Mater Dei Defeats Loyola, 31-7

Mater Dei posted a decisive 31-7 victory over Los Angeles Loyola in a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal football game Friday night at Cerritos College.

No. 3-ranked Mater Dei (12-0) advanced to the semifinals to play No. 2 Los Alamitos, a 7-0 winner over Long Beach Poly.

After the Monarchs started slowly, a crowd of 7,500 watched Mater Dei dominate Loyola.

Mater Dei running back Steve Bodnar rushed for 102 yards in 20 carries, and also scored a touchdown. Fullback Joey Trampush scored two touchdowns.

Mater Dei quarterback John Flynn completed 12 of 19 passes for 228 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Wide receiver Rod Perry caught three passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Monarchs limited the Cubs (8-3) to 73 yards in the first half as they built a 17-0 lead. Cornerback Kevin Braga intercepted two passes for Mater Dei, which held Loyola to three second-half first downs.

Loyola’s longest play from scrimmage came late in the fourth quarter when guard Robert Quigley ran for 47 yards on a “fumblerooski” play. But for the most part, the Monarchs kept Loyola in check.

“Mater Dei is a physical team,” Loyola Coach Steve Grady said. “They have the size up front, and the talent at the skill positions . . . that combination is tough to beat.”

Flynn cashed in Braga’s first interception, moving the Monarchs 84 yards in five plays for a score with less than five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

A 49-yard bomb from Flynn to Perry moved Mater Dei deep into Loyola territory, and Perry capped the drive when he split two Loyola defenders on a post pattern and Flynn found him for a 21-yard touchdown pass play with 1:43 left in the half and a 17-0 lead.

“I thought our pass defense was one of our strengths,” Grady said. “But (Flynn) kept making the big pass play against us.”

Mike Vanis tried to help the Cubs bounce back in the second half. After quarterback Kyle Spielbuehler connected with Dan Farmer for a 39-yard pass play, Vanis scored on a three-yard touchdown run one play later to make it 17-7 with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter.

But the Monarchs responded with a 12-play drive covering 75 yards, with Trampush scoring on a one-yard run with one second remaining in the third quarter to make it 24-7.