Saturday CIF State Football Finals

It’s another CIF Open Division state title for Mater Dei, but this time the NorCal representative, De La Salle of Concord, put up a fight in the third quarter to make it interesting…at least for a few minutes. Monarchs gain their fifth CIF state title since 2017. Edison of Huntington Beach and Palos Verdes of PV Estates also gained CIF state titles at Saddleback College.

FOR OUR PREVIEWS & PREDICTIONS OF EACH CIF STATE FINAL, CLICK HERE.

FOR RECAPS OF THE SATURDAY GAMES PLAYED IN LONG BEACH & FULLERTON, CLICK HERE.

Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. After the preseason, all weekly and final state rankings are available only to our Gold Club members as well as our state stat star of the week honor rolls. To check out getting a Gold Club membership to see all of those rankings plus all of our updated state record lists, totally authentic historical features, recruiting player ratings and more, CLICK HERE.

CHECK OUT CALGAMESWANTED.COM
Created for Coaches by Coaches for California Varsity High School Head Coaches and Athletic Directors, Start building your schedule with CalGamesWanted.com.
User friendly to take the stress out of scheduling.

(Thanks to Orange County correspondent Chuck Nan for the writeup on Edison-Central.)

At halftime of this year’s CIF Open Division state championship, it looked like another cakewalk for the dominating program at Mater Dei of Santa Ana as the Monarchs had unbeaten De La Salle of Concord reeling with a 23-0 deficit.

The Spartans played so well in the third quarter, however, that the cakewalk become more like a balancing act on a tight rope. Still, when it was time for Mater Dei to reassume its big-play identity, that’s what the team did. The eventual 37-15 triumph put the frosting on another banner season for the Santa Ana school.

The Monarchs won’t be officially named as State Team of the Year until Monday, but they celebrated winning their fifth CIF state title (now just two behind De La Salle’s state-leading total of seven) long into the Saturday evening. They also made it two in a row, but this team went 13-0 and did something that only the Monarchs’ legendary 2017 unbeaten team did and that’s get two wins over their arch-rivals from St. John Bosco of Bellflower.

“We came here four years ago to leave our own legacy,” said senior edge rusher Nasir Wyatt, a three-year starting standout on the defense who has signed with Oregon. “This school has been great long before than we’ve been alive and it feels great to be able to do this tonight.”

Wyatt and other players also all talked about the positive impact that first-year head coach Raul Lara had on the program. For Lara, he didn’t want to focus on himself afterward but many on the Monarchs’ sideline were glad to see him collect his first CIF state title as a coach. The first three in school history were won by the legendary Bruce Rollinson, who retired after the 2022 season. Last year’s was won by head coach Frank McManus. Lara previously had two teams at Long Beach Poly that lost in CIF state finals (in 2008 in the Open Division and in 2011 in Division I). He also had lost in two previous matchups when at Long Beach Poly to De La Salle, including the famous 2001 contest in which his team and the Spartans were No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation.

“We’ve really harped up being part of a brotherhood and harped on showing character whenever anyone goes out in the community,” Lara said. “Once kids see that, it translates to the field. I have tremendous respect for De La Salle because they’ve always been all about that brotherhood.”

A new player into the MD brotherhood, senior quarterback Dash Beierly (who played last season at Chaparral of Temecula), had a strong night throwing the ball. He put up one of the top totals in any CIF state final with 355 yards passing on 18 completions in 27 attempts. The University of Washington commit also had three TD passes.

Another heading to Oregon with Wyatt, senior running back Jordon Davison, battled an elbow injury that knocked him out of the game in the second quarter. He came back in the second half and led the Monarchs in rushing with 113 yards on 17 carries.

Beierly’s biggest play of the night came late in the third quarter. The Spartans had scored twice and were only down by 23-15. Facing third and 12 from the 6-yard line, Beierly faced pressure dropping into the end zone, but he not only avoided a sack or a safety but connected on a 14-yard first down to sophomore tight end Mark Bowman. That drive continued with several more completions and two Davison runs and then early in the fourth quarter it was Davidson that pushed the MD lead back to two scores with a 15-yard touchdown run.

“We had to have the mind-set to have mind over matter,” said Davison about that touchdown. “Our energy was a little down at that point of the game. It was just us being more physical.”

Mater Dei took the opening possession of the game and quickly moved down the field. Beierly connected on four passes for 70 yards (two that were to Marcus Harris), but the touchdown on the drive came on a 3-yard run by Davison.

De La Salle, as expected, struggled to move the ball and punted after its first three possessions. Mater Dei didn’t score on its second series, but on its first play of its third series Beierly found Gavin Honore streaking down the seam and hit him for a 90-yard touchdown.

The Spartans’ defense came through for two more fourth down stops later in the first half. The Monarchs were inside the 5-yard line on the third of those stops when a fourth down run by Beierly was not successful from the 2-yard line. The DLS offense not only couldn’t move the ball out of the end zone but on third down QB Toa Faavae couldn’t cleanly field a high snap and wound up getting tackled for a safety by Wyatt and junior rush end Shaun Scott.

Mater Dei then extended a 16-0 lead to 23-0 just before halftime on a 21-yard TD pass from Beierly to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.

De La Salle’s offensive totals in the first half resembled the difficulty that Serra of San Mateo had throughout the past two CIF Open Division state finals. The Spartans hadn’t had one first down from offense. The only ones were from penalties on the Monarchs.

The third quarter saw the Spartans play with passion, pride and execution. They took their opening series of the half and went with their staple of running plays and marched 65 yards down the field with Faavae sneaking it into the end zone for the first touchdown for a NorCal team in an Open Division game since 2021.

A sack by Matthew Johnson of the Spartans (also headed to Oregon) then caused Mater Dei to punt. De La Salle then quickly drove for another score on a 41-yard run by Faavae. His teams at DLS may have lost in all three of its CIF state title games the past three seasons, but he’s scored on a long run in all three games, including an 89-yard TD in 2022 in a loss to San Diego Lincoln (D1AA). De La Salle went for a two-pointer to make it a one-score game at 23-15, but that was as close as it would get.

The Monarchs added to their lead with 5:11 left on a 31-yard TD pass from Beierly to Bowman.

“This doesn’t mean that our season is a wash or a disappointment,” said De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh, whose team came into the game at No. 4 in the State TOP 50 rankings and may stay there considering how it played in the second half. “We had the opportunity to roll over to a great team and didn’t. All the credit to them. They’re the No. 1 team in the nation for a reason. They made some unbelievable plays.”

Alumbaugh earlier had a lot to say about the school’s graduating seniors.

“They brought us back to national prominence,” he said. “We just played a horrible first half.

“Words were said at halftime. We just had to make sure that their minds were right. We can’t continue to do it by making mistakes. We wanted to run it right down their throats and we did.”

Faavae was De La Salle’s leading rusher with 82 yards on 11 carries. The Spartans still only had 165 yards of offense on the night compared to 497 for Mater Dei.

In the other games played at Saddleback College:

DIVISION 1-A

Edison (Huntington Beach) 21, Central (Fresno) 14

In a game in which both teams were making defensive stops in the second half after they battled to a 14-14 tie, the Chargers got the big play on a 54-yard catch and run touchdown reception by Jake Minter on a pass from Sam Thomson with just 20 seconds left in the game.

Edison, No. 20 in the State TOP 50 at 12-4, won the school’s first-ever CIF state title. The Chargers (12-4) are on the all-time list for State Teams of the Year with a No. 1 finish in 1979. The win also was another one in an impressive playoff run that included a 35-14 victory over top seed Simi Valley in the CIFSS D3 championship.

This means a lot but it’s about the the kids more than be. It was a good defensive battle and just a great way to end the season.

“It was just a total team effort for us to go on this playoff run,” said Edison head coach Jeff Grady. “We needed every single player and coach and everybody stepped up.”

Central was No. 15 in the State TOP 50 and capped its season at 12-3.

“We had our chances and there’s not much more you can ask,” said Central head coach Kyle Biggs. “We gave them one last chance and they made the play and we didn’t. I’m excited about our future. Hopefully, this will give the younger kids the hunger to get back here. We’ll get back to work after Christmas break.”

