Breakdown of Mater Dei’s 2022 Schedule

The reigning National Champion Mater Dei Monarchs released their 2022 schedule last week. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) had an undefeated season in 2021 with its season ending with a CIF championship win over rival Servite and a state championship win over Serra of San Mateo. The Monarchs are losing top players in the state like USC signees [player_tooltip player_id="25223" first="Domani" last="Jackson"], [player_tooltip player_id="25225" first="Raleek" last="Brown"] and [player_tooltip player_id="282768" first="CJ" last="Williams"]. They need to replace Orange County defensive player of the year [player_tooltip player_id="25234" first="David" last="Bailey"] (Stanford) and other Division 1 signees [player_tooltip player_id="25274" first="Cam" last="Sidney"] (Cal) [player_tooltip player_id="25264" first="Josh" last="Hunter"] (San Diego State), [player_tooltip player_id="25278" first="Cooper" last="Barkate"] (Harvard), [player_tooltip player_id="25279" first="Eoghan" last="Kerry"] (Colorado), [player_tooltip player_id="25281" first="Quincy" last="Craig"] (Portland State), [player_tooltip player_id="25282" first="Malaki" last="Te’o"] (Hawaii) and others. Leading Mater Dei’s offense is returning class of 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="147708" first="Elijah" last="Brown"]. Brown completed 74 percent of his passes for 2,581 yards with 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions last season and is 17-0 in his high school career. Ajon Byrant and super sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="282698" first="Jordon" last="Davison"] will be the two running backs. Davison has been picking up a lot of buzz on the camp circuit this offseason. [player_tooltip player_id="145241" first="Spencer" last="Shannon"] returns as a 6-foot-6 tight end who has been great for the OC Elite passing team. [player_tooltip player_id="115472" first="Jack" last="Ressler"] figures to be the leading receiver and keep an eye out for sleeper receiver Jordan Onovughe who has also been great for OC Elite. The offensive line is loaded with returners [player_tooltip player_id="25453" first="BJ" last="Tolo"], [player_tooltip player_id="147719" first="DeAndre" last="Carter"], [player_tooltip player_id="147730" first="Brandon" last="Baker"], [player_tooltip player_id="282776" first="Sione" last="Tohi"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25413" first="Lipe" last="Moala"]. Tolo is one of the best centers in the state and Carter and Baker are arguably the two best offensive linemen in the 2024 class. Defensively, [player_tooltip player_id="195568" first="Tanner" last="Williams"] returns as the primary pass rusher. [player_tooltip player_id="25447" first="Levi" last="Sua"] leads the linebackers and the secondary will be young but experienced. [player_tooltip player_id="147715" first="Zabien" last="Brown"] is an excellent class of 2024 defensive back and [player_tooltip player_id="282700" first="Daryus" last="Dixson"] is one of my favorite class of 2025 corners. Any other program losing the amount of Division 1 talent that Mater Dei lost, would be in a lot of trouble, but the Monarchs are still expected to be the top team in the state. Let’s take a look at their opponents for the 2022 season and how they stack up. https://twitter.com/MD_Athletics/status/1511112918649110530?s=20&amp;t=a1gty1wp4raEmWkM75XiFg <div><strong>Aug. 19 — vs. West (Salt Lake City)</strong></div> <div></div> <div>West is led by star running back Sesi Vailahi. Vailahi has offers from Nevada and Utah State. This is probably the second easiest game on the schedule for Mater Dei</div> <div></div> <div> <div><strong>Aug. 26 — at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)</strong></div> </div> &nbsp; Gorman is loaded with talent led by USC commit receiver Zachariah Branch, safety Kodi Decambra and Notre Dame commit Justyn Rhett. On paper, Gorman is one of the only teams that can matchup with Mater Dei at the skill positions. However, Mater Dei is far superior on the offensive line and can win this game in the trenches. Bishop Gorman is by far the best team in Nevada and the second toughest team the Monarchs will play during the nonleague schedule. <div><strong>Sept. 2 — at Centennial (Corona)</strong></div> <div></div> <div>Playing Bishop Gorman and following it up with Centennial is a brutal two weeks for Mater Dei. Centennial gave Mater Dei a scare in the CIF semifinals last season, only losing to the Monarchs 21-16. Centennial has two Division 1 quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id="25365" first="Izzy" last="Carter"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25368" first="Carson" last="Conklin"]. Centennial has two elite defensive backs [player_tooltip player_id="25459" first="Aaron" last="Williams"] and [player_tooltip player_id="145197" first="Owen" last="Chambliss"] who will try to shut down Mater Dei’s passing game. [player_tooltip player_id="25371" first="Eric" last="Denham"] is a quality receiver and [player_tooltip player_id="145196" first="Lucas" last="Conti"] is a very good defensive lineman. Centennial’s pace causes problems for everybody who plays them. Mater Dei will have to slow the pace and win this game with defense and the running game.