Top-Ranked Mater Dei Stops Fallbrook in Opener

If Mater Dei pulls off a victory for the ages in two weeks and beats Concord De La Salle, ending the Spartans’ national-record 101-games-and-counting winning streak, Monarch Coach Bruce Rollinson will be able to look back with pride on the moments when his team showed that it could play with anyone.

Those moments came early and often Saturday night for Mater Dei, the top-ranked team in Orange County, in its 28-21 season-opening victory over Fallbrook, the top-ranked team in San Diego County, before an estimated 7,000 at Santa Ana Stadium.

They came in the first and second quarters, when Monarch quarterback Matt Leinart displayed pinpoint accuracy en route to completing his first eight passes.

They came in the fourth quarter, when running back Darius Williams ignited a stagnant running game on the winning drive.

And they came in the game’s waning moments, when defensive back Cameron Carmona knocked away Fallbrook quarterback Nick Underseth’s desperation pass on fourth down.

Mostly, they came when the Monarchs (1-0) faced adversity because of their own mistakes. Mater Dei had a touchdown called back because of an illegal block 30 yards behind the play, a 45-yard field goal attempt blocked, and a perfectly good snap sail through the hands of its punter and into the end zone, where it was recovered by the Warriors (1-1) for a touchdown.

But the Monarchs always found a way to battle back against a team that made the right defensive adjustments and possessed a befuddling offense, the wing-T.

“I’m so happy right now,” said Leinart, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown. “This is just a step closer to a championship.”

Receiver Jeff Diulio was Leinart’s favorite target, catching nine passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.

A game dominated by passing was won on the ground. With the score tied at 21 early in the fourth quarter, Mater Dei took over at its own 48-yard line and put the ball in Williams’ hands. He ran the ball six times for 38 of his game-high 89 yards on the drive as the Monarchs marched to the Fallbrook four.

From there, Anjel Gutierrez took a handoff and bolted straight ahead for the winning touchdown with 3 minutes 22 seconds remaining.

“We stuck with what we believed in,” Rollinson said. “We wanted to end up pounding it in and we did. We came away with the [winning points on a running play].”

Then the Monarchs did their job on defense.

Fallbrook took the kickoff and moved the ball to its own 43, where its hopes ended when Carmona broke up a fourth-down pass play.

Nonetheless, the Warriors, who finished last season 7-4-1, had proven that they belonged in a championship-caliber matchup.

“We showed we’re capable of playing to this level,” Fallbrook Coach Randy Blankenship said. “We’re going to go back to Fallbrook with our heads held high.”

Just not as high as the Monarchs’ heads.

Evan Harney ran the ball 13 times for 47 yards and a touchdown and Underseth, the Warriors’ 5-foot-9 quarterback, completed 10 of 19 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown.