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  • Mater Dei's AJ Collins leaps for a touchdown catch as...

    Mater Dei's AJ Collins leaps for a touchdown catch as La Mirada's Delonte Taylor tries to block the pass in the first half of Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • Mater Dei's Chris Green, right, takes down La Mirada quarterback...

    Mater Dei's Chris Green, right, takes down La Mirada quarterback Tristan Meyer but not before he makes a pass during Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • Mater Dei freshman quarterback JT Daniels throws a touchdown pass...

    Mater Dei freshman quarterback JT Daniels throws a touchdown pass in the first quarter of Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • La Mirada's Delonte Taylor blocks a pass intended for Mater...

    La Mirada's Delonte Taylor blocks a pass intended for Mater Dei's Andre Collins in the first quarter of Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • Mater Dei's Amon-ra St. Brown holds onto the ball for...

    Mater Dei's Amon-ra St. Brown holds onto the ball for a first down as La Mirada's Chase Newman jumps on top in the first quarter of Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • La Mirada's Micah Croom loses his helmet trying to tackle...

    La Mirada's Micah Croom loses his helmet trying to tackle Mater Dei's Nikko Remigio during Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • Mater Dei's AJ Collins holds up the ball after completing...

    Mater Dei's AJ Collins holds up the ball after completing a pass for a touchdown against La Mirada in the first half of Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • Mater Dei's Nikko Remigio holds onto the ball for a...

    Mater Dei's Nikko Remigio holds onto the ball for a first down as La Mirada's Cameron Carr, right, holds on in the second quarter of Friday night's football game at La Mirada.

  • Mater Dei's AJ Collins dives for a touchdown catch in...

    Mater Dei's AJ Collins dives for a touchdown catch in the first quarter of Friday night's football game against host La Mirada.

  • La Mirada's Sei-j Lauago runs the ball downfield for their...

    La Mirada's Sei-j Lauago runs the ball downfield for their first touchdown of the game against Mater Dei during the first quarter of Friday night's game at La Mirada.

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    The Mater Dei cheer squad gets the crowd going at the start of Friday night's football game against host La Mirada.

  • Samantha Vera play the marimba as the La Mirada Marching...

    Samantha Vera play the marimba as the La Mirada Marching Band plays Peter and the Wolf for the halftime show.

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    The 2015 La Mirada girls soccer team is honored at La Mirada's football half time for their CIF championship title.

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    Cristian Camacho plays the clarinet as the La Mirada Marching Band plays Peter and the Wolf for the halftime show.

  • Amanda Penalize of La Mirada Cheer watches the football game...

    Amanda Penalize of La Mirada Cheer watches the football game as they play Mater Dei for Friday night football.

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    The La Mirada boys basketball team is honored at La Mirada's football half time for their CIF championship title.

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Associate mug of Kenny Connolly, Anaheim reporter.

Date shot: 12/31/2012 . Photo by KATE LUCAS /  ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LA MIRADA – Training wheels are overrated.

At least that’s the impression you might get if you watched freshman quarterback JT Daniels operate Mater Dei’s offense in his first career varsity start Friday night.

The Monarchs youngster played anything like a pup, throwing five of his six touchdown passes in the first half as top-ranked Mater Dei went on the road and throttled host La Mirada, 42-7, in a nonleague contest.

Daniels completed 17 of 25 passes for 292 yards in 2 1/2 quarters, all career-highs for the promising young signal caller who played years beyond his age.

“The kid has got great football sense and he’s one of those cerebral type of kids who just gets it,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “I was really pleased with his performance. He read the coverages. He had a couple of boo-boos, but for a freshman, I think I’ll forgive him for two misreads and a couple of overthrows.”

Mater Dei (3-0) scored touchdowns on five of its seven first-half possessions. Senior wide receiver AJ Collins grabbed Daniels’ first two touchdown strikes from 6 and 7 yards out, and closed the half with a 22-yard receiving touchdown – the freshman’s fifth of the season.

Christopher Parks and Osiris St. Brown also hauled in second-quarter TD passes of 16 and 11 yards, respectively.

“That was awesome,” Daniels said after the game. “I got a great team around me. Everyone helped me feel like it was just a normal game, and I just did my thing.

“Coach (Dave) Money got me prepared for the game. The receivers did their thing, offensive line did their thing, and it made everything easy.”

Daniels’ final touchdown pass came on the Monarchs’ opening drive of the third quarter. The freshman connected with sophomore Amon-ra St. Brown over the middle on a dig route, and the Servite transfer proceeded to outrace the defenders en route to a 66-yard score, extending Mater Dei’s lead to 42-7.

La Mirada dropped to 1-2 on the season, with both losses coming against Trinity League opponents. The Matadores lost to St. John Bosco, 76-8, in Week 0.

Running back Sei-j Lauago’s 75-yard rushing touchdown proved to be La Mirada’s lone score, coming just 44 seconds after Mater Dei grabbed an initial 7-0 lead.

The Monarchs defense was stellar otherwise, holding La Mirada’s two quarterbacks to just two completions and 7 yards passing.

Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com