Mater Dei Finishes No. 2 in California

Santa Ana Mater Dei’s football team finished second-ranked in the state after defeating defending champion Long Beach Poly, 33-26, in the Southern Section Division I championship game on Dec. 12.

The Monarchs won their eighth Southern Section title, their third in five years and fourth in the ‘90s. Mater Dei lost only to mythical national champion Concord De La Salle, which extended its national record winning streak to 88 games by the end of the season.

Mater Dei will probably get a chance to end the streak next season when the Monarchs travel to De La Salle for their third game.

Arroyo Grande, Lancaster Paraclete and Bloomington repeated as champions, though in different divisions because the section expanded from 12 to 13 divisions.

Arroyo Grande, the Division III titlist last season, won in Division IV. Paraclete, the 1997 Division XI champion, won in Division XII. Bloomington, winner of two consecutive Division VII titles, won in Division VIII.

Lakewood Mayfair and Santa Monica St. Monica won their first championships.

Mayfair beat Suburban League rival La Mirada for the first time in 18 years for the Division IX title and St. Monica beat Carpinteria, 28-24, in Division XI.

Diamond Bar won its first title since 1995 by ending Chino’s 26-game winning streak with a 21-19 victory in the Division II final.

Kyle Boller led Newhall Hart to its fourth championship--its first since 1995--with a 17-14 victory over Santa Fe Springs St. Paul in Division III.

Norco won its third title, its first since 1993, by defeating Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, 42-21, in the Division V final.

Irvine Woodbridge, which won its first title since 1985, stopped Santa Margarita from winning its third consecutive championship by defeating the Eagles, 27-24, on a last-second field goal in the Division VI championship game.

Covina Charter Oak defeated Harvard-Westlake, 37-27, for the Division VII title, the Chargers’ first championship since 1985.

Paso Robles defeated Monrovia, 28-24, for the Division X title and Boron won its first title since 1994 with a 21-6 victory over Redlands Arrowhead Christian in the Division XIII final. It was Boron’s fourth championship.