Mater Dei 52 - Eagles 7
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 21, 2022 – Santa Margarita Catholic completed its regular season home schedule by hosting No. 1 Mater Dei. His as a prelude to traveling to Bellflower to take on No. 2 St. John Bosco. What a gauntlet. The Eagles still have eyes on Division 1 in the postseason, but that whole scenario will be sorted out soon enough. The Monarchs turned the game into a track meet as the speed of their thoroughbreds was on maximum display in the 52-7 triumph.
SMCHS started with a five-minute drive which was sustained by medium-range play success and MD penalties. It came down to a fourth-down at the one-foot line and Quarterback Jaxon Potter was upended at the goal line and deemed to not have broken the plain with the ball. As deflating as that was, the next play was a killer as the Monarchs struck for their first of many long-distance plays, going 99-yards. In the first half, he shortest touchdown by MD was 20-yards. The Eagles couldn’t capitalize on anything because there was nothing offered as the Monarchs played mistake free ball, except for their usual horde of penalties. They did own the time of possession in the first as half, as Mater Dei held the ball for less than seven minutes (6:50) compared to 17:10 for SMC.
The bright spot was the five sacks registered by SMCHS defenders (7 tackles for loss), including 1 1/2 by LeVar Talley. The junior also collected five tables (2 1/2 for loss). Noah Sulick led Santa Margarita in tackles and Jayden Dose had 1 1/2 sacks, the first of his career.
Potter threw just his second interception of the season and was 20-of-39 (51.3%) for 171 yards. Potter has attempted 267 passes. Emmett Mosley continued to demonstrate his patch-catching ability in traffic and the moves to separate from the pack with his seven receptions. With his seven catches, that brought Mosley to a season total to 64 -- an average of 8.0 per game. Given a deep run by SMCHS in the postseason, could challenge for the all-time school record of 89 set by Kyle Sweet in 2014.
The outcome at St. John Bosco will dictate where the Eagles will be placed in the CIF-SS postseason playoff bracket.
| Mater Dei | 14 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 52 |
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
MD – Davison 99 run (Medina kick)
SM – Foye 4 pass from Potter (Schuster kick)
MD – Harris 63 pass from Brown (Medina kick)
MD – Lavendar 70 interception return (Medina kick)
MD – Davison 20 run (Medina kick)
MD – Harris 55 pass from Brown (Medina kick)
MD – Medina 38 FG
MD – Frazier 9 run (Medina kick)
MD – Remigio 4 run (Medina kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Foye 12-50; MD - Davison 4-131
Passing: SM - Potter 20-39-1-171; MD - Brown 13-14-0-301
Receiving: SM - E. Mosley 7-62, Lopez 2-36, Eiseman 5-22; MD - Ressler 4-62, Harris 2-118
Summary by Chuck Nan
Statistics by Shane Mielke
Elijah Brown leads Mater Dei football in rout of Santa Margarita
MISSION VIEJO – Mater Dei was dominant on both sides of the ball in a 52-7 drubbing of Santa Margarita in a Trinity League football game Friday at Saddleback College.
In the first half, Mater Dei (9-0, 4-0) had a 38-7 lead despite possessing the ball for less than seven minutes (6:50) compared to 17:10 for Santa Margarita.
Elijah Brown was spectacular for the Monarchs, completing 13 of 14 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns were to Marcus Harris, who had 118 yards on two receptions.
“Ever since he’s been a freshman, his deep balls are so well-placed,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said of Brown. “It fascinates me. He hits guys in stride right and left. It’s Elijah.”
“The offensive line put us in the right positions so I could make the throws I needed to,” Brown said.
The Monarchs scored on their first two offensive plays of the game. Jordon Davison ran for a 99-yard touchdown to give the Monarchs a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The run is the longest touchdown run in school history.
Davison’s run came after a goal-line stand by the Monarch’s defense at the 1-yard line.
“It motivated us but I think that was a head-dropper for them,” Rollinson said.
After a a touchdown for Santa Margarita (6-3, 2-2), Brown completed a 63-yard touchdown pass to Harris to give Mater Dei the lead back at 14-7.
Freshman cornerback Cory Lavender intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to put the Monarchs ahead 21-7 early in the second quarter.
Davison ran for a 20-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Brown and Harris connected again for a 55-yard touchdown to put Mater Dei in front 35-7.
Andre Medina made a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Monarchs a 38-7 lead at the break.
Nathaniel Frazier and Kai Remigio ran for touchdowns in the third quarter for the Monarchs, from 9 and 4 yards out, respectively, to give Mater Dei a 52-7 lead.
Santa Margarita quarterback Jaxon Potter, who is one of the county leaders in passing yards, was held to 169 yards on 20 completions. The senior threw one touchdown and had one interception, just his second interception of the season.
Potter threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jake Foye in the first quarter. Foye ran for 53 yards on 11 carries and caught three passes.
Rylan Vagana led the Monarchs in tackles with six and the Monarchs had five tackles for a loss. Semi Tualanga had a sack for Mater Dei.
Jacob Bower led Santa Margarita in tackles and Jayden Dose had a pair of sacks.
Mater Dei will play Servite Friday, Oct. 28 at Cerritos College.
“That’s always a big game for me,” Rollinson said. “They are going to come ready to play and I have to get my guys ready to play. It’s the Friars baby.”
By Michael Huntley
Friday, October 21, 2022
The Orange County Register
