Mater Dei finds redemption, defeats rival St. John Bosco for Trinity League title
April 18, 2021 9:04 AM — Posted by signsanaheim — Posted at business signage ,irvine sign companySANTA ANA — Mater Dei High didn’t close the coronavirus-delayed and shortened football season Saturday, April 17 with a CIF Southern Section or state championship. But the Monarchs secured the next-best thing in their book.
Red redemption.
Freshman quarterback Elijah Brown again played beyond his years, tossing four touchdowns, and Mater Dei forced three turnovers to beat rival St. John Bosco 34-17 for the Trinity League title at Santa Ana Stadium.
-
Mater Dei’s Shoes Brinkley, left, intercepts a pass intended to St. John Bosco’s Chedon James during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei players celebrate the team’s win over St. John Bosco in a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco’s Katin Houser loses the handle of the ball as he was sprinting for a touchdown during a Trinity League game against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei defenders tackle St. John Bosco’s Jode McDuffie during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei’s Leviticus Su’a, bottom, and Shoes Brinkley tackle St. John Bosco’s Jabari Bates during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco’s Jaxon Harley, bottom, blocks a pass interned to Mater Dei’s CJ Williams during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei players celebrate CJ Williams’ touchdown during a Trinity League game against St. John Bosco at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei’s Leviticus Su’a, left, sacks St. John Bosco’s Pierce Clarkson during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei’s Elijah Brown, right, throws a pass past St. John Bosco Defenders during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco’s Tayvion Beasley, left, tries to stop a pass intended to Mater Dei’s Kyron Ware-Hudson during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei’s Josiah Zamora, right, catches the pass for a touchdown over St. John Bosco’s Jaxon Harley during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei’s Leviticus Su’a, center, celebrates his sack during a Trinity League game against St. John Bosco at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco’s Katin Houser throws a pass during a Trinity League game against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei’s Raleek Brown, left, sprints past St. John Bosco’s Nathan Burrell during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco’s Pierce Clarkson sprints with the ball during a Trinity League game against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson leads the team to enter before a Trinity League game against St. John Bosco at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco and Mater Dei play in a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco team enters before a Trinity League game against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco’s Jabari Bates, right, celebrates his touchdown with Jode McDuffie during a Trinity League game against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco head coach Jason Negro pleads against a flag to a referee during a Trinity League game against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
-
St. John Bosco’s Rayshon Luke, right, tries to sprint past the tackle by Mater Dei’s Shoes Brinkley during a Trinity League game at Santa Ana Stadium in Santa Ana on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)
Last season, St. John Bosco defeated Mater Dei 39-34 for the CIF-SS Division 1 championship, the teams’ fourth consecutive meeting in a section final. The Braves went on to capture state and national titles in the fall of 2019 and drove the Monarchs to seek “red redemption” this spring.
Despite the 2020 fall season being delayed seven months and the playoffs being canceled due to the pandemic, both teams approached Saturday as it was a CIF championship game.
“Tonight, they can feel redeemed,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “We had that theme (red redemption) expecting a regular season and I never left that theme because I had 21 kids (who were seniors). … They can go out and say in my senior year, ‘We beat one of the top teams’ and this is a big win for us. There’s a lot of talent on this football team, and that’s what makes it fun.”
Brown completed 14 of 23 passes for 203 yards and led an offense that didn’t commit a turnover.
“There was a tremendous amount of pressure on that young man, not placed by us,” Rollinson said of Brown. “I thought (offensive coordinator Dave) Money called a great game with a young quarterback. … But we know we can race this car a lot harder now that that kid has got five games under his belt.”
Mater Dei (5-0, 5-0) led 24-14 at halftime and used an interception by USC-committed cornerback Domani Jackson late in the fourth quarter to take a 34-17 lead on a 42-yard field by Chase Meyer with 3:31 left.
Mater Dei opened a 7-0 lead by driving 80 yards on its first possession for a spectacular, 18-yard touchdown catch by CJ Williams. The junior made a one-handed grab just inside the end zone on a well-placed pass from Brown.
St. John Bosco (5-1, 4-1) answered with two consecutive scores to take a 14-7 lead after the opening quarter.
Running back Jabari Bates broke a 66-yard touchdown run and tight end Matayo Uiagalelei added a 26-yard touchdown reception.
Both plays resembled impressive strikes the Braves used to beat Servite this season. Bates showed his burst through the secondary while the 6-foot-5, 263-pound Uiagalelei outjumped a smaller defender to come down with a high pass into the end zone by Pierce Clarkson.
Uiagalelei’s catch on third-and-9 came on the final play of the first quarter.
But Williams and Brown were only getting warmed up in the first half. On consecutive passes, Brown lofted a 26-yard TD pass to Williams, who made an over-the-shoulder reception in the end zone, and connected with Kyron Ware-Hudson for a 64-yard touchdown. The USC-bound Ware-Hudson found himself wide open in the secondary and raced to the end zone to give Mater Dei a 21-14 lead with 9:21 left in the second quarter.
The Braves almost responded on their next possession but missed a 37-yard field goal attempt wide left. The miss loomed significant as the Monarchs drove for a 38-yard field goal by Meyer, whose boot extended the Monarchs’ lead to 24-14.
Safety Shoes Brinkley sealed the score at intermission with a jumping interception in the end zone on the final play.
St. John Bosco got its kicking game back on track on its first possession of the second half, driving for a 37-yard field goal by Andre Meono, who trimmed Mater Dei’s lead to 24-17.
Mater Dei responded with an 80-yard scoring drive capped by 12-yard touchdown strike from Brown to senior wide receiver Josiah Zamora on a back-shoulder route. The connection for a 31-17 lead came after Williams drew a pass interference penalty on fourth-and-2 from the Braves’ 24.
St. John Bosco was called for three pass interference penalties on the drive and entered the final period with 10 penalties for 115 yards. The Braves appeared to be headed for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter but Quincy Craig forced a key fumble on a run from the Mater Dei 10 and Jacob Kongaika dove on the ball in the end zone.
from Irvine Business Signs https://ift.tt/3al7EQy
via Irvine Sign Company
