MISSION VIEJO, Calif. — Amid controversy off the field,
Mater Dei (Santa Ana),
the nation's top-ranked football team, took care of business on it. The
Monarchs raced to a 21-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 44-7 victory
Saturday over
Serra (San Mateo) in the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division championship game before 6,500 fans at Saddleback College.
Sophomore quarterback
Elijah Brown completed a beautiful 78-yard touchdown bomb to
Cooper Barkate
on the team's second play from scrimmage and the Monarchs (12-0) were
on their way to their third Open Division title since 2017. USC-bound running back
Raleek Brown rushed for three touchdowns, Elijah Brown added another TD pass and the defense was stout while showcasing itself one last time as the best team in the country.
The Monarchs also seemed to play passionately for 72-year-old coach Bruce Rollinson, who might have led Mater Dei for the last time. He didn't address that media afterwards but was hoisted on the shoulders of his team while leading a teary-eyed post game celebration on the field.
Though
the opening touchdown pass was majestic, it was Mater Dei's tenacious, active
and fleet defense that keyed the next three scores and prevented Serra
(11-2) from gaining any momentum or thoughts of a momentous comeback.
Bruce Rollinson was carried off the field by his team after Saturday's 44-7 win over Serra.
Photo by Louis Lopez
The
victory gives Mater Dei a strong claim for their second MaxPreps
National Championship to go with their 2018 title although No. 2
Westlake (Austin, Texas) is in the UIL 6A-Division II finals next week.
The Monarchs would be one of the few teams to go wire-to-wire as the
top-ranked team in the MaxPreps Top 25.
"I think we proved (the top rating) to a lot of people," said Mater Dei senior wide receiver
C.J. Williams, a Notre Dame commit and co-captain. "Obviously you have Westlake who beat up on Katy (Saturday). If there's any doubt, we'll go over to Texas and play them."
The Monarchs opened the season in Texas, manhandling Duncanville 45-3 in a game that, like Saturday, was decided in the first quarter. On Saturday, 20th-ranked Duncanville (13-1) won its 13th straight game, moving into the Texas UIL 6A-1 championship with a 35-9 win over No. 6 Southlake Carroll (Southlake). As Williams noted, Westlake made its own statement with a 45-14 6A-2 win over No. 7 Katy.
Serra coach Patrick Walsh doesn't have a vote in the rankings, but he came away more than a little impressed with the Monarchs. He watched Mater Dei linebacker
Malaki Teo follow the opening bomb with a 21-yard pick six and after
Tanner Williams forced a fumble that was recovered by
Joshua Hunter, Raleek Brown powered it in from the 1-yard line, making it 21-0 with 38 seconds left in the first quarter.
Raleek Brown, Mater Dei
Photo by Louis Lopez
"The have the best combination of everything," Walsh said. "They care. They play hard. They are uniquely talented. And they are well coached. When that all comes together, you're the No. 1 team in the country."
An interception by Hunter and 90-yard touchdown return was called back because of a clip, but that set up a 32-yard field goal from
Chase Meyer to make it 24-0 midway through the second.
The Monarchs' true defensive genius showed in the final minute of the half when Serra's 1,000-yard running back
Petelo Gi (25 carries, 116 yards) burst through a hole on fourth down and looked to be streaking to a sure 45-yard touchdown.
But Cal-bound
Cameron Sidney chased him down with an ankle tackle at the Mater Dei 3. After quarterback
Dominique Lampkin spiked the ball with 11 seconds left, a perfectly designed pass to the right flat caught by
Joseph Latu looked again like a sure touchdown.
Again, Sidney seemed to come out of no where and tackle Latu at the 1 with three seconds left. After a timeout, Lampkin was smothered on a sneak try and kept Serra off the scoreboard.
Cooper Barkarte hauls in a 78-yard touchdown bomb from Elijah Brown on Mater Dei's second play from scrimmage.
Photo by Louis Lopez
For all intents and purposes, this championship game was decided. For at least three hours while on the field, the Monarchs weren't having to answer questions about off-the-field issues.
Over the previous three weeks, the program was hit hard with reports reached nationally about an alleged hazing in February. Also, a separate lawsuit is
pending about an alleged 2019 assault off campus by two former players.
After the game, Rollinson did not take questions. He finished his 33rd season with another perfect season, pushing his career mark to 329 wins, 86 losses and two ties. This could be his fifth national title for the Monarchs.
Players carried him off the field. Tears were in his eyes throughout the postgame ceremony, as were numerous coaches and administrators on the field. He took endless photos with family, children, cheerleaders and players.
Walsh embraced him for what seemed like was 30 seconds to a minute. Walsh left the embrace and kissed the legendary coach on the cheek. All seemed to sense this could be the end of an illustrious run.
C.J. Williams (8) had five catches for 55 yards and a pretty mean stiff arm.
Photo by Louis Lopez
"I respect coach Rollinson," Walsh said. "I respect the way those guys play football."
In the second half, Rollinson watched his star Raleek Brown score two more touchdowns in the third quarter, 3 and 15 yards, while Elijah Brown (18-for-25, 243 yards) threw one last TD pass, a 5-yarder to
Quincy Craig. Junior linebacker
Leviticus Su'a led all defenders with 10 tackles and Hunter added seven.
Asked how his team has been able to focus and continue to win impressively despite the off-the-field distractions, Williams said: "It's easy when you got a bunch of guys who care about each other, a bunch of guys who are doing it for one another. Then, all the other stuff is zoned out. You don't listen to the outside noise and we haven't done that the last four years."
There was other off-the-field news that was completely positive.
The same day the Monarchs won the title, they claimed their third former player to win a Heisman Trophy as 2019 graduate Bryce Young took home the award for Alabama. No other high school has claimed more than two.
Trying to corral Dominique Lampkins was not easy — he rushed for 68 yards and team's only touchdown.
Photo by Louis Lopez
"Very cool," Williams said about Young winning the award.
Serra had split two other state championship games, but this was the first at the Open Division level. The Padres had plenty of positives, including chewing up six minutes on its opening drive. Lampkin had the team's only touchdown on an 18-yard run late in the third quarter to close to 31-7.
Walsh, who has been credited with largely spearheading California's drive to save 2020 season in the spring by starting, spearheading and uniting coaches, parents and youth sports advocacy groups, equaled Mater Dei's passion and emotion after this one. The 2021 spring season and 2021 fall seasons seemed to morph, making it a very long haul for all.
"We came in here to fight," Walsh said. "We came here to win and clearly we were not good enough to do that. But our spirit was never broken. I love my team. I love their fight. I love my coaches. ... High school football is much more than hoisting trophies. At Serra, we believe in what we do. ... We could have tapped out so many times in this game and we didn't. And that's something to be proud of."
Serra running back Petelo Gi rushed 25 times for a game-high 116 yards.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown completed 18 of 25 for 243 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Serra quarterback Dominique Lampkin was chased most of the first half.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Raleek Brown (4) carried 11 times for 61 yards and three touchdowns.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Mater Dei team captains hold up the CIF State Open Division Trophy hardware.
Photo by Louis Lopez
