Mater Dei defense shuts down St. John Bosco

SANTA ANA - The old saying in football is that defense wins championships.

At least that’s the reason that second-ranked Mater Dei is one step closer to the Trinity League title.

The Monarchs (7-2, 4-0) sacked St. John Bosco of Bellflower’s elusive quarterback Keith Price six times and intercepted him once as they defeated the visiting Braves, 35-6, Friday night at Santa Ana Stadium.

The Braves (7-2, 2-2) entered the game averaging 37.8 points per game.

“I told them, you tackle and contain, we win,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. “If you miss tackles and lose contain, we’re going to struggle.”

The victory clinches a playoff berth for the Monarchs and at least a share of the Trinity League title for the second consecutive season.

“My defensive coaches worked extremely hard all week on the schemes,” Rollinson said. “We were petrified. We had a bunch of different ways to try and keep him (Price) contained and they executed it.

“We had coverage on the back end. … I thought we mixed the (defensive) plan very well and I don’t they could ever settle in to where we were coming from and how we were coming.”

Kyle Hubert and Kessler Armbruster each recorded two sacks. Rollinson credited Hubert and the play of sophomore linebacker Joseph Schmidt for their play.

“We needed to step up and play technique football,” Hubert said. “And play our butts off.
“That kid (Price) is an amazing athlete. It was just about containing and as long as the guys in the back keep them covered, I’ll get him or one of the other defensive linemen will get him.”

The Monarchs struggled against players like Price earlier in the season, but that hasn’t been the case since the Trinity League season started.

“One of our problems was that we were playing as individuals on defense,” Hubert said. “Now, we’re playing as a team.”

Jaron Hytche again carried the load for the offense, rushing for 139 yards and five touchdowns. Since league play began, Hytche has rushed for 653 yards in four games.

Hytche sealed the game with a 1-yard touchdown with 3:08 left in the game. He added an exclamation point with less than a minute to as he scored on a 829-yard run.

Christian Maldonado also played a key role on defense as he blocked a field goal and extra-point attempt.

The Monarchs will now turn their attention to earning the outright league title. Mater Dei will conclude the regular season Thursday against Orange Lutheran. The Lancers have won the previous two meetings.

“This is the position we wanted to be in,” Rollinson said. “We’ll see what happens.”