Mater Dei Gains Revenge With Rout of Quartz Hill

It was a long drive from Orange County to the Antelope Valley--and a long wait--but Mater Dei High found Friday night that pay-back can be awfully sweet.

The Monarchs turned the tables on host Quartz Hill in a Southern Section Division I first-round football playoff game, thumping the Rebels, 34-8.

The win avenged Mater Dei’s 37-7 loss to Quartz Hill in the semifinals last year at Orange Coast College. This time, with the game in the Rebels’ back yard, Mater Dei (10-1) came prepared.

Nearly 2,000 bundled-up fans turned out to back the Monarchs, and they saw some vintage football on both sides of the line:

--Monarch nose guard Josh Coggins sacked Jake Haro four times, part of a seven-sack attack that limited the Rebels to 94 yards.

--Mater Dei quarterback Billy Blanton completed 11 of 13 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns before taking an early seat with a 27-6 lead in the third quarter.

--And then there was senior David Knuff, catching six of Blanton’s passes for 78 yards and three touchdowns, then taking over the quarterback duties and completing both of his passes for 63 yards and another touchdown, one of 33 yards to Roger Morante to extend the lead to 34-6.

Quartz Hill’s only second-half points came late in the fourth quarter when a high snap sailed out of the end zone for a safety. It was Mater Dei’s only punt attempt.

“I don’t think we could beat them 10 out of 10 times,” said Quartz Hill Coach John Albee, whose team finished 7-4. “They had, by far, a better team than last year’s.”

The game was never close. After junior Niki Sualua scored on a 36-yard run on Mater Dei’s opening drive and Blanton hooked up with Knuff for the first of their three touchdowns, Quartz Hill recovered a Mater Dei fumble on the Monarch 34.

From there, Rebel senior tailback Erik Thomas (62 yards in 17 carries) scored on a 16-yard run, cutting the advantage to 14-6.

But the Monarchs came right back with another Blanton-to-Knuff score to make it 21-6 at halftime and effectively decide matters.