Football Preview: Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders vs. Otay Ranch Mustangs
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The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders are taking a road trip to square off against the Otay Ranch Mustangs at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Mater Dei Catholic will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.
Mater Dei Catholic's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They breezed past Chula Vista to the tune of 27-0. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 152nd, while the Spartans are ranked 705th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Victor Voneiff
| 10/03/25 vs Chula Vista | 129 |
| 09/26/25 vs Helix | 118 |
| 09/12/25 vs San Marcos | 73 |
| 08/29/25 @ Granite Hills | 42 |
| 09/19/25 vs St. Augustine | 19 |
Mater Dei Catholic can attribute much of their success to Victor Voneiff, who threw for 129 yards and one touchdown while completing 75% of his passes, and Jordan Dumaran, who gained 92 total yards. Those 129 passing yards gave Voneiff a new career-high.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Friday Otay Ranch sidestepped Sweetwater for a 19-16 victory. The win continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Red Devils: they've now won four in a row.
Otay Ranch's win came from a few key players Mater Dei Catholic will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Andrew 'AJ' Lopez, who threw for 148 yards and a pair of TDs, and also rushed for 33 yards. Otay Ranch's leading receiver Xander Mendez was Lopez's top target yet again, picking up 93 receiving yards and two scores.
Mater Dei Catholic now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Otay Ranch, their record is now 3-4.
Everything came up roses for Mater Dei Catholic against Otay Ranch when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 45-6 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
