SANTA ANA, California, Nov. 14 — On a night when favorites were falling harder than the rain in Southern California, the Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs proved to be the old reliable frontrunners in a 20-0 win Friday over the No. 29 Mission Viejo [CA] Diablos.
The Monarchs' fortunes have changed quickly in a season where they lost two games for the first time in more than a decade. They upset the unanimous No. 1 St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves in the regular season finale two weeks ago, and those same Braves lost again, 20-19, in an epic upset to the unranked Orange [CA] Lutheran Lancers Friday night. No. 10/SN No. 11 Sierra Canyon also lost in a 21-9 upset to the No. 17 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles, and Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita will now face off in one of the two California CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals next weekend.
That isn't to say the coast is clear for Mater Dei. Their opponent next week will be the No. 7/SN No. 5 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies who handed the Monarchs one of their two losses this season. The other loss is to the Santa Margarita squad that will be favored to beat Orange Lutheran next week.
But beating a team of St. John Bosco's caliber twice in one season is never easy, and the same can be said of Mater Dei. It will be a Herculean task for Centennial or Santa Margarita to beat Mater Dei a second time in 2025, and the Monarchs have to feel pretty good about where they are sitting heading into that semifinals.
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FINAL — Mater Dei 20, Mission Viejo 0
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|| THIRD QUARTER ||
END OF 3RD QTR — Mater Dei 20, Mission Viejo 0
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With 5:04 to play in the third quarter, Mater Dei doubles its lead.
3RD QTR — Mater Dei 14, Mission Viejo 0
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And the third quarter is under way.
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|| SECOND QUARTER ||
And that's your first half. Mission Viejo will lament not converting field position into scores, but they're still down just one score.
HALFTIME — Mater Dei 7, Mission Viejo 0
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Another Mission Viejo drive stalls in Mater Dei's end.
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Mater Dei finally gets the scoring started midway through the second quarter.
2ND QTR — Mater Dei 7, Mission Viejo 0
|| FIRST QUARTER ||
END OF 1ST QTR — Mater Dei 0, Mission Viejo 0
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Mission Viejo has gone on two drives deep in Mater Dei territory with no points to show for it. That's not a recipe for success tonight.
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The drive stalls out and Mater Dei takes over.
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Mission Viejo on the march inside Mater Dei's 15.
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They're under way in Santa Ana!
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Coming soon!
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