Football: Mater Dei’s Blackwell remains questionable

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One of the reasons Mater Dei quarterbacks Jack Doll and Max Wittek struggled in their first game since replacing the departed Matt Barkley was the absence of standout receiver Victor Blackwell, who was sidelined by a high ankle sprain.

‘That’s a pretty formidable weapon that was not available to us, but you don’t make excuses,’ said Monarchs Coach Bruce Rollinson, whose team lost to Carson, 14-2. ‘Carson probably had men hurt and you have to be able to have other people step up.’

Rollinson said Blackwell remained questionable for Mater Dei’s game against Cypress on Friday and that he would err on the side of caution when deciding when to let the senior play again.

‘I’m not going to have one of these situations where every week he plays but he’s not 100% and then he can’t practice Monday and Tuesday because it’s so sore,’ Rollinson said. ‘I’m going to let it completely heal.’

In the meantime, Rollinson can only hope his quarterbacks’ psyches recover from shaky debuts. Doll completed five of seven passes for 26 yards and Wittek completed four of 10 passes for 42 yards and one critical interception near the Carson goal-line in the fourth quarter as the Monarchs tried to rally.

--Ben Bolch