Football: Mater Dei tries its luck again against Santa Margarita

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A lot of people forget that in 2011, when Santa Margarita won the Pac-5 Division championship and the CIF state championship Division I bowl game, the Eagles were beaten by Santa Ana Mater Dei, 21-14, in a Trinity League game even though Mater Dei didn’t make the playoffs.

So Santa Margarita (6-0) has lots of incentive in facing the Monarchs (5-1) on Friday night at Saddleback College. But that game last season was no fluke. Mater Dei outplayed the listless Eagles. Coach Harry Welch blamed himself for the defeat.

Now Mater Dei gets another shot and won’t have to deal with injured Santa Margarita quarterback Johnny Stanton. The Monarchs seem to match up well against Santa Margarita. They even beat the Eagles this summer in a passing tournament. Mater Dei has been relying on receiver-linebacker Thomas Duarte.

The alumni for both schools are fired up, even in Oakland, where the Raiders’ quarterbacks are Carson Palmer (Santa Margarita) and Matt Leinart (Mater Dei). Someone is going to be doing lots of bragging after the game.

-- Eric Sondheimer