This Time, Mater Dei’s Defense Does It

Mater Dei’s 17-3 victory over Santa Ana Friday was brought about by something different. The defense.

The Monarchs, whose offense has kept scoreboards busy through three games, relied on the other guys to remain unbeaten in front of 5,000 at Santa Ana Stadium. The defense stopped Santa Ana when it mattered, which permitted the offense to sputter to victory.

“That’s the first time we’ve had to play defense,” Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “We needed to tonight.”

Mater Dei (4-0) bent a little, but came up with the big plays.

The Saints (0-3) had 248 total yards, including 185 rushing. The Monarchs came up with four sacks, two by Jason Thies, and an interception.

Santa Ana got inside the Mater Dei 25-yard line four times, but had only three points to show for it.

In the first quarter, Santa Ana got to the 20, but had a touchdown pass called back because of a holding penalty. On their next possession, they got to the 10. However, quarterback Joey Martinez was sacked on third down and Hector Perez’s 41-yard field goal was just short.

In the the second quarter, the Saints got to the 18, but had to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Perez.

Then, trailing, 14-3, in the third quarter, the Saints drove to the 25. However, on second down Martinez was flushed from the pocket, then was intercepted by Brian Barajas.

“The team was flat, so we knew what we had to do,” said linebacker David Knuff, who had a sack and an interception. “We had the attitude.”

The offense, which had averaged 36 points per game through the first three games, was effective only at times.

Quarterback Billy Blanton was pressured early and often by the Saints, and completed only 13 of 24 passes for 195 yards and one interception. He had thrown for 894 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Blanton did throw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Knuff, which broke open a close game. However, he spent most of the night on the run or on his back.

“They blitzed us hard,” Blanton said. “We’ll work on that this week.”

The Monarchs turned to the running game to take the heat off Blanton. Chris Ruperto gained 74 yards in 11 carries, including a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Mater Dei led, 7-3, at halftime.

The loss kept Santa Ana Coach Dick Hill from setting the Orange County career victory record. Hill is still tied at 191 victories with former Loara Coach Herb Hill.