For the fourth time since 2017, No. 3
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) is California's Open Division state champion. The Monarchs dominated No. 19
Serra (San Mateo) 35-0 on Saturday at Saddleback College behind four touchdown passes from senior quarterback
Elijah Brown.
Under first-year head coach Frank McManus, Mater Dei finished 13-1 with the lone loss coming
against rival No. 5 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) in October. That setback was avenged in the Southern Section Division 1 championship as the Monarchs won 35-7 over
the Braves.
Headed to Stanford next year, Brown threw three of his four touchdown
passes in the first half to help Mater Dei build a 21-0 lead. In his four years as the program's starter, the Monarchs went 42-2 with two state titles and a national championship in 2021.
Head coach Frank McManus, quarterback Elijah Brown and defensive lineman Semi Taulanga are interviewed following Mater Dei's 35-0 win over Serra on Saturday night in California's Open Division state championship game. (Photo: Steven Silva)
Brown's first touchdown pass was a 16-yarder to 6-foot-5, 220-pound freshman tight end
Mark Bowman with 4:56 left in the first quarter. Bowman, who has offers from Colorado State, Mississippi and Texas, finished the season with four touchdown receptions.
The scoring continued later in the quarter as Brown found junior wide receiver
Marcus Harris for a 74-yard bomb to give Mater Dei a 14-0 lead.
As the first half came to a close, sophomore
Shaun Scott left his imprint on the contest by blocking a punt with two minutes remaining. That led to a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brown to sophomore
Jonah Smith, making the score 21-0 at halftime.
Brown completed 18 of 23 pass attempts for 310 yards and four touchdowns in his final high school game, becoming the first Mater Dei quarterback to win multiple state championships. (Photo: Steven Silva)
Mater Dei continued its scoring in the second half when junior four-star running back
Jordon Davison scored his 10th rushing touchdown of the year on an 8-yard run to make it 28-0 with 7:06 to play in the third quarter.
The running clock began when the score reached 35-0 after Brown found senior
Jack Ressler for a 31-yard touchdown with 11:50 left in the game.
The Monarchs recorded their fifth shutout of the season despite Serra getting the ball into Mater Dei territory on multiple occasions.
Serra reached the state championship for a third consecutive year. The Padres fell to the eventual national champion in each of the last two seasons; Mater Dei in 2021 and St. John Bosco in 2022.
Senior quarterback
Maealiuaki Smith of Serra helped the program go 25-2 over the past two seasons with both losses coming in the state championship game.
Mater Dei players celebrate their program's fourth state title in six seasons. (Photo: Steven Silva)
