Mater Dei's triumph muted by player's tragic loss

BELLFLOWER - Mater Dei played inspired football Friday night, albeit with a heavy heart.

On Friday morning, strong safety Brian Denning's father, Matt, was found dead in his sleep at his home. Brian played nearly every down on defense against St. John Bosco, made an interception and was loudly cheered by the Mater Dei faithful after every tackle.

Denning's effort played a role in the Monarchs defeating the Braves, 42-14, in a crucial Trinity League game at St. John Bosco High.

"We talk about brotherhood a lot," Monarchs coach Bruce Rollinson said. "These kids, to a man, told Brian they had his back. (Tonight's effort) was a way of paying tribute to the Denning family."

The victory not only improved Mater Dei's record to 6-4, 3-2 in league, but it also earned third place in the league standings and an automatic berth to the CIF-Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs. The loss dropped the Braves to 5-5 and 2-3.

After a scoreless first quarter, Mater Dei struck quickly and often, scoring touchdowns on its next four possessions.

Three touchdowns came by way of quarterback Max Wittek's right arm on passes to A.J. Roth and Victor Blackwell. Wittek, who finished a very efficient 10 of 13 for 139 yards, hit Roth on a 13-yard completion, and found Blackwell for 45 and 5 yards. The other score in the first half came on a 6-yard run by Corbin Anderson, who rushed for a game-high 165 yards.

Wittek completed his final pass of the evening on the penultimate play of the third quarter when he found Blackwell wide open on a post pattern for a 15-yard score. The touchdown came just minutes after Denning reached over wide receiver Dylan Hall and intercepted a pass in the Braves' end zone.

Mater Dei's defense recorded two sacks and four interceptions. Defensive back Cory Martinez had two interceptions, including one he took 75 yards for the game's final score in the fourth quarter.

Mater Dei totaled 414 yards of total offense, including 275 on the ground. Along with Anderson's effort, Josh Valdivia added 84 yards on seven carries.

St. John Bosco running back Austin Mahr had 128 yards rushing on 18 carries.