PREP FOOTBALL : Angelus League : Quarterback Change Helps Mater Dei Win

It took more than 3 1/2 quarters, but Chuck Gallo’s decision to replace senior quarterback Mike Curtius with junior Mark Ramstack Thursday night finally paid some dividends.

Ramstack, making his first varsity start, completed just 7 of 24 passes for 86 yards before connecting with Tony Pena on a 50-yard touchdown pass play with 5:46 remaining to lift Mater Dei High School to a 17-13 victory over Bishop Montgomery in an Angelus League game played in front of 5,500 in Santa Ana Stadium.

Minutes later, after Mater Dei had stopped a Knight drive and was attempting to run out the clock, Ramstack, on a third-and-25 play from his 31-yard line, completed a 45-yard pass to Jim O’Brien to give the Monarchs a first down with 1:04 left.

The Knights were out of timeouts, and the Monarchs ran out the clock. Thanks to Ramstack’s final two completions he finished with 191 yards passing, despite completing only 9 of 26 attempts.

Curtius had been ranked 15th among Orange County quarterbacks in efficiency, but Gallo wasn’t happy with the direction the Monarchs were heading.

“He played extremely well in the first four games, but in the last four, his efficiency went down,” Gallo said. “We weren’t playing championship-level football, so it was time for a change.”

The Monarchs didn’t exactly look like champions Thursday night, but they are 2-2 and 5-4. If third-place Servite loses tonight to St. Paul, which is tied for first with Bishop Amat, Mater Dei can earn a playoff berth by defeating Servite next week.

Mater Dei took its first lead in the third period when John Stephens intercepted a Niu Sale pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown to put the Monarchs in front, 10-7.

But Bishop Montgomery came back behind the play of Sale, who rushed for 116 yards and scored on a 10-yard run late in the third quarter to give the Knights (0-4, 2-7) a 13-10 lead.