Mater Dei crushes Orange Lutheran: Live updates recap
Mater Dei is no longer the No. 1 high school football team in the country, but the Monarchs still have a path to the national championship.
After suffering a 28-0 loss to Southern California rival St. John Bosco last week, Mater Dei dropped to No. 6 in the country in the latest SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 rankings. The Monarchs can still win out, and will likely get another shot at the Braves in the CIF Southern Section championship game. It would be tough to ignore a one-loss Monarchs' squad that goes on to win a Section and CIF State championship.
Mater Dei's path to redemption started Thursday night against Trinity League foe Orange Lutheran. The Lancers have played one of the toughest schedules in the country, including road games at De La Salle and Chandler (Arizona), but they were no match for Mater Dei, losing 55-13.
You can get a full recap of the game below or you can watch a replay of the game on the NFHS Network.
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATES
Mater Dei 55, Orange Lutheran 13, Final
Mater Dei 55, Orange Lutheran 13, :12 left in 4th: Lancers RB Brayden Henson scores on a two-yard run with 12 seconds left in the game. The PAT is no good.
Mater Dei 55, Orange Lutheran 7: Mater Dei's Joseph Gutierrez kicks a 37-yard field goal.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATES
Mater Dei 52, Orange Lutheran 7, 5:07 left in 3rd quarter: Ajon Bryant turns on the jets for an 83-yard touchdown run and Mater Dei is pouring it on.
Mater Dei 45, Orange Lutheran 7: Mater Dei QB Elijah Browns throws his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 45-yard strike to Mark Bowman.
Mater Dei 38, Orange Lutheran 7, 10:23 left in 3rd quarter: The Lancers finally get on the board on a 36-yard TD run by Steve Chavez.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATES
Mater Dei 38, Orange Lutheran 0, halftime: Mater Dei kicker Dominic Zante boots a 36-yard field on the final play of the first half.
Mater Dei 35, Orange Lutheran 0, 7:57 left in 2nd quarter: Ajon Bryant scores on a 25-yard TD run to effectively put this game away well before halftime.
Mater Dei 28, Orange Lutheran 0, 11:26 left in 2nd quarter: Mater Dei QB Elijah Brown throws his third TD pass of the first half, a 65-yard catch-and-run to Nathaniel Frazier.
Orange Lutheran punts the ball away to start the second quarter, still trailing 21-0.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATES
Mater Dei 21, Orange Lutheran 0, 4:04 left in 1st quarter: Orange Lutheran fumbles the kickoff, Mater Dei recovers and this game might be over. Elijah Brown throws a 9-yard TD pass to Jonah Smith to give the Monarchs a three-score lead.
Mater Dei 14, Orange Lutheran 0, 5:10 left in 1st quarter: Orange Lutheran fumbles on its first play from scrimmage and the Monarchs recover. Nate Frazier eventually punches it in on a one-yard TD run. This one is in danger of getting out of hand early.
Mater Dei 7, Orange Lutheran 0, 7:55 left in 1st quarter: Mater Dei gets on the board first on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Brown to Marcus Brown.
PREGAME UPDATES
The Mater Dei vs. Orange Lutheran game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Check back for live updates at game time.
