Mission accomplished for No. 1 Mater Dei over No. 15 De La Salle

Video: Mater Dei vs. De La Salle highlights
Watch 5-star quarterback JT Daniels account for five touchdowns in lopsided win.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — De La Salle (Concord) football fans were hoping for a hurricane. Or a perfectly clean game. Or perhaps history to repeat.

None of it happened. None of it would have mattered.

The Monarchs from Mater Dei (Santa Ana) are kings of high school football in 2017.

For the 15th straight week, the Monarchs proved that with a swift and thorough 52-21 victory Saturday night in the CIF State Open Division champion at Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University.

Mater Dei not only secured its third mythical national championship, but first since 1996, but it won its first CIF state championship and helped erase four straight defeats to the Spartans, a series of games that started in 1998.

That was then. But the Monarchs very much showed they are now, a multi-talented squad that feature at least 19 Division I players. They were ranked No. 1 to start the season. They'll finish No. 1. And remarkably, they never trailed in any game while finishing 15-0 for the first time in the program's illustrious history.

"With all due respect to all my other teams, this one is the tops," Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said following his 29th season and 287th victory. "They sometimes seems like their not quite focused at practice or before games. But I saw it in their eyes they were ready tonight. They weren't going to be denied." They got three more touchdowns passes from the nation's top-rated junior quarterback JT Daniels, who two TD runs, one a beautiful 40-yard touchdown scramble. He completed 20 of 30 for 233 yards.

Two of his TD passes were to the nation's No. 1 rated senior receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.  The Monarchs' defense forced a startling five turnovers, including the backbreaker in the second quarter, an 86-yard interception return by Zion Alefosio.

All of it added to an absolutely perfect ending to a perfect season.

"They were No. 1 to start the season and finished No. 1," Rollinson said. "That's a lot of pressure. But they handled all of it. That was impressive."

De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh agreed that Mater Dei was more than impressive.

"Those guys are a great team," he said. "Tip your caps to Mater Dei. Those guys are legit."

For perhaps the first time since Bob Ladouceur took over the program back in 1989, De La Salle (11-2), the seven-time state champion, was a prohibitive underdog and needed a near perfect showing.

They were also hoping for some help from Mother Nature. Winds howling up to 50 miles per hour earlier in the day would have likely inhibited Mater Dei’s vaunted passing game, led by Daniels.

The winds calmed somewhat and on Mater Dei’s first possession it was obvious it would have no effect.

The USC-bound standout drove the Monarchs right down the field 80 yards on six plays, capped by a beautifully thrown 38-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown (8 catches, 137 yards).  Just 2:24 into the game, Mater Dei was off and running, leading 7-0.

"When we saw the winds so strong this morning after it being so calm yesterday, I wondered if it was some sort of omen," Rollinson said. "But my coaches told me about 30 minutes before the game that JT's arm is so strong the wind wasn't going to be a factor. Obviously it wasn't."

De La Salle fumbled on its first possession, Mater Dei recovered and had to just go 43 yards on eight plays, capped by a 1-yard TD sneak by Daniels.

A fourth-down 30-yard completion from Daniels to Brown set up the score. Mater Dei led 14-0 with 5:33 left in the first.

A fumble on a punt snap, set up yet another score. This one, a Glenn Harper 16-yard run, making it 21-0 with 1:44 left in the first. By the end of the first quarter, Mater Dei had 152 yards, De La Salle 3.

"Unfortunately putting the ball on the turf eight times killed our chances of giving them a battle," Alumbaugh said.

Rollinson said the fast start might have had something to do with something he told them earlier in the week.

"I told them I was 0-4 against these guys and it definitely got their attention," Rollinson said.

The Spartans showed some spunk in the second quarter, especially Kairee Robinson, who rushed for touchdowns of 3 and 1 yards. The 5-foot-8, 190-pound senior, who missed much of the season with a fractured foot, looked especially quick and by halftime had 95 yards on 12 carries. By the third quarter he was limping again. He finished with 102 yards on 15 carries.

De La Salle also recovered an onside kick and might have been able to get back in the game. But DLS quarterback Erick Storti was intercepted by Alefosio, who returned it 86 yards for a touchdown. A 28-yard field goal by Nicolas Lopez gave Mater Dei a 31-14 halftime lead.

The Spartans received the second half kickoff, but its fumble problems continued. They turned the ball over for a fourth time at the Mater Dei 28, and four plays later, Daniels found Bru McCoy with a two-yard touchdown play, making it 38-14.

Daniels, who entered with 3,890 passing yards and 49 touchdowns, showed off his scrambling schools with a beautiful 40-yard touchdown run. That made it 45-14 with 4:45 left in the third quarter.

De La Salle 4-star junior Henry To'oto'o added a 1-yard touchdown run for De La Salle with 42 seconds left in the third quarter, to cut the lead to 45-21. A 22-yard strike from Daniels to St. Brown with 11:49 put a caper to the game and the season.

"It's been a heck of a ride this year," Rollinson said. "It's been a long season. This makes for a nice trip home."

CIF State Open Division Championship
Mater Dei 52, De La Salle 21

Mater Dei     21  10  14  7  — 52
De La Salle    0  14    7  0  — 21

First quarter
MD — St. Brown 38 pass from Daniels (Lopez kick), 9:36
MD — Daniels 1 run (Lopez kick), 5:33
MD — Harper 15 run (Lopez kick), 1:44

Second quarter
DLS — Robinson 3 run (Jackson Walsh kick), 6:07
MD — Alefosio 86 interception return (Lopez kick), 3:54
MD — FG, Lopez 28, 2:14
DLS — Robinson 1 run (Walsh kick), 0:17

Third quarter
MD — McCoy 2 pass from Daniels (Lopez kick), 10:01
MD — Daniels 40 run (Lopez kick), 4:45
DLS — To'oto'o 1 run (Walsh kick)

Fourth quarter
MD — St. Brown 22 pass from Daniels, 11:49

RUSHING
MD: Harper 9-50, Daniels 6-43, Street 7-39, Chua 2-8, team 1-(-7). Totals 27-130. DLS: Robinson 15-101, To'oto'o 16-63, Coby 9-24, Riso 1-4. Totals 56-135.

PASSING
MD: Daniels 20-30-0-233. DLS: Jones 2-8-0-33, Dorian Hale 4-6-0-69.

RECEIVING
MD: St. Brown 8-137, McCoy 4-32, Remigio 3-17, Epps 2-24. DLS: Powers 3-29, Coby 1-43, Robinson 1-27, Storti 1-8.

TACKLES
MD: Zack Genova 15, Alefosio 8, Nathan Logoleo 7. DLS: Amir Wallace 8, Riso 8, To'oto'o 5.

TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: Mater Dei 19, De La Salle 16
Total plays/yards: Mater Dei 57-363, De La Salle 72-245
Penalties: Mater Dei 8-68, De La Salle 1-14
Fumbles-lost: Mater Dei 1-1, De La Salle 8-4
Turnovers: Mater Dei 1, De La Salle 5