monarchs

Mater Dei trailed 24-3. The Trinity League title appeared destined to belong to St. John Bosco, another win to cap an undefeated for the consensus No. 1 team in the nation.

Until Chris Henry Jr. emerged for two touchdowns and 214 yards on five receptions.

“He could be a track star,” said Mater Dei coach Raul Lara, referencing Henry’s 70-yard touchdown catch near the end of the second quarter.

Until Kayden Dixon-Wyatt took over alongside his teammate — both Ohio State commits — and turned on the burners for three second-half scores.

“I wish I could be the quarterback,” Lara joked about his senior wide receivers.

Testing the wide receiver corps of Mater Dei — who outpowered the Braves’ impressive trio of Division I-committed receivers — left St. John Bosco hapless on Friday night in Bellflower. Mater Dei (7-2, 4-1) finished on a 33-7 run, Ryan Hopkins tossing five touchdowns in that span to help the Monarchs defeat St. John Bosco 36-31 in comeback fashion.

Mater Dei High’s CJ Lavender Jr. leaps high to make an interception during the game against St. John Bosco on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

Hopkins finished 13-of-21 passing for 295 yards and the five touchdowns.

All of the doubts over the Monarchs’ regular-season campaign could be close to washed away as the second-half domination confirmed another year when Mater Dei at least owns a share of the Trinity League title.

Since Santa Margarita (7-3, 4-1) also won Friday — defeating JSerra 41-14 — the Eagles, along with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco (9-1, 4-1) earned a share of the Trinity League crown.

Defensive stands set up plays such as Henry’s 70-yard touchdown grab to cut the Braves’ lead to seven with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Mater Dei defensive back CJ Lavender Jr. forced and recovered a fumble in the first quarter to set up the Monarchs’ first points: a field goal.

Lavender then intercepted St. John Bosco sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu twice more.

One pick created a silver-platter touchdown for Dixon-Wyatt, who finished with four receptions for 46 yards and three touchdowns, while the other turnover allowed Mater Dei to seal the game on fourth and 10 from its own 10-yard line.

“Anything he threw, I was going to go get it,” said Lavender, who now has a team-high seven interceptions on the season.

Mater Dei receiver Chris Henry Jr. hauls in a pass over his shoulder ahead of two St. John Bosco defenders on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

Before the final interception — which came with 1:34 remaining in the game — St. John Bosco was driving. An unsportsmanlike penalty even provided the Braves at first and inches from the goal line.

But a bad snap to Malau’ulu pushed the Braves backward to the seven-yard line. A run for a loss brought St. John Bosco to the 10-yard line that then led to an interception.

Henry, who hadn’t played since Oct. 10 against Orange Lutheran, said he was itching to get back out 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 a game like this.”

Henry will have plenty more opportunities upcoming in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, starting next week.

The trio of Trinity League teams likely will see Sierra Canyon (10-0) — which finished its Mission League-winning campaign with a 52-3 victory over Loyola — among the teams they could face off against in the playoffs.

A look at this week’s top high school football games in the Southland:

THURSDAY

Oxnard Pacifica (4-0) at Hamilton (2-2), 4 p.m.

It’s a last-minute game put on the schedule after both schools had opponents drop out. But what a quarterback matchup it features. Pacifica’s Taylor Lee vs. Hamilton freshman Thaddeus Breaux. Lee has 15 touchdown passes in the last two games. The pick: Pacifica.

FRIDAY

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (2-2) at Culver City (3-1), 7 p.m.

Basketball standout Tyran Stokes came out last week to play receiver and he has been cleared to make his football debut. Also expected to play is USC commit Luc Weaver, another receiver who has been sidelined because of a leg injury. The Knights want to challenge for a top-three spot in the Mission League and Culver City offers a good challenge. The pick: Notre Dame.

SATURDAY

Bishop Gorman (4-1) vs. Santa Margarita (3-1) at Tesoro, 7 p.m.

Bishop Gorman, after losing to Mater Dei last week in Las Vegas, travels to face another Trinity League opponent. The Eagles are trying to stay healthy before the grind of league play. The pick: Bishop Gorman.

In a town where you can make your own luck or can sink further into an abyss, Mater Dei High dug deep, wiped away memories from a loss last week and answered a gut-check call to come away with a 27-24 road victory over Bishop Gorman on Friday night. Coach Raul Lara brought up the word “resurrection” during a postgame huddle with his players.

The win surely resurrects Mater Dei’s season. It was doom and gloom one week ago when the Monarchs fell behind 28-0 to Corona Centennial, then rallied but lost 43-36. Seven turnovers left everyone wondering if the Monarchs were no longer a top team after being ranked No. 1 in the nation by several organizations.

Friday’s performance against an unbeaten Bishop Gorman team saw Mater Dei turn to two of its preseason All-Americans on offense, tight end Mark Bowman and receiver Chris Henry Jr. Bowman had touchdown catches of 29 and 36 yards. Henry had two touchdown catches, including the game-winner with 6:06 left from 37 yards.

Quarterback Ryan Hopkins, bouncing back from turnovers last week, kept firing away against a strong Bishop Gorman defense, getting the ball to his outstanding receivers and not letting penalties or an interception reduce his confidence.

“It’s facing adversity,” Hopkins said. “Last week was a tough one. This is a step forward. It’s next-play mentality.”

There were ominous black clouds passing above that let out a dose of rain more than three hours before kickoff, but the weather cleared and the Monarchs didn’t have to put up with the downpour and lightning delay that St. John Bosco endued in 2014 during a 34-31 loss to Bishop Gorman.

