Mater Dei pulls away late to win CIF Open Division state title

Too much talent. That was the story of the CIF Open Division state championship bowl game on Saturday night.

Santa Ana Mater Dei showed why it was a heavy favorite, mixing a bruising rushing attack with a precision aerial assault to overwhelm Concord De La Salle 37-15 and complete the “southern sweep” at Saddleback College.

Earlier in the day, Palos Verdes won the Division 2-A contest and Huntington Beach Edison won the Division 1-A game, setting the stage for a marquee matchup between North Coast Section and Southern Section champions.

The Monarchs’ dominant performance showed their program is in capable hands under first-year coach Raul Lara, who turned Long Beach Poly into a public school powerhouse in the early 2000s while piloting the Jackrabbits to five section titles in 13 seasons.

Senior quarterback Dash Beierly completed 18 of 27 passes for a season-high 355 yards and three touchdowns while fellow Washington commit Marcus Harris caught six passes for 92 yards. Oregon-bound Jordon Davison rushed 17 times for 107 yards as Mater Dei pulled away with two fourth-quarter scores.

“We knew how good they were, that’s why they’re ranked as high as they are,” Beierly said of De La Salle. “The biggest thing for us was to overcome adversity when we faced it. We saw some matchups we liked and tried to take advantage of them. I have great receivers … they make the plays for me. To have Marcus going to the same place as me is really cool, especially being on the same side of the ball.”

Mater Dei was aggressive from the start. On its first offensive play, Beierly found Harris over the middle for a 25-yard gain and Davison ended the 80-yard, seven-play drive with a three-yard run.

Mater Dei needed one play to double its lead on its third possession as Beierly fired a pass from his own goal line in stride to slot receiver Gavin Honore for a 90-yard touchdown.

The next time the Monarchs got the ball, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt leaped high in the air for a 31-yard grab at the Spartans’ two-yard line but a goal line stand kept the proud Spartans in the game. However, Toa Fa’avae was sacked in the end zone for a safety by linebackers Nasir Wyatt and Shaun Scott.

After Koen Parnell stretched out for a dazzling mid-air catch for 40 yards, Dixon-Wyatt scored on a 21-yard swing route to increase the margin to 23-0 with 48 seconds left in the first half.

Fa’avae capped an 11-play, 65-yard march that took nearly seven minutes off the clock with a one-yard sneak to pull the Spartans to within 23-7 on their first drive of the third quarter. After the defense forced a punt, Fa’avae scored on a 41-yard quarterback draw and Derrick Blanche added the two-point conversion run to make it an eight-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.

Mater Dei responded with a 92-yard, 16-play drive that ended on a 15-yard run up the middle by Davison to increase the Monarchs’ lead to 30-15 with 8:19 left. Beierly threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Bowman to make it 37-15 three minutes later. Interceptions by Alabama-bound linebacker Abduall Sanders and defensive back Ace Leutele sealed the deal.

Mater Dei defensive back Ace Leutele makes a one-handed interception against De La Salle in the fourth quarter Saturday in the CIF Open Division state championship bowl game at Saddleback College.

(Craig Weston)

“They had us rattled running the veer and we had to take the momentum back,” Lara said. ”That was a good, long drive when we needed it most. The kids did a fantastic job in that situation.”

The Spartans once sat where Mater Dei is now — as King of the Hill in California — when stringing together a national-record 151 consecutive wins from 1992 to 2004. The biggest victory during that streak was a 29-15 triumph over Long Beach Poly (then coached by Lara) in a matchup between the top two ranked high school teams in the country.

De La Salle pulled out all the stops to make it competitive Saturday, even inviting back legendary coach Bob Ladouceur — the architect of the Spartans’ streak — to stand on the sideline for Saturday’s game. Not even his aura could make up for the difference in talent on the field.

“Our guys battled hard but give their quarterback credit … he made great plays in big moments,” said De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh, who said he was proud of his players and looked forward to taking his wife and three kids to Disneyland on Sunday. “We ran one new play in the second half but that was it. Maybe we added one, but we couldn’t sustain drives in the first half, that’s really what cost us. Also, the double bye week was tough. It’s hard to not play for 22 days and be crisp.”

Calpreps.com listed De La Salle as a 41-point underdog and the Spartans were trying to pull off the biggest upset since the inaugural Division I state bowl game in 2006 when they were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation but lost 27-13 to Canyon Country Canyon at Home Depot Center in Carson.

“I was concerned as soon as I heard we were going to play De La Salle,” Lara said. “Personally, it’s not revenge for me because I have such great respect for Bob and the success he had and now Justin is bringing that back. In fact, I’m not sure it’s ever left. I knew we’d be in a battle and they gave us a battle.”

Mater Dei quarterback Dash Beierly attempts a pass against De La Salle during the CIF Open Division state championship game on Saturday night at Saddleback College.

(Craig Weston)

De La Salle (12-1) was making its 17th state bowl appearance, more than any other school, and has won a record seven, but dropped to 7-10 overall and 6-6 in the Open Division since it debuted in 2008.

Mater Dei captured its fifth state bowl championship since 2017 — all in the Open Division — and tied Folsom for the second-most victories behind De La Salle. The Monarchs (13-0), who edged Trinity League rival St. John Bosco 31-24 two weeks ago for the Southern Section Division 1 title, achieved back-to-back state bowl wins for the second time, having done so in 2017-18.

“This is the best week I’ve had in my life,” Beierly said, wearing a smile from ear to ear. “This team mostly ran where Bosco passed on us more, but we can adapt to any style. To end my high school career like this doesn’t get any better!”