MISSION VIEJO, Calif. — The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders held the ball for less than four minutes in the first half of Friday night’s CIF Division 2-AA Championship Game, and they ran just 13 plays in the first two quarters.
It was all they needed.
The first of three San Diego Section representatives to play in the five championship games held at Saddleback College, the Crusaders never saw a third down during a first half in which they gave a new meaning to offensive efficiency, paving the way to a 34-25 win over Central Catholic for the second state championship in school history.
“We have the best athletes in San Diego,” Mater Dei Catholic quarterback Dominic Nankil said.
Nankil showed tremendous touch as he completed 13 of 22 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown, a 33-yard dart along the hash marks to Surahz Buncorn, but he didn’t need to be so precise. With such talented receivers at his disposal, he could have flung the ball in any direction, and they still would have made the catch.
“We take advantage of that,” Nankil said. “We throw a lot of deep balls, throw a lot of screens and get our guys in the open field.”
Though Nankil was only credited with one passing touchdown, he impacted all three offensive scoring drives in the first half. His 64-yard pass to Cruz Estrada on the first play from scrimmage led to a Nico Mosley 4-yard touchdown run, and after Central Catholic (13-2) answered on a 6-yard touchdown run by Aiden “Ponyboy” Taylor, Nankil’s passes of 15 and 31 yards to Jerry McClure set up a second Mosley touchdown, this time from 18 yards out.
On a night where the offense stole the show for Mater Dei Catholic (13-0), the defense had its moments as well. With the Raiders facing fourth-and-18, sophomore Isaiah Buxton intercepted a deep heave and took it 88 yards the other way, giving the Crusaders a 20-7 advantage before the end of the first quarter.
“I’m telling you now, that kid is an absolute star,” Mater Dei Catholic head coach John Joyner said of Buxton. “He’s a typical Navy kid, ‘yes, sir,’ ‘no, sir.’ He does everything the right way. He’s such a quiet, humble kid, he wouldn’t talk to me for the first two months, but I finally broke him down.”
As quiet as Buxton may typically be, he gave his sideline plenty of reasons to rejoice. Though the Raiders closed to within one score on Taylor’s 71-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the third quarter, Mosley’s third touchdown run, a 2-yard scamper with 1:18 left in the third quarter, restored a two-touchdown lead. Central Catholic only ran two offensive plays within one score in the second half, getting a break when Trace Hernandez blocked a 22-yard field goal try, only to give possession back on a Brian Dukes Jr. interception.
One common refrain heard during the Mater Dei Catholic celebrations were calls of “cupcakes.” The Crusaders cheerleaders and fans weren’t talking about dessert; rather, they had embraced the term after Helix’s coach mocked their schedule and placement in Division III of the San Diego Section. A 24-21 victory over the Highlanders in the Southern California 2-AA title game only gave the team more fuel, and the term will forever be associated with the 2021 squad. Perhaps it’ll even be engraved on their championship rings.
Taylor’s 71-yard touchdown, which served as one of the Raiders’ four fourth-down conversions, was his final carry of the night. He was poked in the eye and never returned, finishing his impressive senior season with 38 touchdowns and 2,128 yards.
“These kids ran the gauntlet,” Central Catholic head coach Roger Canepa said of Taylor and the rest of the senior class. “We played in April, came back and played 15 games. We wouldn’t be here without our seniors.”
Taylor ran 18 times for 192 yards on Friday, while Lopez ran 23 times for 108 yards, including a 7-yard score to cut the lead to 9 with 5:31 left. The ensuing 2-point try was stopped, and though a Jaelen Nichols interception gave Central Catholic a brief glimmer of hope, the Raiders turned it over on downs to conclude the game.
For the Raiders to even have a chance looked unlikely after the first quarter, and it looked even less likely after Nankil’s 33-yard strike to Buncorn to open up a 27-7 lead. Central Catholic grounded and pounded to the end zone with 48 seconds left in the first half, converting a pair of third downs before scoring on Lopez’s 1-yard run.
In all, CC outgained the Crusaders 342-67 on the ground, but Mater Dei Catholic held a 297-40 advantage through the air and scored the game’s lone defensive touchdown. McClure (5 catches, 103 yards), Buncorn (3 catches, 55 yards) and Herrera (2 catches, 109 yards) all had more receiving yards than Cathedral Catholic’s entire team, but Herrera was deprived of a 45-yard touchdown when Nolan Croasdale punched the ball out from his grasp just before the goal line. The ensuing fumble rolled through the end zone for a touchback, but the Crusaders were gifted good field position shortly thereafter following a bad snap on a punt, setting up Nankil’s touchdown to Buncorn.
As excited as the Crusaders were during the postgame celebrations on Friday night, their work isn’t done. With an extremely junior-heavy roster, their sights are set even higher next year.
“They can enjoy this and live on it, or they can get back in the weight room and try to play in 1-AA or another division,” Joyner said. “Enjoy it for as long as you can, but you better get back to work if you want to do this twice.”
