Mater Dei Overpowers St. John Bosco, 42-8

Santa Ana Mater Dei is respected for a prolific offense that averages 38 points a game. But if the Monarchs are to repeat as Division I champions, Coach Bruce Rollinson said, their defense must play a major role.

The unbeaten Monarchs (11-0) understood the message too well for Bellflower St. John Bosco, coasting to a 42-8 first-round victory Friday night before an estimated 3,800 at Santa Ana Stadium.

On the other side of the ball, tailback Mike McNair continued his standout season for the Monarchs, scoring five touchdowns--one shy of the school record--and rushing for 232 yards in 23 carries.

In posting his second consecutive 200-yard-plus game, McNair become the first Mater Dei player to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season. He now has 2,117 yards and 27 touchdowns. “I can appreciate the [2,000 yards],” McNair said. “And I owe it all to my offensive linemen.”

The victory was the 25th in a row for Orange County’s top-ranked team. Mater Dei moves on to face Los Alamitos.

Rollinson had hoped last week’s 35-28 victory over San Clemente had raised red flags. “I told the kids if we did not improve this week we would get beaten,” Rollinson said.

“Tonight we played well on defense. After we adjusted to some things, I thought we got exactly what we needed.”

St. John Bosco (4-7) gained only 104 net yards and only 16 rushing. The Monarchs amassed 388.