From MD Sideline: Final thoughts

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This game lived up to everything it was expected (and hoped) to be! A few things:

-- Mater Dei has a vastly underrated running game. Not that anyone from the Monarchs will actually admit to that. But they never gave any indication through their first four games that they could run the way they did against Centennial. As brilliant as Matt Barkley was, I came away really impressed with Robert Mojica, especially. He showed some terrific instincts. Of course, Mater Dei has a great offensive line, led by Khaled Holmes.

‘We figured we had to do what it takes to win,’ Coach Bruce Rollinson said. ‘We just haven’t run the ball.’ Mojica rushed 17 times for 151 yards and two scores. Coming into the game, he had carried 14 times for 74 yards and one TD. Jaron Hytche had been the leading rusher through four games: 21 carries for 148 yards. Against Centennial, Hytche carried another 21 times for 107 yards and three touchdowns.

--By halftime, I had decided that Barkley (pictured below left) was better than Jimmy Clausen was when he was at Oaks Christian. For one thing, Barkley is doing it against stronger opponents. Centennial is better than St. Bonaventure was last year, and St. Bonny was the team Clausen lit up in his ‘Big Test.’ Barkley excelled last week against Edison and this week against Centennial. After a cursory whipping of JSerra next week, it will be Santa Margarita, St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran and Servite in consecutive weeks.

Barkley’s terrific thus far, and will face a gauntlet befitting such a reputation. He finally got pressured by a defensive rush Thursday night, which hadn’t happened in the first four games, though he didn’t get sacked. He wasn’t perfect, either. He overthrew receivers when he was going deep. But from where I stood, he was money: 21 of 32 for 365 yards, two TDs and no interceptions. And his team had to score ... almost ... every ... time ... it ... had ... the ... ball. Barkley is not just a combine guy, he’s a football player. ‘We wanted to make a statement,’ Barkley said. He did. They did.

Rollinson said afterward that the thing that stuck out in his mind were the big catches. The Monarchs do have some great receivers. Robbie Boyer (pictured above) had nine catches for 186 yards and a touchdown. They looked good, for sure. But I still think the running backs were the key to Mater Dei pulling this one out.

--It was pointed out to Rollinson after the game that Centennial gained 679 yards -- and lost. ‘But we got 51 on the scoreboard,’ he answered. That kind of summed up the game. The numbers will be double-checked, but if the two teams combined for 1,300 yards -- 19 more than the state record -- then they fittingly will be linked in history. This was that kind of game, very much like the Carson Palmer’s Santa Margarita vs. DeShaun Foster’s Tustin game my Inland Empire colleague Dan Arritt referenced in an earlier blog.

The stars played like stars on both sidelines. That’s a great thing to see.

--I’m eager to see the Concord De La Salle-Mission Viejo game on Saturday night at Mission Viejo. DLS is ranked No. 3 in the state. It has already been suggested by Mark Tennis of CalHiSports.com that DLS will move up to No. 2 if it wins. No matter what happens, it will be pretty hard to penalize Centennial too much after its performance against the No. 1 team.

- Martin Henderson

Editor Bob: The game photos by Lori Shepler are simply fantastic! To see them all, click on the orange camera icon under the main headline on the Varsity Times home page. Do it. Treat yourself.

--Images by Lori Shepler/Los Angeles Times