Paramount Dances All Over Mater Dei

Mater Dei High School, which aspires to play championship football with touted transfers Derek and Leland Sparks, got a lesson Thursday from two-time defending Division III champion Paramount at Santa Ana Stadium.

Paramount rolled to its eighth consecutive victory by gaining 323 yards rushing and rolling to a 28-11 victory in front of a homecoming crowd of 6,500.

Running backs Leon Neal and Demondre White shredded Mater Dei’s defense, which had been so impressive in a 3-0 shutout of Loyola last week. Neal gained 146 yards in 21 carries and set the tone for the game by scoring on a 66-yard run on Paramount’s second play.

White added 115 yards in 10 carries and scored on a 37-yard run in the third quarter that pushed Paramount ahead, 21-3.

Derek Sparks had 81 yards in 15 carries but gained 22 of his yards in the final two minutes with the outcome already decided. His cousin, Leland, caught two passes for 24 yards as Paramount did a good job of containing Mater Dei’s most explosive threats.

Before the game, Derek Sparks issued a statement apologizing for his victory celebration dance following Mater Dei’s victory over Loyola. Sparks drew heavy criticism for his lack of sportsmanship following the game.

“I’m sorry my victory dance was interpreted as an insult to Loyola,” Sparks stated. “This was not my intent. It is my way of expressing, ‘Hey, good game.’ A comment from the Loyola coach (Steve Grady) caused me to go overboard in the dance.”

This week, Paramount was doing the dancing. Neal got the Pirates on the scoreboard quickly and then quarterback Steve Lopez threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jay Kim for a 15-3 lead at halftime.

Lopez, who has replaced Player of the Year Jack Manu, missed his first seven passes but finished with two touchdown passes when he connected with Neal on an 11-yard scoring play in the fourth quarter that gave Paramount a 28-3 lead.

Mater Dei quarterback Billy Blanton drove the Monarchs 61 yards for their only touchdown with 1 minute 8 seconds remaining. Blanton teamed with Chris Ruperto on a six-yard touchdown pass and finished with 154 yards passing.