Raul Lara’s debut as head coach at Mater Dei (California) goes into the history book as a W. Lara and his Preseason No. 1 ranked Monarchs opened defense of their High School Football America national championship with a 42-25 win over No. 12 Corona Centennial (California) Thursday night at the Santa Ana Stadium.
After falling behind 15-0, Corona Centennial fought back to 22-17 at halftime. The Huskies were without the star quarterback Husan Longstreet. The 5-star Texas A&M-recruit is sidelined with a toe injury.
Mater Dei running back Jordon Davison, an Oregon-recruit, led the Monarchs on the ground with 121-yards and a 44-yard touchdown.
MD QB Dash Beierly threw two short touchdown passes in his debut. Beirly, who transferred from Chaparral in Temecula, has given his verbal commitment to Washington.
Longstreet’s replacement, junior Dominick Catalano, completed 17-of-32 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.
On defense, Mater Dei junior linebacker Shaun Scott had a big game. A blocked punt in the 3rd quarter led to Tomuhimi Topui’s scoop-and-score from seven yards yards out.