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Mater Dei Coach Raul Lara was joined by captains (from left) Semi Taulanga, Chuck McDonald III, Dash Beierly, Abduall Sanders Jr, and Daryus Dixson at Monday’s CIF Media Luncheon. (Photo courtesy Mater Dei Football).
Mater Dei High School’s football team is back in a familiar spot, going for another CIF Division 1 title Friday night at 7 against Trinity League rival St. John Bosco at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.
This time, it’s with new head coach Raul Lara who is very familiar with championship week. He led Long Beach Poly to five CIF titles.
The two teams will meet for the seventh time in the CIF finals since 2016 with the series tied at 3-3. Mater Dei (11-0) is ranked first and St. John Bosco (11-1) in the CIF Southern Section. Mater Dei is ranked No. 1 nationally by Maxpreps and St. John Bosco seventh.
Mater Dei is out to win its 14th CIF title and has been in the CIF finals eight straight seasons. The Monarchs, under Coach Frank McManus, defeated St. John Bosco 35-7 in last year’s Division 1 final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Mater Dei rolled to a 59-14 Trinity League victory over St. John Bosco this season.
“Here we go again, playing somebody twice, which is difficult, there’s no doubt and I always have tremendous respect for (Coach) Jason Negro and what he’s done over there. He has a very young team and very talented,” said Lara at Monday’s CIF Media Day Luncheon at the Long Beach Marriott. “So we just need to make sure that we stay focused and concentrate on what we need to take care of.”
Lara believes the keys to the game are simple.
“It’s always turnovers, and to me the line of scrimmage, whoever controls the line of scrimmage and has less turnovers or no turnovers will probably win the game,” he said.
Lara seems to have provided a steady hand in his first season leading the program.
“It’s been a smooth transition, there is no doubt,” he said. “What (Bruce) Rollinson and Frank (McManus) have built here is remarkable. It was pretty much an easy transition for me, I was blessed with a very good staff and also blessed with obviously tremendous talent.”
Mater Dei was represented by five senior captains at the luncheon.
“Three of them were voted by the team, two of them were voted by the coaches,” Lara said. “They’re great young men that endured a lot at Mater Dei. If you think about it, in their four years at Mater Dei, they had three head coaches, so there could have been a lot of turmoil and chaos, but it wasn’t and thank God they were able to finish out their year with a championship (appearance) and obviously this group has been at four championships in a row, so it’s kind of special for them.
“We know what’s ahead of us.”
The captains are Semi Taulanga, Chuck McDonald III, Dash Beierly, Abduall Sanders Jr. and Daryus Dixson and Chuck McDonald III.
“I’m just really excited for it because it’s my last year,” McDonald III, a defensive back, said Monday. “Just getting to play in my senior year in a championship is really a big deal, playing one last time with my brothers is going to be really fun.
“The key to the game is really not taking them too lightly because the last game we beat them by a lot of points so it’s really not getting too complacent and really just locking in and just focusing on the game plan.”
McDonald, an Alabama commit, said the players have reacted well to Lara.
“I didn’t really know what to expect at first but as the season went on, I feel like Coach Lara is a really great coach for our team and he’s really been dialing in on us and really telling us to not get too complacent because all of our games have been 21 points or more. His biggest thing is to keep playing to our ability.”
Mater Dei’s defense has been strong all year, allowing just 150 points. The Monarchs have
nearly 40 sacks led by Nasir Wyatt with 7 1/2 and Shaun Scott with six. Mater Dei’s defense has recorded 14 interceptions.
The offense is led by Beierly, who has thrown for 1,687 yards and 21 touchdown passes. Running back Jordan Davison has run for 875 yards and 13 TDs. Wide receivers Marcus Brown and Kayden Dixon-Watt both have more than 500 receiving yards.
Second seeded St. John Bosco has scored more than 400 points and has not allowed 270. Quarterback Koa Malau’ulu has thrown for 1,308 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Running back Maliq Allen has rushed for nine rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Madden Williams has 12 touchdown catches. The defense has 16 interceptions led by Isala Wily-Ava with seven. The Braves have 20 sacks.
St. John Bosco is looking for its fourth CIF title since 2013.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