The two teams entered their matchup with running backs as the centerpieces of their offenses. The Grizzlies’ Brandon Smith had 11 combined touchdowns this postseason as a junior while Charger back Julius Gillick was enjoying a record-breaking senior season with 2,365 yards rushing.

Edison took its opening possession and drove 59 yards in 16 plays to take a 7-0 lead. The other big news from the drive was the 9:08 the Chargers melted off the clock. A heavy dose of Gillick was the perfect prescription as he did it all on the drive, including rushing from the Wildcat position on more than half his totes. His final dash was from one-yard out.

Central took its first possession and ate up the remaining time in the first quarter and its drive continued into the second. An effective mix of the run and pass was working. Quarterback Jelani Dippel, showing poise for a sophomore, stood in the pocket and found E.J. Morgan on a long-distance call of 38 yards to tie the game, 7-7.

It wouldn’t take Edison long to answer and secure the lead again. The drive took only five plays and was highlighted by two pass connections between Thomson and Aidan Brown, a 15-yard unsportsmanship foul and two runs by Gillick totaling 33 yards. His touchdown covered 14 hard yards as he bulled into the end zone the last two. With 7:20 to go in the half, it was 14-7.

The Griz continued to amass positive yards with the legs of Brown and arm of Dippel. It took only three minutes for them to drive 79 yards, which culminated with a Dippel pass to Bayon Harris for a four-yard score and knotting the contest at 14-14.

In the final five minutes of the first half, both schools would have one more chance to take a lead into intermission. Edison went four-and-out. Central entered its 2-minute drill and was able to complete three passes and gain 35 yards. With the clock ticking, Dippel throw a spiral to his receiver at the goal line — 50-yards, but the throw was picked off by Gavin Slaughter.

The second half was a see-saw battle of field position as, despite showing signs of driving toward a score, the defenses thwarted those opportunities. Edison pounded the ball as Gillick carried virtually every time. In one span, he carried on six of seven plays. The third quarter was scoreless as the fourth commenced.

The Chargers’ best scoring opportunity came when they were first-and-goal at the nine-yard line. After two runs by Gillick failed, Thomson tried to force a pass to his receiver in the end zone but Xavier Jones notched an interception.

It was Central’s turn as it took possession on the 20 with 7:48 left. It looked as if Edison was on its heels and the Gizzlies moved the ball to the six-yard-line for a first-and-goal. The Chargers rose up to shutdown a rush on first down and three passes in succession to deny Central the end zone. Slaughter came up big once again for his team as he swatted a pass.

Apparently, Central did not attempt a field goal in that situation due to a lack of expertise. Their statistic page on MaxPreps indicated they were 0-for-3 in attempts for the season.

If there was ever momentum, it was with Edison at this point with five minutes remaining. That evaporated quickly, though, as it made no progress and were forced to punt.

With time draining away, Central had visions of putting the game away. On this possession, the Grizzlies couldn’t catch a pass. It was a combination of Edison defense and butterfingers. Their last gasp on this drive and the game was a fourth-down pass play that was batted away by Edison’s Matthew Lopez.

With less than one minute remaining in regulation, overtime was looming. Edison had the ball at its own 32. The Chargers kept feeding the ball to Gillick, even getting the ball in his hands with passes — hoping to break a long one. The scoreboard read 0:20 and the Chargers had the ball at their own 46.

Thomson rolled out and set eyes on Minter at the middle of the field in an empty seam. He zipped the ball to Minter, who shook and swerved around multiple defenders and found a way to just break the plane with the ball — 54 yards in length. The celebration began on the Chargers’ bench and in the stands with family and friends.

“I didn’t know if I was going to break it, but just made some moves, got an awesome block and was able to make it,” Minter said. “From our 0-2 start, every week we were just building more as a team. Building chemistry. We had great game plans from our coaches and all we had to do was execute.”

With minimal time left, Edison was able to halt any hope for the Grizzlies and won its first state championship ever in football.

