Mater Dei 19 - Eagles 14
SANTA ANA, CA., October 31, 2014 – In Week 9, Santa Margarita fell to the Mater Dei Monarchs 19-14 to fall to 6-3 and 2-2 in the Trinity League. The Eagles were unable to capitalize on two first quarter drives deep into Monarch territory and were only behind 6-0 at halftime due to timely defensive stops. After Mater Dei extended their lead to 19-0 in the fourth quarter Santa Margarita scored two quick touchdowns to pull within 19-14 with under two minutes left; however, the onsides kick was recovered by the Monarchs who ran out the clock. Mater Dei outgained the Eagles 370 to 308 but more importantly dominated the time of possession 30:35 to 17:25, turnovers 2-0 and first downs 19-14. The Eagles were able to stay in the game by limiting the Monarchs to field goals as Mater Dei only scored one TD in ten offensive possessions. Junior QB KJ Costello completed 15 of 30 passes for 240 yards and two scores to Noah Rasheed (six receptions for 108 yards), but the ground game was only able to muster 50 total yards. Junior LB Austin Barrette led the team with 12 tackles while Rick Ellison, Rick Wade and Tanner Matthews chipped in 10 each.
| Mater Dei | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 19 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
MD – Deeb 22 FG
MD – Deeb 26 FG
MD – Contreras 37 run (Deeb kick)
MD – Deeb 26 FG
MD – Deeb 19 FG
SM – Rasheed 5 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
SM – Rasheed 47 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: MD - Contreras 28-138, LaMarche 9-31, SM - Hall 11-22, Costello 5-21
Passing: MD - Lowary 9-19-0-165, SM - Costello 15-30-1 241
Receiving: MD - Humphreys 2-30, Welch 2-43, SM - Rasheed 6-109, Blanchini 5-97
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Mater Dei tops Santa Margarita in another battle
SANTA ANA – Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson challenged his team Friday night to show three important characteristics as it tried to keep its playoff hopes alive.
He wanted the Monarchs to respond to the adversity of a loss the previous week and he wanted their character and heart on full display.
The veteran coach received all three qualities, and in typical Trinity League fashion, it was just barely enough for a victory at Santa Ana Stadium.
The No. 2 Monarchs scored the first 19 points and then held on after two late touchdown passes by KJ Costello to beat No. 3 Santa Margarita, 19-14, to stay in the hunt for an automatic playoff berth.
One week after losing to JSerra for the first time, Mater Dei improved to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the league, which ties the Monarchs with Santa Margarita (6-3, 2-2) for third place.
“We overcame the adversity of last week, played with a lot of character and a lot of heart,” Rollinson said. “And in the meantime, I won’t sleep for another week.”
That’s because of finishes like Friday. After four field goals by Elias Deeb and plenty of tough yards from running back Adrian Contreras, Costello bounced back from several hard hits to throw two touchdowns to Mission Viejo transfer Noah Rasheed in the final 5:30 of the fourth quarter.
Costello connected on a 5-yard TD pass to Rasheed on fourth-and-3 with 5:19 left and 47-yard TD pass with 1:53 remaining. Rasheed caught the later between two defenders in the end zone after Costello stepped up in the pocket to avoid a near sack.
In between the two strikes, Santa Margarita’s Tanner Matthews recovered an onside kick but the Eagles were called for offside. Mater Dei’s Jacob Welch recovered the next attempt and while Deeb missed a 36-yard field goal with 2:38 left, Mater Dei still ran off three valuable minutes.
And after the Costello’s second TD strike, the Eagles’ onside kick went out of bounds, allowing Mater Dei to run out the clock with two late runs by Malik McMorris, who also blocked a field goal in the first quarter.
Yes, it was just another night in the Trinity League.
“It’s flat-out ridiculous,” Rollinson of the league, which ends for Mater Dei next week against Orange Lutheran (4-5, 0-4) — Santa Margarita closes against St. John Bosco (8-1, 4-0). “You have to play 48 minutes in this league.”
Contreras finished with a season-high 138 yards on a season-high 28 carries. He scored on a 37-yard TD run in the third for a 13-0 lead but his lasting impressions were several hard-nosed runs and breaking tackles. “It’s a big game,” he said, “(but) next week is a bigger game.”
Contreras entered the season as the Monarchs’ starting running back but was slowed by hand and knee injuries. He said his work load “felt great” on Friday and it seemed to show as he finished his runs hard, even in the fourth quarter.
“He’s an old-school Mater Dei football player,” Rollinson said.
Mater Dei’s defense forced two turnovers, including an interception and 32-yard return by safety Ben Humphreys early in the fourth that led to a 19-yard field goal by Deeb. The kick made it 19-0 with 8:07 left. And the Monarchs also held Santa Margarita to 48 yards rushing, one week after the Eagles ran wild against Servite, racking up a season-high 248 yards.
Costello completed 15 of 30 passes for 241 yards. The junior racked up 121 yards in the first quarter but later absorbed hard hits from Gerran Brown and Rasheed Williams, among others. He also took a blow to the knee in the middle of the third that kept him on the turf for a couple minutes.
“Our kids never give up,” Santa Margarita coach Rick Curtis said. “Hats off to Mater Dei. I thought their defense really took it to us. They smacked us in the mouth, but KJ just hung in there.”
Mater Dei’s defense and special teams set up Contreras’ TD run. After Kapono Laguisan downed a Mater Dei punt at the Eagles’ 6, the Monarchs forced a quick three-and-out and a short Santa Margarita punt. One play later, Contreras broke free around the edge.
Rasheed finished with six catches for season-high 109 yards while while the Eagles’ Conner Bianchini finished with five receptions for 97.
While Deeb’s 4 for 6 performance was a highlight in the kicking game, the Monarchs had first-and-goal situations twice in the first half but Santa Margarita’s defense held, forcing Mater Dei to use Deeb. The junior kicked a 22-yarder after a first-and-goal from the 9 in the first quarter and added a 26-yarder with 46 seconds left in the opening half after the Monarchs had first-and-goal at the 10.
“We have to improve in the red zone,” Rollinson said. “But at the end, we got the win.”
By Dan Albano
Saturday, November 1, 2014
The Orange County Register
