Mater Dei 2023 schedule breakdown
One of the top programs in the nation, Mater Dei of Santa Ana, recently announced its 2023 schedule. The Monarchs are under a new head coach for the first time in over 30 years in Frank McManus. Mater Dei is…
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Continue ReadingOne of the top programs in the nation, Mater Dei of Santa Ana, recently announced its 2023 schedule.
The Monarchs are under a new head coach for the first time in over 30 years in Frank McManus.
Mater Dei is returning plenty of starters and has one of its most talented teams on paper in recent years.
Elijah Brown Elijah Brown 6'2" | 180 lbs | DB Narbonne | 2024 State CA returns at quarterback for his fourth year as a starter. Jordon Davison Jordon Davison 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA and Nate Frazier Nate Frazier 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA are two of the top running backs in the state. The offensive line is led by DeAndre Carter DeAndre Carter 6'5" | 350 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA , Brandon Baker Brandon Baker 6'5" | 290 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA and Sione Tohi Sione Tohi 6'4" | 300 lbs | OL Mater Dei | 2025 State CA .
Defensively, the Monarchs return a plethora of talent. Tanner Williams Tanner Williams 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is back from injury as an edge rusher and Nasir Wyatt Nasir Wyatt 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA is coming off a breakout season. Aydin Breland Aydin Breland 6'5" | 290 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is a top interior defensive lineman and will play with Kaho Tuihalamaka Kaho Tuihalamaka 6'4" | 325 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA and Zeus Venegas Zeus Venegas 6'3" | 260 lbs | DL Mater Dei | 2024 State CA . Jeilani Davis Jeilani Davis 6'1" | 190 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA is committed to Utah and the secondary is loaded with talent, led by Zabien Brown Zabien Brown 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA , Chuck McDonald III Chuck McDonald III 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA and Daryus Dixson Daryus Dixson 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA among others.
The Monarchs are playing teams from California, Utah, Georgia, Hawaii and Maryland before playing a tough Trinity League schedule. Here is a breakdown of Mater Dei’s opponents for the 2023 season.
8/18 CENTENNIAL, CA
Centennial may be the best public school team in California and played Mater Dei very close in the Division 1 playoffs two years ago. The Huskies have one of the top class of 2025 quarterbacks in Husan Longstreet Husan Longstreet 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Centennial | 2025 State CA . His top targets will be Cory Butler Cory Butler 5'9" | 170 lbs | WR Centennial | 2025 State CA and Rancho Cucamonga transfer Jason Harris Jason Harris 5'9" | 160 lbs | WR Centennial | 2024 State CA and the returning running back is Cornell Hatcher Cornell Hatcher 6'0" | 195 lbs | RB Centennial | 2024 State CA . The offensive line is led by brothers Wade Helton Wade Helton 6'5" | 280 lbs | OL Centennial | 2024 State CA , Brent Helton Brent Helton 6'5" | 305 lbs | OL Centennial | 2024 State CA and rising junior Drew Hill Drew Hill 6'4" | 265 lbs | OL Centennial | 2025 State CA . The secondary has good prospects in LaRue Zamorano LaRue Zamorano 6'2" | 170 lbs | DB Centennial | 2025 State CA and Tayten Beyer Tayten Beyer 5'11" | 175 lbs | DB Corona Centennial | 2024 State CA . Centennial is the only Southern California team who is willingly playing Mater Dei in a nonleague game and is one of the few local programs that doesn’t fear the Monarchs.
8/26 AT BINGHAM, UTAH
Mater Dei played West Salt Lake City last season but will travel to Utah this year to play Bingham. The big playmaker for Bingham is Carson Sudbury who led the team in rushing and receiving yards last year and had 19 touchdowns. He has an offer from Carroll College. Tyson McBride is expected to lead the defense and Jaice Tupea is a talented junior defensive lineman.
9/2 CREEKSIDE, GA
Creekside is a high-level team in Georgia. Offensive lineman Caleb Holmes has offers from a lot of the major schools including LSU and Tennessee. Defensive back Ricky McCrary has offers from Middle Tennessee State and Alabama State among others. Class of 2025 receiver Dylan Vickerson has an offer from Tennessee as well.
9/9 KAHUKU, HAWAII
Kahuku played Mater Dei rival St. John Bosco last season and lost 34-7 in Bellflower. Kahuku has a strong fan base and strong tradition that will travel to see them play. Aiden Manutai returns at receiver for Kahuku and had a touchdown catch against Bosco last season.
9/22 AT ST. FRANCES ACADEMY, MD
Mater Dei played St. Frances a few years ago and won with a four touchdown game from Bryce Young. This time, Mater Dei will head east to play a loaded St. Frances team. Quarterback Michael Van Buren Michael Van Buren 5'11" | 180 lbs | QB St. Frances | 2024 State MD is an Oregon commit and running back Dejuan Williams Dejuan Williams 5'9" | 195 lbs | RB St. Frances | 2024 State MD has a final eight that includes Maryland, Oregon and Stanford. Defensive back Ify Obidegwu Ify Obidegwu 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB St. Frances | 2024 State MD is also headed to Oregon. Safety Edrees Farooq Edrees Farooq 5'11" | 180 lbs | DB St. Frances | 2024 State MD is headed to Tennessee and offensive lineman Logan Bennett Logan Bennett 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL St. Frances | 2024 State MD is going to Michigan State. St. Frances is the most talented team on Mater Dei’s nonleague schedule and is the biggest threat to Mater Dei besides St. John Bosco.
