De La Salle vs. Mater Dei: Top Offensive Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>De La Salle and Mater Dei played for the Open Division state championship last Saturday at Saddleback College.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mater Dei won its second consecutive state championship by beating De La Salle 37-15.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>De La Salle was the first Northern California team to score in the Open Division title game since 2021. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was in attendance for this game and here are the offensive performers who stood out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MATER DEI</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["270900"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67668bf4c712b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Beierly threw for 355 yards with three touchdowns and the funny thing is he could have had an even bigger game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His accuracy was on point Saturday and he set his receivers up nicely to make plays after the catch. Mater Dei's pass protection was very good but Beierly escaped the pocket when he needed to and showed his improvisation skills. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Honored to play a small part in the big history of <a href="https://twitter.com/MDFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MDFootball</a> |/🏆 <a href="https://t.co/aFqXLWWUot">https://t.co/aFqXLWWUot</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='270900' first='Dash' last='Beierly'] (@DashBeierly) <a href="https://twitter.com/DashBeierly/status/1869229055327043604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["282698"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67668bf4c7181"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Davison ran for 107 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns and did so while not having any huge plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He runs very hard through the middle and can turn five yard runs into eight yard runs with his power. Davison suffered an injury in the first half and Mater Dei was careful with him after, but whenever Mater Dei needed a late-down conversion, Davison was the guy to turn to. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yep, [player_tooltip player_id='282698' first='Jordon' last='Davison'] appears to be good after he got dinged up earlier in the game. Davison goes in for a 10-rushing touchdown to extend Mater Dei's lead.<br><br>Monarchs 30, De La Salle 15<br><br>8:19 left to play. <a href="https://t.co/lFNo2vt7Tn">pic.twitter.com/lFNo2vt7Tn</a></p>&mdash; Teran Rodriguez (@TeranRodriguez1) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeranRodriguez1/status/1868179382252298541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["282711"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67668bf4c71c8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Harris led Mater Dei in reception and yards in the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He is a versatile receiver with a large catch radius who can make plays on the outside and in the middle of the field. Mater Dei went to him on multiple third downs and he delivered. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MARCUS HARRIS<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oklahoma?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oklahoma</a> commit lays out for a crazy TD catch and Mater Dei extends its lead to 31-21 | 6:15 4Q <a href="https://t.co/4gwoNz63m0">pic.twitter.com/4gwoNz63m0</a></p>&mdash; Max Torres (@mtorressports) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtorressports/status/1862732394148897149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["403058"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67668bf4c720d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Mater Dei's offensive line played well as a unit, but Mailangi played the best in the plays I watched the line closely. His pass protection is excellent and he was the lineman most consistently getting a push in the run game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>DE LA SALLE</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["406693"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67668bf4c724f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Faavae had two touchdown runs and one was a beautiful 41-yard touchdown on an off-tackle run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He reads defenses very well in the running game is very fast once he gets past the second level. Faavae was a non factor in the passing game but without his legs, De La Salle likely doesn't score against Mater Dei. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No. 21 De La Salle (CA) won't back down 😤🔥<br><br>QB [player_tooltip player_id='406693' first='Toa' last='Faavae'] with the 41-yard TD run. Spartans trail 23-15 to No. 1 Mater Dei.<br><br>Follow along ⬇️<a href="https://t.co/JcG5VaBNKm">https://t.co/JcG5VaBNKm</a><br><br> <a href="https://t.co/4662aQQkAN">pic.twitter.com/4662aQQkAN</a></p>&mdash; MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxPreps/status/1868176854068175162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Lukas Platzbecker","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"180","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2405","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"De La Salle","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67668bf4c72f9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Platzbecker is 180 pounds soaking wet and was physically overmatched against Mater Dei's big interior defensive linemen. But Platzbecker was the most effective of De La Salle's offensive linemen and did a good job holding his ground. On plays where he had to get to the second level, he took good angles and had his head between the defender and the ball carrier.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->