OC Sidelines JSerra vs. Mater Dei

Football: JSerra 35, Mater Dei 28

• By Carlos Arias
• Updated: 10/31/2015

JSerra coach Jim Hartigan (center) celebrates his team’s 35-28 upset of Mater Dei with his staff. Photo/Craig Takata.

JSerra, ranked No. 10 in the OC Sidelines Top 20, gave second-ranked Mater Dei a big dose of the O’Brien brothers on Friday. The Lions were ended a three-game Trinity League losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive with a 35-28 upset of the Monarchs at Saddleback College.

Mater Dei came into the game ranked No. 6 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.,

JSerra is in victory formation and QB Matthew Robinson takes a knee to seal the Lions’ 35-28 win over Mater Dei. Photo/Craig Takata.

With the game deadlocked, 21-21, with 5 minutes left, Riley O’Brien blocked a punt in the end zone and Conor O’Brien recovered it for a TD to give the host Lions the lead. Riley O’Brien added a TD pass to Avery Williams with 2:30 left and JSerra held on to upset Mater Dei.

“We designed the punt pressure to attack the left side and Conor, my brother, actually, clamped one of the blockers to get me a free release,” Riley O’Brien said. “I saw the punter had not yet kicked it and I knew that I needed to make a play. I went for it, dove out and made the block.”

The accomplishment wasn’t lost on O’Brien, whose team faces No. 4 Orange Lutheran next week.

“This is huge for our team because it boosts our confidence for next week and increases our chance for playoffs,” he said. “Mater Dei is a very good team, so a win against them is always a huge deal.”

Mater Dei (2-2 in league) fell into a second-place tie with OLu and Servite. JSerra (1-3) pulled into a fifth-place tie with Santa Margarita for what might be the last at-large berth for the Pac-5 playoffs.

JSERRA vs. MATER DEI VICTORY LIONS!!!!

JSerra shocks No. 1 Mater Dei with fourth-quarter rally

October 31, 2015 1:10 AM

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By JOHN SCAFETTA

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MISSION VIEJO – The general consensus diagnosed JSerra’s playoff hopes as dead and gone.

But the boisterous bunch of Lions proved they still have plenty of life left Friday night, even when it meant going toe-to-toe with Orange County’s finest.

Ninth-ranked JSerra mounted an epic fourth-quarter turnaround to upset top-ranked Mater Dei, 35-28, in a Trinity League showdown at Saddleback College.

“It feels amazing,” Lions running back Avery Williams said. “We’ve had two fourth-quarter losses in the Trinity League, it just feels great to push one out and finish. Our season was on the line, and everybody stepped up today.”

The victory gives JSerra’s playoff hopes new life. The Lions defeated Mater Dei, 17-10, last season – the only other time JSerra had defeated the Monarchs. Mater Dei’s only other loss this season was to St. John Bosco, 42-21, on Oct. 16.

Williams accumulated 128 total yards (56 rushing, 72 receiving) and three touchdowns for the Lions (6-3, 1-3). His biggest score came with 2:30 remaining when quarterback Riley O'Brien connected with the shifty running back on a wheel route down the left sideline on third-and-9.

Williams ran untouched into the end zone to give JSerra a 35-21 lead.

But Mater Dei (7-2, 2-2) wouldn’t give up. Eight plays later, freshman quarterback JT Daniels connected with Andre Collinson a long, arching pass for a 22-yard score, cutting the deficit to seven.

On the ensuing onside-kick attempt, it appeared Mater Dei had recovered inside JSerra territory. However, the officials ruled that a Monarchs special teams player had touched the ball at the Mater Dei 49, negating the recovery.

“He said that we touched the ball on the 49-yard line, which we have nine million iPads on the sideline (showing) the ball was past the 10-yard mark,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said.

“But that’s not what the game came down to. I take full blame for this, and I give JSerra all the credit.”

Mater Dei led 14-7 at the half on the heels of Faavae Faavae’s 32-yard interception return for a touchdown on JSerra’s opening drive.

But the offense had trouble moving the ball most of the night. Daniels was sacked five times, and JSerra’s swarming defense held the Monarchs to just 65 total yards in the first two quarters.