9/29 SERVITE
Servite was the last place team in the Trinity League last season but was very young and overmatched. Those Servite players are a year older now and under a new coaching staff. Quarterback Leo Hannan Leo Hannan 6'3" | 200 lbs | QB Servite | 2025 State CA has recently gotten offers from San Jose State and San Diego State. Ethan Naudin Ethan Naudin 6'1" | 185 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2025 State CA is a promising receiver who is doing well on the camp circuit. Quaid Carr Quaid Carr 6'0" | 180 lbs | RB Servite | 2025 State CA had a nice year at running back last season. Servite has a strong sophomore class, but the Friars may be a year away from moving up the Trinity League ladder.
10/6 JSERRA
JSerra played a close game against Mater Dei in the regular season but was knocked out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals by the Monarchs. The Lions have a new quarterback in Michael Tollefson Michael Tollefson 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Tustin | 2025 State CA from San Juan Hills. JSerra has three quality running backs in George Perez George Perez 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Jserra | 2025 State CA , Kamar Garbourel and Sean Morris Sean Morris 5'10" | 175 lbs | RB Loyola | 2026 State CA . Jake Flores Jake Flores 6'6" | 275 lbs | OL JSerra | 2025 State CA leads the offensive line for the Lions and edge rusher Luke Webb Luke Webb 6'2" | 225 lbs | DL JSerra | 2025 State WA earned First Team All-Trinity League honors as a sophomore last season. The Lions also added one of the top defensive players in the state in Madden Faraimo Madden Faraimo 6'3" | 210 lbs | LB JSerra | 2025 State CA . JSerra also has a new coaching staff and is a contender to get third place in the league.
10/13 AT ST. JOHN BOSCO
Mater Dei beat Bosco in the regular season in 2022 but the Braves beat Mater Dei in the championship game at the Rose Bowl. Bosco is loaded with talent, particularly on defense. The three best defensive players in the state are on Bosco: Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA , Peyton Woodyard Peyton Woodyard 6'2" | 195 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA and Marcelles Williams Marcelles Williams 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA . Khmori House Khmori House 6'2" | 205 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA is a fast rising linebacker and Jordan Lockhart Jordan Lockhart 6'3" | 220 lbs | ATH St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA is very good as well. Tamal Johnson Tamal Johnson 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA and Frankie Edwards III Frankie Edwards III 5'11" | 175 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA round out the secondary. I expect Caleb Sanchez Caleb Sanchez 6'4" | 225 lbs | QB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA to start at quarterback with Cameron Jones Cameron Jones 6'2" | 220 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA , Chauncey Sylvester Chauncey Sylvester 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA , Khalil Warren Khalil Warren 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA and Jeremy Lenore in the backfield. Madden Williams Madden Williams 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR St John Bosco | 2026 State CA is a receiver I am high on along with Daniel Odom Daniel Odom 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2026 State CA and Hayden Eligon Hayden Eligon 6'4" | 190 lbs | WR Los Alamitos | 2024 State CA . The offensive line lost some guys but King Large King Large 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA is a top prospect. Maddux Sorenson Maddux Sorenson 6'3" | 270 lbs | OL St. John Bosco | 2026 State CA and Matthew George Perdue Matthew George Perdue 6'2" | 280 lbs | OL St. John Bosco | 2025 State CA are other lineman I am high on. Once again, it’s a race between Mater Dei and Bosco for the CIF championship.
10/20 AT ORANGE LUTHERAN
Orange Lutheran is returning a ton of starters, particularly on both sides of the line. The offensive line has top prospect Samuelu Utu Samuelu Utu 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA and also has promising young guys Dustin Foisia Dustin Foisia 6'0" | 310 lbs | OL Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA and Arion Williams Arion Williams 6'3" | 270 lbs | OL Orange Lutheran | 2025 State CA . On the defensive line, Auma Jennings Auma Jennings 6'0" | 285 lbs | DL Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA and Jireh Moe Jireh Moe 6'1" | 290 lbs | DL Orange Lutheran | 2025 State CA are back as great pass rushers. TJ Lateef TJ Lateef 6'2" | 185 lbs | QB Orange Lutheran | 2025 State CA is back at quarterback and Alex Medyn Alex Medyn 6'0" | 200 lbs | QB Chino Hills | 2026 State CA is a young quarterback also getting offers. Tyler Hennessy Tyler Hennessy 5'11" | 170 lbs | WR Orange Lutheran | 2025 State CA is back at receiver along with AJ Ia AJ Ia 6'6" | 225 lbs | TE Orange Lutheran | 2025 State CA . Talanoa Ili Talanoa Ili 6'4" | 215 lbs | LB Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA led the team in tackles last season and is back for the Lancers. Jojo Edwards Jojo Edwards 6'0" | 205 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2025 State CA is back at linebacker and Wallace Filemu is back too.
10/27 SANTA MARGARITA
Santa Margarita lost a lot of talent from last year’s team due to graduation and transfers. The Eagles do have some high-level players returning though like receiver Emmett Mosley Emmett Mosley 6'1" | 180 lbs | ATH Santa Margarita Catholic | 2024 State CA , who led the Trinity League in receiving last year. Gage Burnett Gage Burnett 6'1" | 230 lbs | LB Santa Margarita Catholic | 2024 State CA is a quality edge rusher along with Levar Talley Levar Talley 6'3" | 215 lbs | LB Santa Margarita Catholic | 2024 State CA . Skylar Lendsey Skylar Lendsey 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB Santa Margarita | 2026 State CA will be the primary running back for the Eagles.