LA PUENTE – All eyes are on Mater Dei this year, perhaps more than in recent years with the assortment of talent that Bruce Rollinson has on the field.
In their season-opening game Friday night, the top-ranked Monarchs showed why they’re probably the most electrifying team around and it didn’t take long for those in attendance to take notice.
The Monarchs scored three touchdowns in their first four plays and they never let up, scoring on each of their first-half possessions and cruising home with a 63-14 road victory over Bishop Amat of La Puente.
“Offensely, we kind of did our thing as a unit, Coach (Dave) Money prepares us so well,” Mater Dei quarterback JT Daniels said. “The offensive line did their part, the receivers and all I did was my part.”
Daniels’ “part” was impressive, just for the first half.
The sophomore quarterback completed 18 of 21 passes in the first half for 338 yards and five touchdowns. He threw just one pass in the second half and it also went for a touchdown, a 35-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown to open the third quarter.
He finished 19 of 22 for 373 yards and six touchdowns.
“I don’t think there’s a way to stop it (the offense),” Daniels said. “The defense wants to double Osiris (St. Brown), then I have Amon, I have Nikko (Remigio), I have C.J. (Parks)…we have such a strong receiving core that I would say is hands down the best in the country. All I have to do is hit them with the pass and let them do the rest.”
In all, Amon-Ra St. Brown caught four of Daniels’ touchdown passes. Bru McCoy and C.J. Parks had the others.
“I thought we executed well,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “What you had are a group of kids that have been hitting each other all summer, all during camp and they finally got to hit somebody else.
“You always wonder, can we put the front in front of the skills and put it all together and I thought we did. I was concerned about a little drop in the effort late in the first quarter and midway through the second, but overall, it was a good performance.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@scng.com
