FINAL: Dominant defense helps No. 4 Mater Dei defeat No. 11 Orange Lutheran in California clash; scoring, recap

Despite a rash of penalties, Monarchs defense didn't budge in Friday's win

Mater Dei quarterback Ryan Hopkins attempts to lead his team to a win at Orange Lutheran on Friday night. / Ropson Lopes

No. 4 Mater Dei (3-1) travels to No. 11 Orange Lutheran (3-2) in a big California high school showdown tonight. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Pacific.

Mater Dei has been locked in close games all season despite only outscoring opponents 110-108. The Monarchs beat Florida’s St. Thomas Aquinas 26-23 in Week 0, then survived Kahuku (Hawaii) 21-18 before suffering its only setback to Corona Centennial 43-36.

The Monarchs bounced back two weeks ago with a 27-24 victory at Bishop Gorman on Oct. 19.

The Lancers, meanwhile, have actually been outscored this season 112-124 through five games. They began the season 2-0 with wins over Miami (Florida) Northwestern (17-15) and Rancho Cucamonga (27-24) before losing its first game to Chandler Basha (Arizona) 35-14.

They bounced back with a 30-24 win over Serra, but lost its last time out to Sierra Canyon 41-9 on Oct. 18.

Both teams were idle last week.

Players to Know

For Mater Dei

Chris Henry Jr., WR, sr. – Five-star; Ohio State commit; No. 2 WR by Rivals; 17 receptions, 333 yards, 3 TD
Mark Bowman, TE, sr. – Five-star; USC commit; No. 1 LB by Rivals; 12 receptions, 182 yards, 2 TD
Kodi Greene, OT, sr. – Four-star; Washington commit; No. 5 OT by Rivals
Tomuhini Topui, DL, sr. – Four-star; USC commit; No. 13 DL by Rivals; 14 tackles, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 hurry, 2 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery
Aaryn Washington, CB, jr. – Four-star; No. 10 CB by Rivals; 6 tackles, 1 hurry, 1 FF
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, WR, sr. – Four-star; Ohio State commit; No. 16 WR by Rivals; 16 receptions, 270 yards, 2 TD
Danny Lang, S, jr. – Four-star; No. 17 safety by Rivals; 23 tackles
Shaun Scott, Edge, sr. – Four-star; USC Commit; No. 36 Edge by Rivals; 24 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 hurry
Ryan Hopkins, QB, sr. – Three-star; Wisconsin commit; No. 30 QB by Rivals; 51-82, 905 yards, 9 TD, 5 INT; 35 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
Ace Leutele, S, soph. – Four-star; No. 5 safety by Rivals; 14 tackles, 1 TFL
CJ Lavender, S, sr. – Three-star; Washington commit; 17 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 1 pass breakup
Montana Toilolo, DL, jr. – Three-star; 8 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
Justin Lewis, RB, sr. – Three-star; UMass commit; 38 carries, 239 yards, 2 TD
Matamatagi Uiagalelei, DL, jr. – Three-star; 9 tackles, 1 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup
Gavin Honore, WR, jr. – Three-star; Georgia commit; 6 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TD
DJ Clanton, LB, jr. – Three-star; No. 48 LB by Rivals; 9 tackles, 1 pass breakup
Kennie Leggett, RB, jr. – Three-star; No. 51 RB by Rivals; 13 carries, 36 yards, 1 TD

For Orange Lutheran

Samuelu Utu, OL, sr. – Four-star prospect; Alabama commit – No. 11 IOL by Rivals
Lucas Rhoa, OL, jr. – Four-star prospect; No. 16 IOL by Rivals
Marcus Fakatou, DL, soph. – Four-star prospect; No. 1 2028 prospect in state, No. 1 DL in country and No. 4 overall prospect in country by Rivals – holds 29 offers; 35 tackles, 9 TFL, 4 sacks, 6 hurries, 1 fumble recovery, 5 blocked kicks
Nico Bland, WR, jr. – Three-star prospect; No. 49 by Rivals – leads team with 417 yards on 25 receptions with 4 TD
Markus Kier, WR, sr. – Three-star prospect; Princeton commit; 19 receptions, 189 yards
Chris Flores Jr., WR, jr. – Three-star prospect; Multiple Power 4 offers; 28 receptions, 257 yards, 3 TDs
Christian Panapa, LB, sr. – One of Orange County’s top LBs; leads team with 43 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks, 3 hurries, 1 fumble recovery
Auma Jennings, DT, sr. – 24 tackles, 6 TFL, 3 sacks, 4 hurries
Brandon Garcia, OL, sr. – Holds an offer from Northern Arizona
Mario Luna, OL, fr. – Holds offers from Syracuse, USF, SMU and others
Kiingbaraka Kizzee, S, fr. - Holds six offers, including Syracuse and Arizona; 1 INT
Reagan Toki, QB, jr. – 86-for-124, 1,008 yards passing, 9 touchdowns, 2 INT; 31 carries, 120 yards, 2 TD
Jae Nembhard, RB, jr. – 40 carries, 137 yards
Aiden Migirdichian, K, sr. – 10-for-11 PAT kicks, 3-for-3 field goals (long of 37 yards); 11 touchbacks
Raiden Velasquez, WR, fr. – 7 receptions, 133 yards, 2 TD

