SoCal High School Football Week 9: Mater Dei's Pick-Six Finish Tops Orange Lutheran 52-38, San Juan Hills Blanks San Clemente
Two defensive touchdowns in the final four minutes saved the Monarchs, Santa Margarita and Sierra Canyon stayed perfect, and the Trinity League's biggest night of the year is next Friday.
By Will L
Mater Dei spent a good chunk of Friday night chasing Orange Lutheran. Then two defenders ended it. Senior Ezekiel Su'a broke a 31-31 tie with a 27-yard interception return with 4:07 left, and sophomore Isaiah Danns sealed a 52-38 win with an 82-yard pick-six with 18 seconds on the clock.
That was the loudest result of Week 9 in Southern California high school football, but it had company. Previously unbeaten San Clemente got shut out. San Diego Section No. 1 Carlsbad lost for the first time. And now the Monarchs turn around and host St. John Bosco with both programs sitting at 7-2.
Game of the Week: Mater Dei 52, Orange Lutheran 38
The lead changed hands twice and the score was tied twice at Santa Ana Stadium, and Orange Lutheran threw the first real punch. Mater Dei sophomore Asir Nembhard opened the scoring on a 6-yard run, and the Lancers answered with trickery: wide receiver Chris Flores took a reverse and threw to tight end Hudson Ploog for the tying score .
The second quarter belonged to OLu for a while. Reagan Toki hit Nico Bland for a touchdown, then four-star junior Chauncey Washington II jumped a route and took it 41 yards the other way. Lancers 21, Monarchs 10.
Mater Dei didn't blink. Nembhard ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run, and freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess found Gavin Honore near the goal line, and Honore punched it in with nine seconds left before halftime. Mater Dei 24-21 at the break.
Guess added a 6-yard touchdown run in the third to make it 31-21. Orange Lutheran clawed back anyway. Toki ran 15 yards for a score late in the third, and Court Mercure drilled a 40-yard field goal with 8:56 left to tie it at 31.
Then the night flipped for good. Su'a picked off a Toki pass and went 27 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Nembhard followed with a 59-yard run, his third touchdown of the night and 13th of the season, to make it 45-31. Toki was hurt on a scramble in the fourth quarter, and Flores moved to quarterback and hit Raiden Velasquez for a 13-yard score with 1:18 left. OLu then recovered an onside kick after a Mater Dei unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Danns made sure that comeback stopped there, picking off Flores and running 82 yards to the end zone.
The turning point: Su'a's interception. Before it, Orange Lutheran had scored 10 straight points and had the momentum. After it, Mater Dei outscored the Lancers 21-7.
What it means: Mater Dei, No. 19 in the , moves to 7-2 and 3-1 in the Trinity League, and its regular-season finale is against No. 11 St. John Bosco. Orange Lutheran falls to 5-4 and 2-2 in league, and it still gets a crack at unbeaten Santa Margarita next week.
My take: Mater Dei's defense will be the reason it beats Bosco next Friday. Two of its seven touchdowns against OLu came from the defense, and a Monarchs secondary that baits quarterbacks the way Su'a and Danns did will be a problem for anybody in the Division 1 bracket.
SoCal Spotlight
Santa Margarita 36, JSerra 12. MaxPreps' No. 2 team in the nation scored 36 straight points. The Eagles found the end zone through the air, on the ground, on a kick return and on a fumble return, and added a safety. Carson Palmer's team is 9-0 . The Eagles have already beaten Mater Dei 14-7 and St. John Bosco 21-7, and they close league play at Orange Lutheran on Oct. 30.
San Juan Hills 16, San Clemente 0. Big upset. San Clemente came into Friday 7-0 and No. 7 in High School On SI's CIF-SS Top 25. San Juan Hills held the Tritons scoreless and moved to 8-1 overall. Next up for the Stallions: a trip to Mission Viejo, which hammered Los Alamitos 58-7.
