Mater Dei Earns a Ho-Hum Victory

SANTA ANA — If Mater Dei’s home-opening, 14-10 victory over Santa Ana Thursday night is any indication, all the big-yardage, crowd-pleasing plays have left along with the Monarchs’ Class of 1992.

A crowd of 5,000 mostly Mater Dei supporters in Santa Ana Stadium had little to cheer about after the Monarchs scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns. In the end, Mater Dei (2-0-1) needed a fourth-down stand at its own 23-yard line to hold off improving Santa Ana (0-3).

“We’re young,” Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “I feel good to get out of here with a win.”

Mater Dei lost quarterback Billy Blanton (now at San Diego State), receiver David Knuff (Washington State) and a number of other fine players to graduation after winning its first Southern Section championship since 1965. Rollinson has some fine replacements, but it’s going to take time for them to develop.

A case in point is junior quarterback Derek Uhl, who showed his potential by completing 11 of 16 passes for 105 yards. But he also showed he needs a little more experience when he forced a pass under pressure into the eager hands of Santa Ana defensive tackle Gus Garcia.

For now, Rollinson will look to get the ball to senior wideout Robert Molina, who seems poised to take over for Knuff as the Monarchs’ big-play guy.

Molina made all the big offensive plays Thursday for Mater Dei, turning an end-around into a 52-yard gain that set up a touchdown and catching seven passes for 69 yards.

A one-yard run by Brian Hall, which came one play after Molina’s long run, proved to be the winning points for Mater Dei. Moses Vasquez scored on a 13-yard run on Mater Dei’s first possession.

Jorge Perez kicked a 27-yard field goal and quarterback Mark Fausto scored on a 13-yard run for Santa Ana’s only points.

After recovering a Mater Dei fumble on a fake punt during the fourth quarter, Santa Ana drove to the Monarch 23. But on fourth and two, Mater Dei stopped Jose Aguilar for a two-yard loss to thwart the only legitimate scoring chance by either team in the second half.

“My defense saved me or I would have had the bonehead call of the night on that fake punt,” Rollinson said.