It was an entertaining first half that ended in a 14-14 tie. Both teams missed scoring opportunities. Mater Dei blocked a Bishop Gorman field-goal attempt that was returned by Aaryan Washington to the 13-yard line, then had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Jerry Shifman. Bishop Gorman forced a fumble by Hopkins, and Prince Williams returned it for a touchdown that was nullified by defensive holding.

Soon Hopkins connected with Henry on a 54-yard pass to the one-yard line in the final seconds. But a Mater Dei illegal procedure penalty and little time left the Monarchs to settle for a 23-yard field goal to tie the score.

Mater Dei (3-1) had zero penalties in the first quarter, a major improvement from previous games, but the Monarchs went back to making mistakes after that. There was an offsides on a fourth-and-short play. There was a five-yard penalty before kicking off the ball. Through all that, the Monarchs persevered.

“Great game,” Lara said. “Two great teams and great programs. We knew it was going to be a fight. I’m proud of my guys.”

Bishop Gorman quarterback Maika Eugenio was effective moving in the pocket to get the ball to his top receivers and passed for two touchdowns. Massiah Ming had receptions of 62 and 38 yards.

Mater Dei hasn’t lost more than one game in season since 2014, so the pressure was on.

“It’s finding that chemistry and continuing to grind,” Lara said. “I think all the games are going to be like this. Everyone is gunning for us.”

Bowman, the USC commit who reclassified from junior to senior to begin his college career next year, finally got the opportunity to show off his receiving skills. He came in with only seven catches in three games but was left open several times, and Hopkins made Bishop Gorman pay. Hopkins said Bowman has been making an equal impact with his blocking.

“He’s putting everything on the line every play,” Hopkins said.

One of the stars on defense for Mater Dei was linebacker Ezekiel Su’a. He had a sack and also deflected one of Eugenio’s passes in a key second-half play.

The Monarchs are off next week before opening Trinity League play against Orange Lutheran on Oct. 3. Bishop Gorman comes to Southern California next Saturday for another Trinity League matchup against Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills.

This win means the mojo is back for the Monarchs. This was an improved performance that needs to be sustained for their regular-season finale against St. John Bosco on Halloween and possible matchup against unbeaten Sierra Canyon or a rematch with Centennial in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

This week’s top high school football games in the Southland:

FRIDAY

Mater Dei (2-0) at Corona Centennial (2-1), 7 p.m.

This is the third Trinity League team the Huskies have played in their tough nonleague schedule. They’ve beaten Servite and lost to Santa Margarita. They have a history playing Mater Dei and must find a way to run the ball effectively. Mater Dei has been surprisingly inconsistent on offense. New quarterback Ryan Hopkins has a great group of receivers but the Monarchs need improvement with a game against Bishop Gorman looming next week. The pick: Mater Dei.

Mission Viejo (3-0) at San Diego Lincoln (3-0), 7 p.m.

Prepare for an offensive shootout on Lincoln’s new turf field. Lincoln has scored 57, 36 and 50 points. Mission Viejo has scored 58 and 53 points in its last two games. Lincoln is the best team in San Diego. Mission Viejo, led by quarterback Luke Fahey, could complete one of the best starts in school history with a victory considering it already owns wins over Santa Margarita and Folsom. The pick: Mission Viejo.

No. 1-ranked Mater Dei opened its high school football season on Saturday in Florida looking every bit as good as last season when the Monarchs went unbeaten despite lots of mistakes in the second half.

New quarterback Ryan Hopkins threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter en route to a 26-23 victory over Ft. Lauderdale Aquinas, which has won six straight Florida state titles. Chris Henry Jr. caught two of them, covering 22 and 82 yards. Gavin Honore had a 62-yard touchdown reception.

Mater Dei scored 26 consecutive points after falling behind 3-0 in the first quarter. They led 26-3 at halftime. But the Monarchs went scoreless in the second half.

The Monarchs were hardly perfect, leaving coach Raul Lara plenty to work on. They had two interceptions in the first half that ended with turnovers on fumbles during the returns. Twice the Monarchs botched point-after attempts. There were numerous 15-yard personal foul penalties for taunting, late hits, grabbing the face mask and a horse collar. They had 13 penalties for 140 yards through three quarters.

The defense did what it has been doing well for years — stopping the run. USC commit Tomuhini Topui had a sack and Shaun Scott, another USC commit, was adding pressure at the linebacker position. Danny Lang led the secondary with two pass breakups.

Aquinas had fourth and goal from the one-yard line to start the fourth quarter and failed on a fumble trying to run up the middle to cut a 26-10 deficit. But Hopkins was soon intercepted. Aquinas scored on a quarterback option play by Mason Mallory to close to within 26-16 with 9:44 left. Then it was 26-23 on a touchdown pass with 1:36 left until Mater Dei ran out the clock.

Hopkins finished with 272 yards passing. Henry had four catches for 134 yards.

The Monarchs next make their home debut on Friday in a game that will likely result in a running clock. They face Bishop Montgomery, which lost five transfers to ineligibility.

Mater Dei was one of three Trinity League teams opening in Florida. St. John Bosco won 31-0 on Friday night in a game halted at halftime because of lightning. There was also lightning for Mater Dei’s game that delayed the start by one hour. Orange Lutheran was playing Saturday night against Miami Northwestern.

Three other Trinity League teams — Santa Margarita, JSerra and Servite — all lost nonleague openers on Friday.