Title Belongs to Mater Dei

Orange County won the latest battle for football supremacy among high school parochial powers in the Southland, as Santa Ana Mater Dei defeated Los Angeles Loyola, 17-10, in the Southern Section Division I championship game Saturday night.

Before 11,842 at the Coliseum and a live television audience, the Monarchs ended the season the way they began it as the Southland’s No. 1-ranked team with a 14-0 record. They also were ranked No. 2 in the nation in at least one poll last week.

Loyola is 12-2.

The difference was a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Brian Manibusan on the final play of the first half, giving Mater Dei a 14-3 lead it would not relinquish.

Parochial schools have dominated the Southern Section’s major division in the 1990s, with Mater Dei winning titles in 1991 and ’94 and finishing second in ’93. Loyola won the title in 1990 and lost to La Puente Bishop Amat, another parochial school, in title games in 1992 and ’95.

Fontana was the last public school to win the division, defeating San Gorgonio in 1989.

Mater Dei, long known as one of the area’s top schools for boys’ basketball, has also become a powerhouse in football under Coach Bruce Rollinson. Rollinson, an alumnus of the school, took over in 1989 and has an eight-year record of 85-17-1.

Rollinson’s team was hardly challenged in the regular season, and it was even tougher in the playoffs, outscoring four opponents, 141-58.

“We played hard and the kids were on a mission,” Rollinson said. “They believed in themselves. We could not be denied.”

Although the game against Loyola was close statistically, Mater Dei took control late in the first half by scoring its two touchdowns in 1:41 of the second quarter.

After Loyola had taken a 3-0 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Mike McGillivray, Mater Dei went 80 yards in only five plays with Rod Perry Jr. scoring his 18th touchdown of the season on a 47-yard pass from Nick Stremick. Perry reached over Loyola’s John Hilvert for the reception, giving the Monarchs a 7-3 lead.

The turning point occurred moments later with Loyola trying to get into field goal range in the final minute of the first half.

On first and 10 from the Mater Dei 40-yard line, quarterback Ray Kaspar was attempting a pass when he was hit from behind by sophomore linebacker Kevin Mitchell. The ball was knocked into the air and fell into the arms of Manibusan, who rambled 58 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

“I saw the ball in the air, and I said this one was mine and that I’m going all the way,” said Manibusan, who led the Monarchs in tackles this season with 91. He had four against Loyola.

Said a tearful Kaspar, who had thrown only six interceptions entering the game: “I saw [the blitz] coming but we just didn’t pick it up.”

Loyola drove 51 yards on its first possession of the third quarter, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kaspar to Antoine Harris to trim the Monarchs’ lead to 14-10.

Mater Dei added a little breathing room on its next possession with David Castleton kicking a 35-yard field goal for a 17-10 lead.

Loyola had another chance, taking over at its 11-yard line with 2:56 to play, but it lost four yards in three plays and had to punt with 1:24 left.

The Monarchs ran the clock out to clinch yet another parochial school battle.