La Costa Canyon 37, Carlsbad 21. The San Diego Section's top-ranked team on MaxPreps took its first loss of the year. La Costa Canyon, which came in 63rd in MaxPreps' state rankings to Carlsbad's 12th, won its third straight to get to 6-3. Carlsbad is 8-1
Corona Centennial 41, Chaparral 27. The Big West heavyweight won the showdown between MaxPreps' No. 4 and No. 10 Southern Section teams, even with receiver Quentin Hale sidelined, per SI. Centennial is 6-3 and plays at Murrieta Mesa on Thursday
Sierra Canyon 63, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 6. The No. 4 team in the country rolled to 9-0. Here's the number that matters: Notre Dame's six points were the first anyone scored on Sierra Canyon in Mission League play this season, after shutouts of Loyola (41-0), Serra (58-0) and Chaminade (41-0). Bishop Amat comes to Chatsworth next Friday.
SoCal Scoreboard
Every final below matches on at least two of: High School On SI, LA Times scoreboard, MaxPreps, OC Sports Zone. Friday games unless noted.
CIF Southern Section
St. John Bosco 54, Servite 7 (Trinity)
Mission Viejo 58, Los Alamitos 7 (Alpha)
Yorba Linda 20, Edison 17 (Alpha)
Crean Lutheran 31, Corona del Mar 17 (Bravo)
Chaminade 21, Serra 7 (Mission)
Santa Barbara 13, Westlake 10 (Channel) - Westlake was No. 22 in SI's CIF-SS Top 25
Oxnard Pacifica 24, St. Bonaventure 14 (Marmonte)
Oaks Christian 14, Newbury Park 6 (Marmonte)
Crespi 48, Bishop Alemany 12 (Del Rey)
Murrieta Valley 20, Murrieta Mesa 7 (Big West)
Inglewood 41, Leuzinger 0 (Bay)
Palos Verdes 28, Redondo Union 7 (Bay)
Rancho Cucamonga 41, Upland 0 (Baseline)
La Mirada 42, Warren 31 (Gateway)
Downey 46, Cerritos 20 (Gateway)
La Serna 42, Mayfair 14 (Gateway)
Culver City 54, Torrance 52 (Pioneer)
Paramount 63, California 3 (Mid-Cities)
Foothill 35, Tesoro 13 (Epsilon)
Capistrano Valley 30, Villa Park 18 (Bravo)
Huntington Beach 37, Troy 22 (Thursday)
Orange 55, Irvine 17 (Thursday)
CIF Los Angeles City Section (MaxPreps City scoreboard)
Carson 35, San Pedro 0 (Marine)
Banning 35, Narbonne 32 (Marine)
Birmingham 42, Chatsworth 0 (West Valley)
Cleveland 37, Granada Hills Charter 7 (West Valley)
Kennedy 43, San Fernando 7 (Valley Mission)
Palisades 49, Fairfax 35 (Western)
Crenshaw 18, Dorsey 14
Hamilton 15, Venice 14 (Western)
CIF San Diego Section (MaxPreps SD scoreboard)
Cathedral Catholic 42, Point Loma 6
Mission Hills 31, Rancho Bernardo 21
San Marcos 35, Torrey Pines 28
Helix 42, Steele Canyon 14
Oceanside 34, Poway 13
El Camino 24, Del Norte 21
Lincoln 42, Mission Bay 2
Scripps Ranch 47, University City 43
National Top 25 Watch
Rankings: MaxPreps Top 25, updated Oct. 19. Results: MaxPreps Top 25 scoreboard.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) - W 56-12 vs. Flanagan
Santa Margarita (Calif.) - W 36-12 vs. JSerra
Buford (Ga.) - W 40-0 at Mill Creek
Sierra Canyon (Calif.) - W 63-6 at Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks)
IMG Academy (Fla.) - Idle
Columbus (Fla.) - W 30-7 at Northwestern
Bishop Gorman (Nev.) - Idle
Allen (Texas) - W 77-14 vs. Dallas Jesuit
Baylor (Tenn.) - W 27-7 at Ensworth
Carrollton (Ga.) - W 66-27 at Westlake
St. John Bosco (Calif.) - W 54-7 at Servite
