High school football: No. 1 Mater Dei downs No. 4 Servite 27-7 in Southern Section title game

The high-octane passing attack of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) was largely grounded Friday night. No matter as the nation's top-ranked high school football team relied on a potent rushing attack and a rugged defense to claim the Southern Section Division I championship with a 27-7 victory over No. 4 Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach.

Quincy Craig, Raleek Brown and Ajon Bryant each rushed for touchdowns as the Monarchs (11-0) beat the Friars for the second time this season and 11th consecutive time overall while advancing to the CIF Open Division championship game against a yet-to-be-decided Northern California foe Dec. 11. It was Mater Dei's eighth Southern Section crown and third since 2017.

Friday's hard-hitting, defensive affair was in stark contrast to the back-and-forth regular-season contest won by Mater Dei 46-37 in one of the best games of the year.

In that one Raleek Brown rushed for 163 yards, Craig added four rushing touchdowns and sophomore quarterback Elijah Brown threw for 247 yards to offset a huge night from Servite's Noah Fifita, who threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, both to Oregon-bound wideout Tetairoa McMillan. This one didn't resemble that one at all. Only the victor.

The Monarchs allowed just 133 yards of total offense, recorded four sacks and forced two turnovers to stifled a Servite offense that averaged better than 420 yards per game. They got two sacks from Tanner Williams and 1.5 by David Bailey to go along with an interception by Jeilani Davis.

It was a defensive gem on the game's opening play that gave Servite the early momentum.

Servite took over at the Monarchs' 28 and a few plays later, Fifita found McMillan on a 3-yard touchdown pass, making it 7-0. The two had connected 15 times for 163 yards and two scores in the first meeting.

Craig tied the game late in the first-quarter on a 3-yard run, then made a big third-down reception for a first down on Mater Dei's next possession, setting up a Raleek Brown long run. That, in turn, set up another long run, a 27-yard touchdown from Bryant, giving Mater Dei a 14-7 edge midway through the second quarter.

Servite looked to be going in for the game-tying touchdown, but Craig came through again, this time on the defensive end. He forced a fumble recovered by Cameron Sidney at the Mater Dei 15. The Monarchs ran out the clock to end the half. When Raleek Brown scored on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter to go up 21-7, the Monarchs then relied on their stingy defense that included an interception by Davis deep in Mater Dei territory and the big sacks from Bailey and Williams. 

The Monarchs went often to Raleek Brown and the Oklahoma-bound four-star back delivered, rushing 23 times for 162 yards. Elijah Brown finally sealed it with two minutes left on a 27-yard touchdown strike to Notre Dame-bound receiver C.J. Williams, making it 27-7.

In addition to playing the role of favorite, Mater Dei played most of the week with added weight after the Orange County Register reported an alleged hazing incident from last spring. That made regional and then national news. Instead of talk about the title game, much centered on the allegations.

The Monarchs put it all aside and now face an unknown foe after Central Coast Section favorite Saint Francis (Mountain View) was upset by Serra (San Mateo) 16-12 in the Division I title game and Rocklin was beaten 20-3 by Folsom in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division championship contest. Now Serra or De La Salle (Concord) appear to be the front-runners to be the handpicked opponent of the Monarchs. That decision will come Sunday from the CIF's 10 commissioners.