Mater Dei’s Effort Is Halfway Convincing

The question has been asked for six weeks, and the answer is still not clear.

Just how good is Mater Dei?

Capistrano Valley, which fell, 28-3, to the Monarchs before an estimated 5,000 at Santa Ana Stadium, has a notion.

In the first half of Thursday’s South Coast League opener, the Monarchs (6-0, 1-0) scored on their first four possessions. In the second half, the intensity was not the same and Mater Dei appeared to be mostly interested in keeping the game clock moving and making sure no one was hurt.

“So far the only ones that have challenged us is ourselves,” said running back Mike McNair, who rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown in 26 carries. “When we’ve stopped ourselves, it has been through mistakes or not executing. When we don’t make mistakes and execute we are hard to stop.”

Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson sounded as if his team, which is top-ranked in the county and second nationally in the USA Today Poll, needs a game where things don’t go smoothly.

“We need some adversity and see how we respond,” Rollinson said. “Are we this good? I don’t know. But we’re 6-0 and 1-0 in a tough league. And before league is over, there will be some upsets. I just hope it’s not us.”

Capistrano Valley Coach Dave Brown does not question Mater Dei’s ability. “They are a very good team. They don’t have the speed of Bakersfield but they have very strong linemen and linebackers. McNair is an excellent back.”

Mater Dei took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards for a touchdown. Wide receiver Joey Boese began the drive with a 21-yard reception and capped it eight plays later by grabbing a 19-yard pass from quarterback John Leonard and carrying two tacklers into the end zone.

The Monarchs have scored on every opening drive this season.

Mater Dei’s next three touchdowns put the game away. Leonard, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 174 yards, connected with Ismael Lopez on a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Scott Panique, substituting for Kevin Mitchell (concussion) at fullback, had a two-yard score and McNair capped the impressive first half with a 12-yard burst.

Capistrano Valley (2-2-2, 0-1) got a lift in the waning moments of the first half, when Jermaine McKinney broke loose for a 60-yard run, taking the ball from the Cougar 23 to the Monarch 17 with 10 seconds to play.

Quarterback Jeff Dixon, who passed for 101 yards but was sacked twice and intercepted once, was able to attempt one pass--it was incomplete--before the visitors settled for a 34-yard field goal by Gabriel Pietro.

The kick ended a 14-quarter scoreless streak by the Monarchs’ defense.