Thomas County Central (Ga.) - Idle
North Crowley (Texas) - W 75-3 at Skyline (Thursday)
Brownsburg (Ind.) - Idle
Hamilton (Ariz.) - L 38-7 at Liberty
Hough (N.C.) - W 35-0 vs. Myers Park
De La Salle (Calif.) - W 31-14 vs. San Ramon Valley
Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) - W 41-6 at Cardinal Gibbons (Thursday)
Mater Dei (Calif.) - W 52-38 vs. Orange Lutheran
Central Catholic (Pa.) - W 42-0 at Canon-McMillan
Prattville (Ala.) - W 13-0 vs. Vestavia Hills
North Shore (Texas) - L 42-21 vs. King
Trinity (Ky.) - W 49-0 at Oldham County
Edna Karr (La.) - W 48-14 vs. Chalmette (Thursday)
Folsom (Calif.) - W 42-41 vs. Del Oro
Upset watch: Two ranked teams went down. Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.) handed No. 15 Hamilton its first loss, 38-7, ripping off 28 unanswered points after leading just 10-7. In Houston, King went on the road and beat No. 22 North Shore 42-21 behind quarterback Khylan Davis. Expect both losers to tumble Monday. No. 25 Folsom nearly joined them, surviving Del Oro 42-41 .
Players Who Popped
Asir Nembhard, Mater Dei (So.) - Three rushing TDs of 6, 62 and 59 yards vs. Orange Lutheran; 13 on the season .
Ezekiel Su'a (Sr.) and Isaiah Danns (So.), Mater Dei - Pick-sixes of 27 and 82 yards in the final 4:07 .
Paytyn Guess, Mater Dei (Fr.) - Rushing TD plus the go-ahead TD pass to Gavin Honore before halftime.
Chauncey Washington II, Orange Lutheran (Jr.) - 41-yard interception return for a TD .
Khylan Davis, King (Houston) (Sr.) - Two TD passes and three rushing TDs in the upset of No. 22 North Shore .
Luke Taber, Del Oro - Six TD passes, five to Chase Carmazzi, in a 42-41 loss to No. 25 Folsom .
Tre Garrison, Edna Karr (La.) - 41 carries, 183 yards and a TD as Karr won its 35th straight.
Next Week's Game of the Week: St. John Bosco at Mater Dei
Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. | Mater Dei hosts
No. 11 St. John Bosco (7-2, 3-1 Trinity) vs. No. 19 Mater Dei (7-2, 3-1 Trinity) in the regular-season finale. Both programs have the same two losses on their résumés, Bishop Gorman and Santa Margarita. The Braves fell 38-28 at Gorman and 21-7 to the Eagles; the Monarchs lost 25-8 to Gorman and 14-7 at Santa Margarita.
Bosco is heating up, with 54 points at Servite on Friday. Mater Dei counters with Nembhard's legs, a freshman quarterback in Guess who made the clutch throw before halftime Friday, and a secondary that just scored twice in four minutes. Trinity League standing and playoff seeding are on the line. Mark it down.
Also on the Radar (Friday, Oct. 30)
Bishop Amat at Sierra Canyon - The 8-1 Lancers get their shot at the unbeaten, nationally ranked Trailblazers in Mission League play.
Santa Margarita at Orange Lutheran - The 9-0 Eagles close Trinity League play against a Lancers team that just put 38 on Mater Dei.
San Juan Hills at Mission Viejo - Fresh off the San Clemente shutout, the Stallions visit a Diablos team that scored 58 on Friday.
Your call: Mater Dei or St. John Bosco next Friday, and by how much? Drop your score prediction in the comments, and check HSPrepSports.com all weekend for SoCal scores, playoff picture updates and next week's full preview.
Comments (0)