Monarchs Recover, Smash Irvine

Mater Dei got back on track by making quick work of Irvine Saturday night.

Quarterback Scott Lukash passed for four first-half touchdowns, and the Monarchs rolled to a 35-0 nonleague victory at Santa Ana Stadium.

Still stinging from last week’s 28-21 loss to national power Concord De La Salle, the Monarchs (3-1) weren’t about to let up on the Vaqueros, who came in with lofty hopes after outscoring their first three opponents, 98-14.

Mater Dei gained 322 total yards in the first half, then turned the game over to its defense, which finished with nine sacks.

“We had to get back on track and prove to ourselves that we could do it,” said linebacker Dustin Davis, who had five sacks and forced one of five Irvine fumbles. “I guess we did it.”

Monarch defensive back Matt Grootegoed forced two fumbles with crunching tackles.

Lukash finished with 246 yards passing and ran for 27 yards. Wide receiver Kelvin Millhouse caught five passes for 86 yards and one touchdown.

The Vaqueros couldn’t get anything going.

“They took it to us right from the start. They shellshocked us,” Irvine Coach Terry Henigan said.

How bad was it for Irvine? Midway through the third quarter, the Vaqueros took advantage of three Mater Dei penalties to get to the Monarch 19-yard line. When the drive stalled with several losses, Dave Ignash kicked what appeared to be a 44-yard field goal.

But Mater Dei was called for a personal foul and Irvine got the ball back on the Monarch six.

Four sacks later, Irvine turned the ball over on downs at the 30.

Millhouse and Lukash hooked up on a 43-yard pass to get the Monarchs on the scoreboard five minutes into the game.

On the next possession, Lukash passed 40 yards for a score to Jose Aguilar. After Grootegoed forced Vacquero running back Adrian Guillen to fumble at the Irvine 43, Lukash led a four-play drive for the Monarchs’ third score, hitting running back Kevin Mitchell with a 33-yard screen pass.

After another Irvine fumble, Mitchell scored on a 22-yard swing pass from Lukash. Five seconds before the half, reserve running back Ray Gilbert scored on a one-yard run.