GAME OF THE WEEK RECAP AND TOP PHOTOS: Monarchs take the Trinity League Opener vs the Lancers

by Noah Scherson

COSTA MESA- Mater Dei takes down Orange Lutheran 25-10 in a defensive slugfest to open Trinity League play at Orange Coast College. 

The Monarchs scored on their opening drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Malachi Roby as he bounced it outside. After an Orange Lutheran punt, Mater Dei marched down the field only to fumble it on the Lancers’ 16-yard line and recovered by sophomore defensive end Marcus Fakatou to give the Lancers the ball back. 

Going into the second quarter, Mater Dei’s junior defensive back Aaryn Washington gets the interception at the Orange Lutheran 45-yard line, but the Monarchs turn it over on downs later in the drive. 

The Lancers were able to bleed the clock to set up senior kicker Aiden Migirdichian kicked a 22-yard field goal to make it 7-3 going into halftime. 

Orange Lutheran got the ball to open the second half, but punted it back to Mater Dei, leading to a 39-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Nathan Enriquez. After a quick punt from the Lancers, freshman running back Asir Nembhard evaded one tackler for a 32-yard rushing touchdown for the Monarchs. Mater Dei leads 17-3.

On the ensuing drive, Mater Dei blocked the Lancers’ punt to set themselves up on the Orange Lutheran 31-yard line with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. 

The Monarchs took advantage of this field position with senior wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt climbing the ladder for a 33-yard touchdown, courtesy of senior quarterback Ryan Hopkins. Dixon-Wyatt said he “seen ball, get ball” on that reception. They would run the two-point conversion to extend their lead to 25-3.

The Lancers in Monarch territory committed offensive pass interference on fourth down to make it 28 yards for the line-to-gain, only for Mater Dei to commit a defensive pass interference to make it fourth-and-4. The Lancers turn it over back to the Monarchs deep in Monarch territory with six minutes left.

Orange Lutheran forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball back near the midfield line. The Lancers would find the endzone as freshman quarterback Ezrah Brown found junior wide receiver Nico Bland for a 12-yard touchdown with 2:30 left in the game.

The Monarchs would run out the clock to defeat the Lancers 25-10.

Mater Dei head coach Raul Lara said he wasn’t “too pleased” with their first-half performance, but that was a message for his team in the post-game meeting.

“I just told them at the end of the game that we need to learn how to play four quarters, we need to complete a full game,” Lara said. “Once we do that, we’ll be fine.”

The fourth-ranked Mater Dei will host sixth-ranked Santa Margarita next Friday. That same evening, Orange Lutheran hosts No. 1-ranked St. John Bosco for their homecoming at Orange Coast College.