Football: JSerra 35, Mater Dei 28
- 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.
