NORWALK – Mater Dei’s football team pushed aside another dose of adversity Saturday to stake its claim for a second consecutive national title and reward its veteran coach with a milestone victory.
The Monarchs also might have set in motion plans for an even longer reign.
With several juniors and sophomores and even freshmen contributing, Mater Dei defeated De La Salle for the second consecutive year in the CIF State Open Division championship by posting a 35-21 victory before 4,823 at Cerritos College.
Junior quarterback Bryce Young threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns and senior running back Shakobe Harper rushed for three scores as Mater Dei (13-2) defended its No. 1 national rankings by MaxPreps and High School Football America against the Spartans (12-1), a consensus top-10 team in the nation with a stellar defense.
The Monarchs also delivered Coach Bruce Rollinson his 300th career victory despite playing without star cornerback Elias Ricks. The junior missed the game for a reason Rollinson declined to discuss because of student confidentially.
The absence loomed significant as the Spartans, known for their ground attack, made big plays in the passing game and pushed the Monarchs harder than in last season’s 52-21 result in the championship game. Mater Dei also lost rising defensive back Josh Hunter — a starter as a freshman — after a big hit late in the game.
But pushing aside adversity was the Monarchs’ lasting signature this season. They overcame an early-season forfeit for using an ineligible player. They found redemption in the CIF-SS Division 1 final against rival St. John Bosco after a lopsided loss to the Braves in mid-October.
And they had to fight one more time Saturday, which Rollinson thought was fitting.
“I’m in it for the kids and I’m really, really happy and gratified that I got to get my 300th win with this team because there were times when it was looking shaky and how they did overcome adversity,” said Rollinson, who raised his arms to the Mater Dei faithful with about a minute left in the game.
“It makes it that much more special.”
Harper agreed.
“With the group that we had to do it with this year makes it even more special because of all the stuff we’ve been through all year,” Harper said. “We had some highs and we had some lows. Lots of lows. …(We) stayed positive. We never got down on ourselves.”
De La Salle trimmed Mater Dei’s lead to 28-21 with 6:09 left in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard TD run by James Coby on fourth-and-goal. The score came after the Spartans blocked a punt, another obstacle for the Monarchs to overcome.
But the USC-committed Young led Mater Dei on a seven-play, 85-yard scoring drive that Harper punctuated with a 15-yard TD run with 3:55 remaining. Harper finished with 122 yards on 22 carries.
Senior wide receiver Bru McCoy positioned the Monarchs for the score with a spectacular one-handed reception. McCoy had seven catches for 116 yards.
“Bryce Young took over in that last drive,” Rollinson said of the passer, who finished 18 of 25 in the game. “(And) if Harper isn’t one of the MVPs of the game, I don’t know who is.”
Mater Dei led 14-7 at halftime but marched the second-half kickoff 67 yards on seven plays to take a 21-7 lead. Harper capped the drive a 15-yard touchdown run highlighted by a spin between two defenders at the 5.
Young set up the score by standing his ground against a heavy rush to complete a third-and-9 pass to McCoy for a 24-yard gain to the Spartans 40.
Mater Dei opened a 28-7 lead with 4:52 left in the third quarter with a 1-yard TD by Harper after junior linebacker Jacobah Fuamatu recovered a fumble. It was the Monarchs’ sixth fumble recovery against De La Salle the past two years and they later added a seventh.
De La Salle kept fighting. Lumagia Hearns caught a 67-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Dorian Hale on a short slant route early in the fourth quarter to cut Mater Dei’s lead to 28-14.
But the Monarchs soon responded to the challenge like they did all season.
“Coach said earlier this week ‘Fortune favors the bold’ meaning when you’re willing to step up and rise to any occasion, things usually fall you way,” McCoy said. “We came out with the mentality, game after game, practice after practice, that there ain’t nothing we’re afraid of. … Overcoming all that adversity is really a testament how we handle ourselves.”
Mater Dei capitalized on a high snap on a De La Salle punt to open a 7-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.
Young zipped a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cameron Gardner shortly after the Spartans sailed a snap over their punter.
Mater Dei forced the punt after a sack by sophomore Raesjon Davis. The linebacker finished with a team-high seven tackles, two sacks and four tackles for losses.
The Monarchs’ defense created another scoring chance later in the first quarter. With the Spartans driving deep into Mater Dei territory, lineman Evan Bennett recovered a fumble at his 26 with 3:28 left in the opening period.
Mater Dei turned the fumble into a 37-yard touchdown pass from Young to a streaking McCoy just seconds into the second quarter.
Tight end Mike Martinez helped spark the seven-play, 74-yard scoring drive with a key reception over the middle. The UCLA committed senior finished with six catches for 87 yards.
Mater Dei scored 14 points off De La Salle turnovers, one year after scoring 28 points off turnovers in the 2017 state game. The Monarchs also didn’t commit a turnover Saturday.
De La Salle responded with its own pass attack to tighten the score before halftime. Hale threaded a 9-yard touchdown pass to Grant Daley with 9:08 left in the second quarter.
Hale helped set up the score by narrowly avoiding a sack and lofting a screen pass over the Mater Dei defense to Coby, who dashed for an 83-yard gain to the Monarchs 8.
Mater Dei’s defense held the rest of the half. Darion Warren-Green, a junior, and Fuamatu recorded tackles for losses while Steele Dubar collected a sack.
The Monarchs held De La Salle to 3 yards rushing on 40 attempts, an average of 0.1 per carry. The Spartans sailed punt accounted for a 32-yard loss but Mater Dei’s defense still played well with three sacks and three fumble recoveries.
Mater Dei’s offensive line of sophomore George Miki-Han, juniors Tai Marks, Kamuta Levasa and Sefita Tupe and senior Robert Gibson allowed only one sack. And the unit didn’t feature standout left tackle Myles Murao, who suffered a season-ending leg injury against JSerra.
Murao was also part of the adversity the Monarchs overcame in 2018 but will be yet another junior coming back in 2019.
“We got a real good team coming back. Let’s go for 315, baby!” Rollinson said.
Mater Dei is on top again, beats De La Salle 35-21 for 2nd straight Cali title and likely 2nd straight national title – and watch out again next yr @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/bWiCHiOGIU
— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) December 9, 2018
Box scoreMater Dei 35, De La Salle 21
De La Salle 0 7 0 14 – 21Mater Dei 7 7 14 7 – 35
Passing – Hale (DLS) 10-19-254, 2 TD. Young (MD) 18-25-296, 2 TD.
Rushing — DLS – Garrett 18-45, Coby, 8-12, 1 TD. MD — Harper, 22-122, 3 TD, Young, 7-30.
Receiving — DLS, Daley, 4-35, 1 TD, Hearns, 3-110, 1 TD, Coby, 2-100. MD — McCoy, 7-116, 1 TD, Martinez, 6-87.