Mater Dei pulls out victory with last-play TD

SANTA ANA - This time, Mater Dei's football team and its faithful celebrated at the end.

And thanks to an amazing, tight-rope act by the Monarchs in the final 1:23 of the fourth quarter, the ghosts from Mater Dei's past were pushed away Friday.

Ryan McMahon threaded a 15-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Duarte on the final play to lift the No. 9 Monarchs to a stunning, 22-20 victory against No. 7 Edison at Santa Ana Stadium.

After Mater Dei (1-3) avoided its first 0-4 start to open a season since 1951, its fans stormed onto the field. The Monarchs' three previous losses were each sealed in the closing moments.

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"It's a much-needed win for the old Monarchs," Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. "I know what we are walking down the barrel looking at in this Trinity League.

"You don't want to go into that thing without a win against a quality team, so I think (this) is going to help us a lot. We've just got to keep building momentum but we've got to get out of our own way."

Mater Dei's completed the winning, 80-yard scoring drive without a timeout. McMahon completed 5 of 9 attempts on the drive for 75 yards. On the touchdown to Duarte, he scrambled to his left and fired to Duarte, who narrowly kept his feet in bounds in making reception at the back of the end zone.

"They kept battling," Rollinson said of his team. "McMahon staying alive on the play was huge."

The drive also featured at least two occasions where Mater Dei players seemed to avoid chances to run out of bounds to stop the clock, but it all worked out for the Monarchs.

"They made the plays at the end, and we didn't," Edison coach Dave White said. "I've never lost on the last play of the game."

McMahon finished 23 of 34 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Duarte had eight catches for 99 yards and two scores while Josh Cook finished with seven receptions for 77 yards.

McMahon, a first-year starting junior, overcame two interceptions in the fourth quarter as Edison and a few former Mater Dei players erased the Monarchs' 16-7 lead going into the final frame.

Edison linebacker Bryce Campbell returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown as the Chargers (3-2) trimmed Mater Dei's lead to 16-14, with 8:21 left.

On Mater Dei's next possession, Edison cornerback and former Mater Dei standout Sedric Hill intercepted a pass at the 50 and appeared to return it for a score with 6:59 left. A personal foul penalty on the return wiped out the score, but running back Elijah Herrera scored on a 14-yard touchdown with 3:58 to give Edison its first lead, 20-16.

On the drive, Edison quarterback Chase Favreau - another former Mater Dei player - rushed for 14 yards on a fourth-and-3 from the Mater Dei 39.

The Chargers' 2-point conversion failed. A conversion by Edison would have made things interesting after Duarte's winning score.

Mater Dei committed its fifth turnover of the second half on the ensuing drive. Duarte lost the fumble on a reception near midfield but the Monarchs' defense held to give Duarte and the Monarchs a chance at redemption.

Edison started its final possession at its 47 with 2:20 left. The Monarchs held the Chargers to three consecutive 1-yard runs and used their final two timeouts. Edison ran off time after third down and called a timeout before punting from the 50 with 1:31 left.

McMahon's first two attempts on the winning drive fell incomplete before he connected with Jonathan Lockett for a 12-yard gain.

Mater Dei's defense forced three turnovers. Late in the first half, an interception by Hogan Rangel and his 34-yard return to the Edison 9 setup a 1-yard touchdown run by JC Genova. The third-and-goal conversion gave Mater Dei a 13-0 lead at halftime.

Edison defensive lineman Zach Donnelly recovered a fumble at his 40 on Mater Dei's opening drive of the second half. Herrera later made Mater Dei pay by weaving his way to a 19-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass from Favreau. The score with 6:41 left in the third cut Mater Dei's lead to 13-7.

Later in the third, Rangel recovered a muffed punt by Edison at the Chargers' 12, leading to a 25-yard field goal by Mater Dei's Brett Parker with 1:47 left in the third.

Aftert the game, Rollinson said the Monarchs were inspired by fallen Army Ranger Sgt. Tyler Nicholas Holtz, a former Mater Dei defensive lineman who recently was killed during combat in Afghanistan

"We were playing for the young man who died in action," Rollinson said. "That was a great kid."