Monarchs Fall Into De La Salle’s Trap

On Saturday Mater Dei found out what 78 previous Concord De La Salle opponents already knew.

When it comes to football, the Spartans can’t be beaten.

In front of 20,781 at Edison Field, De La Salle, ranked No. 1 in the state and the nation, defeated Mater Dei, 28-21. But the Monarchs, ranked second in the county, did not go down without a fight.

After being shut down the first half and trailing by 14, Mater Dei quarterback Scott Lukash ignited his team with two third-quarter touchdown passes to receiver Kelvin Millhouse. The second, covering 74 yards, tied the score at 21.

But in the fourth quarter, on a third-and-32 play from their 19, the Spartans (3-0) got the game’s biggest play. Running back Atari Callen’s 58-yard run took the ball to the Monarch 23, setting up the winning touchdown. Quarterback Vinny Padilla scored on a nine-yard keeper with 10:38 remaining.

The victory extended De La Salle’s national record winning streak to 79.

“We called it the Atari trap play,” De La Salle’s Coach Bob Ladouceur said. “It’s him and the front five, and he had the vision to get down the field. Atari saved the game on that play.

“I don’t know if my play calling was good, but the kids made up for it. We have a lot of two-way players and they fought their butts off. We knew everything was gonna come hard tonight. We understood the level of competition. They are a top program.”

Callen, who rushed for 150 yards, caught four passes for 56 yards and scored two touchdowns, said he caught Mater Dei in a blitz and was able to wriggle free.

“They blitzed a lot,” Callen said. “I simply cut back, and nobody was there. I got a couple of good blocks from the receivers down field. It was make or break and we made it.”

Mater Dei (2-1) had one last chance. But with 1:37 left, Lukash was sacked by the Spartans’ Angel Lopez and fumbled. Linebacker Andrew Munoz fell on the loose ball to preserve the victory.

“I expected to win the game, I really did,” Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “They had a third-and-32, and ran that trap for 60 yards. We had taken the momentum [with the two touchdowns] and they took it away from us.

“De La Salle is everything they are cracked up to be. We did everything we could. The streak is going to end someday, but we couldn’t do it.”

After a cold first half, Lukash wound up passing for 172 yards, completing eight of 14.

The last close call for De La Salle--which has averaged more than 40 points a game during the streak--was in 1993. Then quarterback Mike Bastianelli (who went on to USC), threw a touchdown pass to tight end Nathan Geldermann with less than a minute to play in a 26-21 win over Pittsburg--the last team to beat the Spartans, in 1991.

Mater Dei tried to surprise the visitors with an onside kick to start the game, but De La Salle recovered at its 34. The Spartans immediately drove 66 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a fourth down, 16-yard touchdown pass from Padilla to Callen.

Mater Dei’s lone first-half score was set up when De La Salle running back D.J. Williams fumbled at the Spartan 10. Matt Grootegood came in at quarterback, and on an option keeper ran straight up the middle and into the end zone to tie the score, 7-7.

But the second quarter belonged to the Spartans, as Callen and Williams began chewing up the yardage against the Monarchs.

After recovering a second onside kick at his 38, Williams ran 24 yards to move the ball into Monarchs’ territory. Four plays later, Callen broke through the Monarchs for his second touchdown on a 17-yard run.

* DEFENSELESS

Mater Dei pitted its defense against De La Salle’s 78-game winning streak. C12

* STREAK BUSTER

Santa Ana ended its 30-game losing streak with a victory over Bolsa Grande. C12

Prep football coverage, C12