Mater Dei lost 24-3. The Trinity League title seemed destined to belong to St. John Bosco, another win to complete the consensus undefeated No. 1 team in the country.
Until Chris Henry Jr. threw for two touchdowns and 214 yards on five receptions.
“He could be a track star,” Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said, referring to Henry's 70-yard touchdown run near the end of the second quarter.
Until Kayden Dixon-Wyatt took over with his teammate (both Ohio State commits) and turned on the burners with three second-half goals.
“I wish I was a quarterback,” Lara joked about her senior receivers.
Testing Mater Dei's wide receiver corps, which topped an impressive trio of receivers committed to the Division I Braves, left St. John Bosco miserable Friday night in Bellflower. Mater Dei (7-2, 4-1) finished 33-7, with Ryan Hopkins throwing five touchdowns in the period to help the Monarchs defeat St. John Bosco 36-31 in comeback style.
Mater Dei High's C.J. Lavender Jr. leaps high to make an interception during a game against St. John Bosco on Friday night.
(Craig Weston)
Hopkins completed 13-of-21 passing for 295 yards and five touchdowns.
Any doubts about the Monarchs' regular-season campaign may all but be washed away as a dominant second half confirmed another year in which Mater Dei will at least own a share of the Trinity League title.
With Santa Margarita (7-3, 4-1) also winning Friday, beating J. Serra 41-14, the Eagles joined Mater Dei and St. John Bosco (9-1, 4-1) to earn a share of the Trinity League crown.
The defensive stands set up plays like Henry's 70-yard touchdown run to cut the Braves' lead to seven with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Mater Dei defensive back C.J. Lavender Jr. forced and recovered a fumble in the first quarter to score the Monarchs' first points: a field goal.
Lavender then intercepted St. John sophomore cornerback Bosco Koa Malau'ulu twice more.
One pick was the silver lining touchdown for Dixon-Wyatt, who finished with four receptions for 46 yards and three touchdowns, while another turnover allowed Mater Dei to clinch the game on fourth-and-10 from its own 10-yard line.
“Whatever he threw, I was going to get it,” said Lavender, who now has a team-high seven interceptions on the season.
Mater Dei wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. throws an over-the-shoulder pass in front of two St. John Bosco defenders Friday night.
(Craig Weston)
Before the final interception, which occurred with 1:34 left in the game, St. John Bosco was driving. An unsportsmanlike penalty even put the Braves within inches of the goal line for the first time.
But Malauulu's fumble pushed the Braves back to the seven-yard line. A turnover brought St. John Bosco to the 10-yard line, which then resulted in an interception.
Henry, who hasn't played since Oct. 10 against Orange Lutheran, said he can't wait to get back on the field to play St. John Bosco.
“It was really difficult,” Henry said of his time off the field. “But I was ready for this game.”
Henry will have a much better opportunity in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs, which begin next week.
The trio of Trinity League teams will likely see Sierra Canyon (10-0), which capped its winning Mission League campaign with a 52-3 win over Loyola, among the teams they could face in the playoffs.
