BELLFLOWER – Mater Dei’s defense slowed Josh Rosen and Sean McGrew in the second half. The Monarchs moved the ball after losing wide receiver Andre Collins to an injury and they gave Jack Lowary time to throw.
But there was one hurdle Orange County’s top-ranked team couldn’t overcome in its Trinity League opener at St. John Bosco on Friday night:
Drive-killing fumbles.
The two-time defending league champion Braves forced three fumbles, leading to 14 points, en route to a dramatic 28-25 victory in a showdown of the top two ranked teams in Southern California.
St. John Bosco cornerback Traveon Beck returned a fumble 69 yards early in the fourth quarter for the No. 1 Braves’ lone score of the second half and a 28-18 lead. The Braves’ Jacob Callier appeared to strip the ball free from a scrambling Lowary.
Beck’s recovery and sprint down the sideline loomed large as Mater Dei’s Jalen Cole returned a punt blocked by Jed Smith 3 yards for a touchdown with 4:43 left in the fourth as the Monarchs (5-1, 0-1) cut the Braves’ lead to 28-25. The Monarchs had come close to blocking several punts earlier and got the big one.
Mater Dei’s defense then forced St. John Bosco (5-1, 1-0) to turn the ball over on downs at the Monarchs’ 23 with 2:20 remaining. Mater Dei drove the Braves’ 39 before it lost a third fumble with 1:49 left, sealing a fifth consecutive loss to the reigning national champions.
Mater Dei was driving on Bosco’s side of the field on all three fumbles.
“You can’t turn the ball over three times,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “We had talked about it a lot, all day long, about not beating ourselves and what came back and haunted us was we beat ourselves.
“We got to just feel bad for 12 hours and go back to work because we got Servite next. But there were some outstanding performances.”
Lowary and tight end Kyle Penniston paced Mater Dei’s offense. Lowary passed for 343 yards while Penniston hauled in seven receptions for 121 yards.
Mater Dei’s offensive line gave Lowary time to complete four passes of more than 30 yards.
Collins, who blocked a potentially game-winning field goal in the final seconds last week against Westlake, left early in the second half on a stretcher with an ankle injury, Rollinson said. The junior was injured after turning a reception up field and fighting for extra yards.
But Mater Dei’s defense picked up the slack in the second half and finished with five sacks against Rosen, three courtesy of Ronald Nickerson. Rasheed Williams and the emerging Curtis Robinson also recorded sacks while Malik McMorris added nine total tackles.
The Monarchs also held McGrew to 27 yards rushing in the second half but the Braves didn’t commit a turnover, perhaps the most important number of the night.
Rosen, the UCLA quarterback commit, also was held to 81 yards in the second half. The Monarchs pressured the senior heavily but he managed a few spectacular completions off his back foot late in the game.
“I thought our defense really, really played a great game,” Rollinson said. “What I’m really proud about is that we battled up front. … Our offense line really played well.”
St. John Bosco capitalized on a late Mater Dei turnover to take a 21-10 lead at halftime.
McGrew scored on a 7-yard run with 45 seconds left in the second quarter, capping a swift drive that started after the Braves’ Ietitaia Epenesa recovered a Mater Dei fumble at his 35 with just less than two minutes left in the half.
McGrew sparked the drive with a 40-yard gain on a third-down draw to the Mater Dei 14, making the fumble all the more painful.
Trailing, 14-10, Mater Dei had reached to the Braves’ 19 after a personal foul but the drive stalled. On third down, St. John Bosco sacked Lowary and forced a turnover.
Mater Dei’s offense also struggled deep in St. John Bosco territory on its opening possession. The Monarchs drove for a first-and-goal at the 9 but came away scoreless after missing a 22-yard field goal attempt.
In between that start and the final two minutes of the half, Lowary and Rosen dueled and the Monarchs led twice. Elias Deeb kicked a 33-yard field goal late in the first quarter for a 3-0 lead and running back Brandon LaMarche scored on a 4-yard touchdown run for a 10-7 lead with 8:34 left in the second.
In the third, Noah Delgadillo scored on an 11-yard TD run and Penniston added the 2-point conversion catch from Lowary to trim the Braves’ lead to 21-18 with 3:17 left in the frame.
McGrew finished with 116 yards rushing while Rosen had 202 yard passing, though his numbers were hurt by five dropped passes.
This coming Friday, Mater Dei takes on Servite at Cerritos College while St. John Bosco — winners of 12 consecutive Trinity League games — plays JSerra at Orange Coast College.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