</div> <div></div> <div> <div><strong>Sept. 9 — vs. La Mirada</strong></div> </div> <div></div> <div>This is the easiest game on Mater Dei’s schedule. Major kudos to La Mirada for agreeing to play Mater Dei but this is a mismatch. [player_tooltip player_id="261808" first="Nehuel" last="Garcia"] is a solid quarterback and Xavier BuBu Hicks is a good receiver who can hang with the Mater Dei guys, but this will be a running clock by halftime.</div> <div></div> <div> <div><strong>Sept. 16 — vs. Mililani (Hawaii)</strong></div> </div> <div></div> <div>This game is part of the Trinity League against the World weekend at St. John Bosco. Mater Dei wins this in a blowout.</div> <div></div> <div> <div><strong>Sept. 30 — at JSerra </strong></div> </div> <div></div> <div>JSerra is the worst team in the Trinity League and recently lost its top two players to transfer including [player_tooltip player_id="261722" first="Edward" last="Schultz"]. Mater Dei held JSerra to 74 yards of total offense in its 56-14 win last season. The Monarchs rushed for over 10 yards per carry in this game and [player_tooltip player_id="115462" first="Ajon" last="Bryant"] had two touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id="147708" first="Elijah" last="Brown"] completed 10 of 12 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns.</div> <div></div> <div> <div><strong>Oct. 7 — vs. St. John Bosco </strong></div> </div> <div></div> <div>Bosco is loaded with talent this upcoming season, particularly in the secondary. [player_tooltip player_id="115433" first="Peyton" last="Woodyard"] and [player_tooltip player_id="115432" first="Marcelles" last="Williams"] are the two best defensive backs in California’s 2024 class and [player_tooltip player_id="115443" first="Kyngstonn" last="Viliamu-Asa"] is the best player in that class overall. [player_tooltip player_id="25380" first="Jshawn" last="Frausto-Ramos"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25395" first="RJ" last="Jones"] are two excellent class of 2023 defensive backs and don’t sleep on [player_tooltip player_id="145239" first="Hunter" last="Nowell"]. [player_tooltip player_id="25367" first="Pierce" last="Clarkson"] leads the Bosco offense with receiver [player_tooltip player_id="25410" first="Jahlil" last="McClain"]. Mater Dei has a big advantage in the trenches in this one. A running back to keep an eye on in this game is [player_tooltip player_id="115464" first="Chauncey" last="Sylvester"].</div> <div></div> <div> <div><strong>Oct. 14 — vs. Orange Lutheran </strong></div> </div> <div></div> <div>Orange Lutheran won the CIF Division 2 championship last season but lost a ton of talent. They are the biggest mystery team of anyone in the Trinity League. [player_tooltip player_id="282728" first="TJ" last="Lateef"] is expected to be the quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id="282779" first="Jojo" last="Edwards"] and [player_tooltip player_id="261807" first="Gabe" last="Morin"] are two really good defensive players for the Lancers, but they don’t have the depth to hang with Mater Dei.</div> <div></div> <div> <div><strong>Oct. 21 — at Santa Margarita </strong></div> </div> <div></div> <div>Santa Margarita is the most improved team in the Trinity League. They have a strong defensive line who made a lot of headlines at the Giant Skillz camp in February. [player_tooltip player_id="147756" first="Levar" last="Talley"] is a real Division 1 talent as well as Servite transfer [player_tooltip player_id="115437" first="Gage" last="Burnett"] and top 2025 prospect [player_tooltip player_id="282745" first="Tyler" last="Parker"]. [player_tooltip player_id="25428" first="Jaxon" last="Potter"] is an experienced quarterback and they have receivers [player_tooltip player_id="190355" first="Niko" last="Lopez"] and Mater Dei transfer [player_tooltip player_id="195538" first="Bain" last="Eiseman"]. Santa Margarita will not beat Mater Dei, but this will not be an easy game.</div> <div></div> <div> <div class="article_body cf"> <div><strong>Oct. 28 — at Servite </strong></div> </div> </div> <div></div> <div>Servite is a mystery team after a historic season last year where they played Mater Dei in the CIF championship game. They lost [player_tooltip player_id="25286" first="Noah" last="Fifita"], [player_tooltip player_id="25227" first="Tetairoa" last="McMillan"], [player_tooltip player_id="143131" first="Jacob" last="Manu"], [player_tooltip player_id="141891" first="Mason" last="Graham"] and much more Division 1 talent. Servite is well-coached but Mater Dei should be able to handle them easily this time around.</div> <div> <div id="taboola_items" class="ad ad-container content-partner trc_related_container trc_spotlight_widget tbl-feed-container tbl-feed-frame-NONE render-late-effect" data-ad-name="content-partner" data-feed-container-num="1" data-feed-main-container-id="taboola_items" data-parent-placement-name="Desktop Article Bottom Page Thumbnails" data-pub-lang="en"> <div class=" tbl-feed-header tbl-logo-right-position tbl-ccpa-container "> <div class="tbl-feed-header-logo"></div> </div> </div> </div>