Darreus Rogers leads Carson over Mater Dei, 26-22
Coming into their season openers Friday night, Carson and Santa Ana Mater Dei both wanted to see whether they had the right McMahon for the job.
Carson had Kevin, a senior, Mater Dei had Ryan, a junior, and both McMahons were making varsity debuts at quarterback for their teams.
But it turned out to be Mr. Rogers — or Darreus, to the folks in Carson — who was the difference.
The USC-bound receiver caught 11 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 12-yard score with 6.5 seconds left to give the Colts a 26-22 win over Mater Dei in their first game on Carson’s new all-weather field.
Rogers, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior, manhandled the Monarchs’ secondary, and if any USC fans were in attendance, he should make a fine addition along with the Trojans dynamic freshman duo from Gardena Serra, George Farmer and Marqise Lee.
On his 76-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, Rogers leaped over the back of a defender to snag a badly thrown ball. His feet did the rest.
On his 22-yard score just before halftime, he snagged what looked like a throwaway pass in traffic and rumbled through helpless defenders for a touchdown.
But late in the fourth quarter, with his team trailing, 22-18, Rogers made two key catches deep in Mater Dei territory, a 12-yard snag on fourth down to keep the drive alive and then the game-winning 12-yard catch on a slant on third down.
Ryan McMahon is set to follow in a line of illustrious Mater Dei quarterbacks, including USC starter Matt Barkley and Max Wittek, also at USC. In his debut, he struggled, completing nine of 25 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Kevin McMahon, a transfer from South Torrance, completed 17 of 34 for 260 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for Carson.
Another high-profile transfer for the Colts, running back Roger Jones, who was declared eligible to play earlier in the day by the CIF, rushed for 122 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.
Carson has a brutal schedule ahead of them, with games Sept. 9 at Long Beach Poly, Sept. 23 against Santa Margarita and Sept. 30 vs. Mission Viejo.
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