It was football’s version of a first-round knockout.
Taking advantage of two interceptions, a fumble recovery, precision passing from Dash Beierly and power running from Jordon Davison, No. 1 Mater Dei was so dominant in the first half on Friday night against No. 2 St. John Bosco that any boxing referee would have ended the bout.
“We were just overwhelmed,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said.
The Monarchs opened a 45-point halftime lead en route to 59-14 victory. It was the worst defeat inflicted on coach Jason Negro since he took over the Braves’ program in 2010 and the first time his team was on the losing side with a running clock in the fourth quarter.
“The pressure was too much,” Negro said. “It was like an avalanche. They’re the best team we’ve faced. They’re so physical up front.”
The loudest cheers from St. John Bosco fans at Santa Ana Stadium happened in the middle of halftime reacting to Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.
It wasn’t that the Braves (8-1) were bad — it’s that Mater Dei (8-0) is so good. Braves freshman quarterback Koa Malau’ulu couldn’t settle down and felt the need to hurry his passes knowing the Monarchs’ pass rush can be devastating. Aaryn Washington returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown and Cory Lavender had another interception along with a forced fumble. Malau’ulu was three-of-14 passing for 31 yards in the first half and finished eight of 22 for 112 yards.
Meanwhile, Beierly completed 14 of 18 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. His first play on offense was a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt after getting a lateral from Davison. Beierly also ran 40 yards for a touchdown and went his eighth consecutive game without throwing an interception. He finished 20 of 28 passing for 309 yards and four touchdowns.
“I’ve read about this rivalry for years,” said Beierly, who played at Chaparral last season. “To be on the winning side is amazing.”
St. John Bosco finally got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter on a 71-yard touchdown run from Maliq Blackwell-Allen.
This rivalry has mostly produced competitive games but last season St. John Bosco won the Trinity League matchup 28-0 and lost the rematch in the Southern Section Division 1 final 35-7.
“I knew we were going to win but not by that much,” linebacker Shaun Scott said.
Mater Dei’s defense came up with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, including a six-yard return for a touchdown by Nasir Wyatt after a sack by sophomore Dailon Clanton. Davison rushed for 107 yards and one touchdown.
Mater Dei first-year coach Raul Lara called his team’s first-half performance the best of the regular season with one game left next week at home against Orange Lutheran (7-2) to decide the Trinity League championship.
“They executed well and controlled the line,” Lara said. “That was the sharpest we’ve been.”
It was Lara’s first Mater Dei-St. John Bosco coaching experience, but it’s not like he isn’t used to big games. He was part of perhaps the biggest high school football game of the 21st century in 2001, when his Long Beach Poly team was beaten by Concord De La Salle 29-15 before 17,321 at Veterans Stadium in one of the first nationally televised prep football games. De La Salle had a 116-game winning streak that reached 151 games.
The Monarchs are certainly the team to beat if you want to be No. 1 in California and the nation.