No. 6 Mater Dei shuts down No. 2 Santa Margarita

SANTA ANA – Santa Margarita went into the game undefeated, ranked second in Orange County and was averaging 41 points a game.

Sometimes, none of those facts matter when it's a Trinity League game.

Mater Dei upset Santa Margarita, 21-14, in the Trinity League opener for both teams Thursday at Santa Ana Stadium.

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OCVarsity Hot Shots from Thursday's game action

OCVarsity Fandemonium from Thursday's games

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Mater Dei went into the game 2-3 and ranked No. 6 in the county. But in the CIF-Southern Section Pac-5 Division rankings, Mater Dei was not one of the four Trinity teams in the Pac-5 top 10, which also had Santa Margarita at No. 2. According to that Pac-5 poll, Mater Dei was judged to be the fifth-best team in the six-team Trinity League.

"We executed the game plan," Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said, "and I can't say enough about our defense."

That defense recorded five sacks, two each by Ricky Ortiz and Thomas Duarte, and gave up only one offensive touchdown. Santa Margarita quarterback Johnny Stanton threw for 78 yards, about half his average output a game, and Eagles running back Ryan Wolpin was limited to 51 rushing yards (26 of which came on one carry), 80 fewer than his per-game average.

Ortiz said Mater Dei did nothing fancy.

"We came out in our basic defense and played really well," Ortiz said. "We covered Wolpin, and we didn't let Stanton have the kind of running game he had against Los Al (when Stanton rushed for 161 yards)."

Mater Dei junior quarterback Ryan McMahon had perhaps his best game of the season. He completed 20 of 30 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown, and ran for a touchdown. He threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a Santa Margarita touchdown.

And it was another tough night for Santa Margarita at Santa Ana Stadium. The Eagles have not won there since 2001, and are 1-6 at "The Bowl," as some still call the venue.

Santa Margarita coach Harry Welch was disappointed, but in only one person.

"It's my responsibility as the head coach to get the team ready to play," Welch said. "It starts with Harry Welch, and we can't start blaming 16- and 17-year-old kids. I didn't do my job."

Mater Dei, which started 0-3, takes its three-game winning streak to St. John Bosco of Bellflower (4-1) next Friday in another league game.

Santa Margarita (5-1, 0-1) plays host to Orange Lutheran next Friday at Saddleback College. Lutheran (5-0) plays Servite  (4-1) tonight in the Trinity League opener for both; Bosco plays JSerra tonight.

The Monarchs had a 13-0 lead at halftime. Santa Margarita got all of its first points in the third quarter, first on a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by Connor O'Brien, later on a 1-yard touchdown leap by Wolpin. That put the Eagles on top, 14-13, going into the fourth quarter.

The teams traded turnovers (they finished the game with three apiece) until Mater Dei put together a game-winning drive. Starting at the Mater Dei 15-yard line with 7:33 to go, McMahon connected with Jameson Field for 18 yards, then the Monarchs six consecutive running plays with J.C. Genova scoring on a 4-yard run. A pass from McMahon to Ortiz for the 2-point conversion gave Mater Dei its 21-14 lead with 4:13 remaining.

Santa Margarita's ensuing drive stalled at midfield, forcing the Eagles to punt. Mater Dei then went three-and-out, but a 50-yard punt by the Monarchs' Nick O'Toole forced Santa Margarita to start at its 20-yard line. The Eagles got a 25-yard completion from Stanton to O'Brien, but an intentional grounding call and a game-ending sack by Duarte ended the Santa Margarita comeback bid.

Mater Dei finished strong, and started strong, too. The Monarchs, after taking the opening kickoff, started at their 17-yard line and maneuvered into the end zone on seven plays with McMahon scoring on a 3-yard run. McMahon completed passes of 24, 26 and 9 yards to three different receivers on the drive and had an 18-yard run.

Late in the first quarter, Mater Dei's Peter Russo intercepted a Stanton pass at the Santa Margarita 27-yard line. A big third-down conversion – a 17-yard pass from McMahon to Josh Cook on third and 13 – led to a 9-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Cook with 10:07 remaining in the second quarter. The extra-point kick was wide left, leaving the Monarchs with a 13-0 lead.

Mater Dei dominated that first half. The Monarchs tallied 10 first downs to Santa Margarita's four and had 223 yards of total offense to Santa Margarita's 58. McMahon was 12 for 14 in the half and completed passes to five different receivers.