JSerra tied the game at 14 when Williams’ 1-yard scoring run capped a nearly eight minute third-quarter drive. However, the Monarchs quickly answered with Brandon LaMarche’s 2-yard TD run with 10:42 left.

The Lions then went on to score 21 unanswered points, highlighted by Riley O’Brien’s blocked punt in the endzone, which was recovered for a touchdown by his brother Conor O’ Brien with 4:34 left. The recovery gave the Lions their first lead at 28-21.

JSerra will play Orange Lutheran next week in the season finale.

 BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!!

 We LOVE NICK HARRIS!!!  GREAT GAME NICK!!!

Thank you Papa and Grandma for always coming to the games!!  We love you!

Riley O'Brien JSerra photos

Riley tosses to Brother Conor!

JSerra vs. Servite 2015

Simpson, Servite make statement vs. JSerra

October 09, 2015 11:19 PM

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BY DAN ALBANO

STAFF WRITER

NORWALK – Don’t count out Servite in the Trinity League.

The ninth-ranked Friars proved that to themselves and the Pac-5 Division league Friday by rallying in the final seconds to stun No. 5 JSerra, 39-38, on the heroics of backup quarterback Aaron Simpson at Cerritos College.

The senior scrambled for a 22-yard touchdown run with six seconds left in the fourth quarter and tossed the winning 2-point conversion coming out of a timeout to tight end Ryan Melvin. Simpson dove into the end zone on his score.

Servite, picked to finish last in the Trinity, bounced a short kickoff that JSerra (5-1, 0-1) recovered at its 41 with no timeouts. On the final play, Servite’s Daniel Garcia tripped a scrambling quarterback Matthew Robinson for the sack to seal a league-opening victory for Servite (3-3, 1-0).

“We’re going to fight every week, 48 minutes,” said first-year Servite coach Scott Meyer, who won his Trinity League debut. “Our guys have a ton of heart. … We played a heck of a (nonleague) schedule (to prepare).”

Meyer said the Friars decided to go for the victory to ride the momentum of Simpson, who came on in the first half in relief ofTyler Lytle (hamstring). Simpson threw two touchdown passes toMichael Bandy and on the winning possession, drove the Friars from their 20 with 35 seconds left.

“It’s great celebrating with these guys,” Simpson said. “(We) loved (the decision to go for the win).”

Added Meyer, “We came here to win. We had a lot of momentum.”

JSerra took a 38-31 lead with 35 seconds left on a 16-yard touchdown pass on a screen from Riley O’Briento Avery Williams, who finished with three touchdowns.

But Servite responded and took the lead for the first time on its final drive. The Lions also led, 31-21, afterConor O’Brien, Riley’s older brother, returned a fumble 1-yard for a touchdown with 3:49 left in the third quarter.

“Disappointing that we didn’t finish,” said JSerra coach Jim Hartigan, whose school had defeated Servite the past two seasons. “We basically let the game get away from us by not executing coverage. Hats off to them. They did a nice job of staying in the game, fighting us.”

Williams rushed for 138 yards in 29 carries and also had four catches for 91 yards.

Simpson passed for 215 yards while Bandy and Terrell Bynum paced the receivers. Outside linebackerConnor Airey led Servite’s defense.

Servite turned a fumble just before halftime into a 2-yard touchdown run by Jackson Taylor and a 21-21 tie with 25 seconds left in the second quarter. Taylor’s run came three plays after a fumble recovery by Airey at the JSerra 15.

The Friars’ defense also received an interception from Jarrett Wesner at his 2 late in the first quarter ,but they couldn’t turn the turnover into points.

JSerra took a 21-14 lead on a spectacular 56-yard catch and run by Williams with 1:57 left in the opening half. The senior took a short out pass from Riley O’Brien near the sideline, made two tacklers miss in the secondary before breaking tackles near the 10 and diving into the end zone.

One of Servite’s top plays in the first half came after Lytle injured his hamstring in open field on a breakaway 39-yard run. On the next play, Simpson used a play-action fake to toss a 25-yard touchdown to Bandy.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com