Mater Dei shows it's not finished

MISSION VIDEJO - No. 8 Mater Dei scored on its first six possessions and went on to punish No. 17 JSerra, 45-7, in a Trinity League game on Friday night at Saddleback College.

The Monarchs were coming off a 30-20 loss to arch-rival Servite last week and were in dire need of a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Mater Dei snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Lions, but it still needs to run the table against St. John Bosco of Bellflower and Santa Margarita in the final two weeks of the regular season to have a shot at the playoffs.

“Coach (Bruce Rollinson of Mater Dei) has been drilling it into our heads all week; we knew we had to come out and play good in this one,” Mater Dei quarterback Max Wittek said.

Wittek had another solid outing for the Monarchs, completing 7 of 11 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown with one interception before leaving in the third quarter after Mater Dei took a 45-7 lead.

Victor Blackwell had three catches for 72 yards and A.J. Roth had four receptions for 84 yards to account for the Monarchs’ receiving yardage.

One of the most exciting plays of the game came on a reverse by Blackwell, who went 30 yards on the play. Wittek was out in front making three blocks to clear the way for Blackwell. Two plays later, Wittek nailed Blackwell with a 22-yard touchdown pass that gave the Monarchs a 28-7 lead with 1:47 left in the first half.

Mater Dei’s defense got a quick three-and-out, then the Monarchs drove down the field to get a 19-yard field goal by Brett Parker for a 31-7 lead as time expired in the first half.

Mater Dei’s starting running back, Jordan Allen, didn’t suit up because of an ankle injury. Juniors Corbin Anderson and Josh Valdivia did a good job picking up the slack for the ground game.

Anderson rushed for 118 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 19, 2 and 8 yards. Valdivia picked up 44 yards on eight carries and scored on a 2-yard run.

“We definitely played a lot more together,” Wittek said. “Everything was clicking for us, the run game, everybody was blocking, they gave me time and I got to hit my receivers. I mean, we were clicking on all cylinders.”

Mater Dei was also playing without starting kicker Zac Chocek.

JSerra’s lone score came in the second quarter when it put together a 10-play, 79-yard drive. Lions quarterback Bobby Brown was 3 of 3 for 48 yards on the drive, including a nifty 29-yard touchdown toss to Jonavaughn Williams.

Mater Dei upped its record to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in league.

JSerra dipped to 6-2, 1-2.