Sports
Football: Mater Dei Shocks Mission Viejo
Pac-5 playoffs: Mater Dei stuns the second-ranked Diablos with a stiff defense and an assaultive offense.
By Martin Henderson
Anyone who had seen Mission Viejo's offense this season would not have thought the result Friday was possible. The scoreboard had to have a glitch. Was that really 14 points that the Diablos had scored?
It was.
Find out what's happening in Rancho Santa Margaritawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Fourteen measly points, and the best team in Orange County was no longer unbeaten. Was no longer alive in the playoffs. Was no longer playing, period.
Mater Dei shocked second-seeded Mission Viejo with a 21-14 victory at Santa Ana Stadium in the second round of the Southern Section Pac-5 playoffs, and the looming dream matchup between high-powered offenses from Bellflower St. John Bosco and Mission Viejo was suddenly just that, a dream, because it would never be a reality.
Find out what's happening in Rancho Santa Margaritawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Self-inflicted mistakes killed Mission Viejo's chances. Three interceptions in the first half led to 14 Mater Dei points. The Monarchs scored 21 in the second quarter, and all the offense they could muster in eight minutes was enough to beat all the offense Mission Viejo could muster in 48.
Mission Viejo's offense, which had averaged a point a minute during the course of the season, scored on its first possession and its last possession. In between, there was a whole lot of average.
And average isn't good enough in the Pac-5 playoffs.
Score: Mater Dei 21, Mission Viejo 14
Key Stats: Mission Viejo committed four turnovers, including three interceptions. The Mater Dei defense limited Ian Fieber to 11 of 32 passing for 132 yards with two interceptions and two touchdowns.
Pivotal Moment: Mater Dei had just converted an interception into a 64-yard scoring drive for a 14-7 lead on Chase Forrest's 21-yard scoring pass to Jonathan Lockett. On Mission Viejo’s first play from scrimmage, Alex Suchesk was injured after a 5-yard gain. Next play, Fieber throws Mission’s third interception, setting up a 35-yard drive that gave Mater Dei a 21-7 lead with 1:12 left in the half. Suchesk, who carried nine times for 64 yards, didn’t return.
Quotable I: “I honestly believe they scored so easy, I think they thought the track meet was going to be on, and all of a sudden here come the Monarchs, and that was huge,” said Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson. “I thank the Trinity League for this win. We have to battle every week for every inch. It’s nobody’s fault in [Mission Viejo’s] camp, but I don’t know who they played for 48 minutes since the Don Bosco game. And I knew that might be an advantage for us, but I also kind of feared a boat race because of their big players. But that was business as usual for Mater Dei.”
Quotable II: “This means everything,” said defensive back and running back London Iakopo, whose 3-yard scoring run gave Mater Dei a 21-7 lead. “In 2010 in the second round, they beat our varsity when I was a freshman. We played for our former players as well as for us. We wanted to make sure they got our respect, we’re back, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Quotable III: “We couldn’t have shot ourselves in the foot any more times than that,” said Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson. “It’s ridiculous, it’s what we deserve. We didn’t play like that the entire year. Mater Dei gets the credit for it. That's the way it goes.”
Records: Mater Dei (10-2), Mission Viejo (11-1)
Notes: At the end of the regular season, Mission Viejo and Mater Dei were ranked 1-2 in the Orange County Top 10. ... Mission Viejo was ranked No. 5 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, and Mater Dei was No. 9. The computer-based Freeman Ratings at Maxpreps had Mission No. 2 in the state and Mater Dei at No. 6, and Mission Viejo No. 8 in the nation and Mater Dei at No. 20. … Suchesk left the game with a hamstring injury. Most of his yardage came on a 45-yard carry to get the Diablos to the Mater Dei 35, but Fieber threw the first of his two interceptions three plays later. … Johnson downplayed Suchesk's absence from the lineup. "We've got enough guys to play," he said. "He's a great player. I feel bad for him, not for us losing. I feel bad for a kid in high school not getting to finish his last game or try to not make it his last game." ... Fieber was 11 of 32 for 132 yards and two touchdowns, two interceptions. Rome Innocenzi threw an interception on a halfback pass with four minutes left in the first quarter. ... Mission Viejo drove 60 yards in 10 plays on its first possession, which ended in Fieber's 2-yard pass to Daniel Marx on fourth down. ... Mission Viejo had only two possessions of more than five plays afterward. Its result of its next seven possessions were interception, punt, interception, interception, punt blocked, punt, fumble. Late in the third quarter and into the fourth, Mission drove from its 20 to the Mater Dei 13, but after a 3-yard gain to the 10, Mission misfired on three pass attempts and turned the ball over on downs. On the fourth down play, London Iakopo broke up what would have been a touchdown pass to Connor Hill. ... Mission's last possession began with 1:58 left in the game. The Diablos drove 80 yards in six plays with Fieber passing 24 yards to Hill. ... Sean Modster didn't catch a pass until the first minute of the fourth quarter against Mater Dei's secondary of Iakopo, Jonathan Lockett, Matthew Rockett and Koby Lowe. ... Forrest completed seven of 11 passes for 107 yards and an interception with touchdown passes of 28 yards to Rockett to tie the score at 7-7 at 6:56 of the second quarter, and 21 yards to Jacob Welch to go up 14-7 at 4:29. ... It was on the next drive that Mission Viejo's Suchesk got hurt. ... The last time Mission Viejo was pushed, as Rollinson mentioned, was against Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Tech, a 28-25 victory in the third game of the season. ... This is the second year in a row Mission was undefeated before losing in the second round. ... In the eight seasons since joining Division I play, Mission Viejo has been beaten by a Trinity League team six times. In that span, the Diablos have two victories over Trinity teams, both in 2010, including 42-21 over Mater Dei. ... Mater Dei finished second to St. John Bosco in the Trinity League after losing twice, to Bosco and Santa Margarita, which finished last in the league and didn't make the playoffs. ... Mater Dei will play Long Beach Poly in the semifinals in a rematch of last year's Pac-5 championship. Poly will be the home team.Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
