WESTLAKE VILLAGE – The celebration mirrored that of a CIF championship final.
The way Mater Dei and Westlake of Westlake Village battled on Thursday night, there’s no reason to think these two Southern California powers can’t see one another again in a situation where a trophy is on the line.
For now, an epic round one goes to the Monarchs.
Top-ranked Mater Dei blocked the potential 33-yard game-winning field goal attempt, allowing the Monarchs to escape with a 28-27 victory Thursday in front of a jammed crowd at Westlake High.
With 2:35 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Monarchs holding on to the one-point advantage, Jack Lowary and the Mater Dei offense took over at its own 25-yard line, hoping to milk the clock away.
Just over a minute and a half later, Ronald Nickerson converted a third-and-two with a powerful 6-yard plunge, giving the Monarchs (5-0) a fresh set of downs with just over 90 seconds remaining.
Because Westlake (3-2) only had one timeout remaining, it looked as if the Monarchs would simply take a knee to run out the clock. On the next play, senior Garrett Estrada took a handoff up the gut and fumbled, giving the Warriors possession at the Mater Dei 38-yard line.
Westlake moved the ball all the way down to the Monarchs’ 16, following a completion to wideout Theo Howard and a 15-yard roughing-the-passer call.
Warriors quarterback Malik Henry centered the ball in the middle of the field, setting up a 33-yard attempt for kicker Kevin Robledo, who had made 44-yarder earlier in the contest.
Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson called consecutive timeouts to ice the Warriors senior kicker, and when it was finally time for the game-winning attempt, the Monarchs broke through the middle of the Warriors line, blocking the kick, which set the Mater Dei faithful into a frenzy.
The Monarchs trailed 17-6 at halftime before scoring 22 unanswered in the third and fourth quarters for a 28-17 lead.
The Warriors scored the last 10 points of the game.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