Live Updates

Teams	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
Mater Dei	7	0	3	15	25
Orange Lutheran	0	3	0	7	10

First Quarter

TOUCHDOWN! Malachi Roby scored on a 5-yard run to give Mater Dei an early 7-0 lead.

FUMBLE! A strip-sack at Orange Lutheran's 7-yard line led to Orange Lutheran's Marcus Fakatou pouncing on it at his own 16 to thwart the scoring opportunity.

End 1: Mater Dei 7, Orange Lutheran 0

Second Quarter

INTERCEPTION! Danny Lang secured an interception off a deflection for Mater Dei to thwart Orange Lutheran's positive drive with 8 minutes left in the half.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Mater Dei went for it in Orange Lutheran territory and got stuffed. Orange Lutheran used the momentum to quickly move the ball into Mater Dei territory.

FIELD GOAL! On the final play of the first half, Aiden Migirdichian booted a 21-yard field goal to make it 7-3. There was 1 second on the clock when the ball was snapped. Migirdichian is now 4-for-4 on field goals this season.

Halftime: Mater Dei 7, Orange Lutheran 3

Third Quarter

Orange Lutheran began the second half with the ball at its own 20.

PUNT! Orange Lutheran picked up a first down and then stalled out. Mater Dei starts its first drive of the second half at its own 24 with 9:52 left in the third.

FIELD GOAL! With 6:43 left in the third, Mater Dei's Nathan Enriquez booted a 39-yard kick to give the Monarchs a 10-3 lead.

BIG PLAY! On fourth down and inches, Mater Dei loaded up with big men on the left side of the offense and tight end Mark Bowman took a direct snap from the Wildcat and ran for nearly 20 yards, dragging defenders, and an official who got caught in the mix, down the field with him to the Orange Lutheran 36. What a run.

End 3: Mater Dei 10, Orange Lutheran 3

Fourth Quarter

TOUCHDOWN! On third down and 1, senior running back Justin Lewis took a snap, made a defender miss and raced 27 yards to the house. Mater Dei extended its lead to 17-3 very early in the fourth quarter.

SACK! Quarterback Reagan Toki rolled right and couldn't find a receiver, then went backwards and fell down to take a long sack to set up fourth down for Orange Lutheran.

BLOCKED PUNT! With 10 minutes left in the game, and one play after Toki was sacked, Mater Dei blocked a punt and recovered it at the Orange Lutheran 30.

TOUCHDOWN! Two plays after the blocked punt, Ryan Hopkins found Kayden Dixon-Wyatt - who made a tremendous catch over a defender, for a 27-yard TD. A conversion run was successful and Mater Dei extended its lead to 25-3 with 8:52 left in the game.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! With 5:43 left, Pat Hall made a good defensive play to break up a pass in the end zone for Mater Day and the Monarchs take possession back at its own 10.

PUNT! With 4:24 remaining, Mater Dei punted it back to Orange Lutheran's 45. Orange Lutheran is out of timeouts.

TOUCHDOWN! Freshman quarterback Ezrah Brown rolled to the right and threw a dart to junior receiver Nico Bland, who made a tremendous, contested catch sprinting across the back of the end zone with 2:30 to go to make it 25-10.

BIG PLAY! Mater Dei recovered an onside kick following Orange Lutheran's touchdown and returned it 60 yards to the Orange Lutheran 16.

FINAL: Mater Dei 25, Orange Lutheran 10

Mater Dei improved to 4-1. Orange Lutheran fell to 3-3.

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