressed in the playoffs, defenses got tougher, the secondary got better,” McKinley said. “I just had to step it up more and more every week.”
Said Coach Matt Logan: “The way he elevated his game is unbelievable. We all knew what he was capable of being.”
Twitter: LATSondheimer
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