Both schools gained over 300 yards of offense. One real difference on the stat sheet was the time of possession. Edison’s had a nearly two-to-one advantage in that category.

Individually, Gillick finished with 124 net rushing yards on 27 attempts (4.6 average). Thomson was a very efficient 12-of-17 for 155 yards. Minter and Brown were the leading receivers with four catches each and 122 yards total. On defense, Jeremiah registered one sack.

Central was led offensively by Dippel’s 284 yards passing. Brandon Smith had 76 yards rushing and 94 receiving. Juan Ochoa also had 10 tackles on defense.

DIVISION 2-A

Palos Verdes (PV Estates) 55, Twelve Bridges (Lincoln) 19

Yes, this is perhaps the worst prediction we’ve ever made for a CIF state football final, but the MaxPreps/CalPreps computer had Twelve Bridges ranked No. 40 in the state and Palos Verdes at No. 62.

The big difference in looking at the teams once again now that the game is over is that despite its 14-0 record that Twelve Bridges had never faced an opponent that can throw the ball like the Sea Kings can. And in this game head coach Guy Gardner’s team went up and down the field with its passing game.

Sophomore QB Ryan Rakowski, who started last season as a freshman, missed a couple of wide open receivers early in the game, but the Sea Kings never punted. Rakowski wound up 20 of 25 passes for 353 yards and six touchdowns. His six TD passes tied the record for most TD passes in a CIF state final that was set in 2014 by Jake Browning of Folsom.

“Yes, I know of him and I’m excited to be with his name in that conversation,” Rakowski said. “It’s a super awesome feeling, but I’ve got to credit my receivers. The throws were open all day and they made the plays.”

The game didn’t begin as if it was going to be a blowout. The Sea Kings took 15 plays and converted first downs on two fourth down plays before the drive ended on a 10-yard TD pass from Rakowski to George Morley Boyd.

Twelve Bridges, which came into the game at 14-0 after winning the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D4 title and then posting a 28-27 win vs Wilcox of Santa Clara in the regional final, almost matched Palos Verdes’ opening drive. The Raging Rhinos moved the ball 13 plays from their own 20 to the PV 15-yard line, which actually completed the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, though, the Sea Kings’ stuffed a fourth-and-five play and then quickly moved down the field for their second touchdown. That came on a 9-yard TD pass from Rakowski to Joey Koyama.

The game out of hand for Twelve Bridges for the rest of the second quarter. Palos Verdes had an 87-yard drive in just three passing plays by Rakowski, including 44 yards to Evan Aguirre and 28 yards to Aguirre for the touchdown. After an interception by Jon Sarmiento, the Sea Kings extended their lead to 27-0 on a 32-yard TD pass from Rakowski to freshman Jalen Flowers.

Palos Verdes was only 2-4 at one point during the season, but started to turn its season around with a win vs Leuzinger of Lawndale two weeks after Leuzinger’s win against state power Santa Margarita. The program won its first ever CIF state title after last season’s team went 10-0 entering the CIF Southern Section playoffs, but that team was in D2, had to play eventual CIF D1-AA state champion Mission Viejo right away and lost. This year’s team ended 11-5 and will jump into the final State TOP 50 rankings since Twelve Bridges had moved up to No. 43 after its win against Wilcox.

“A few teams this year were playing our script from last year,” Gardner said. “It’s crazy the way we earned our spot this year but I am still disappointed for our seniors from last year. Any system is not perfect. Whatever you get in any given year you just have to do the best you can.”

Aguirre was PV’s leading receiver of the game with four catches for 101 yards. Flowers and Morley Boyd both had four catches. Koyama had three TD catches.

Leading rusher Braeden Ward of Twelve Bridges ended up with solid numbers of 23 carries for 170 yards and two TDs, but a lot of his yards came when the game’s outcome was decided.

“We really wanted people to see that we were no joke,” said Twelve Bridges head coach Chris Bean. “What happened today is going to weigh on me for a long time, but if you were going to tell me at the beginning of the season that we were going to win a NorCal title and play for a state title I’d have taken that. It’s been a blessing and I don’t take any of it for granted.”

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle.