LJ FB 28, Mater Dei 30

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla High nearly pulled off an upset of Mater Dei, a perennial South Bay football power, on Mater Dei's Homecoming before narrowly falling to the Crusaders, 30-28, Fri., Sept. 22.

The visiting Vikings, coming into the week five contest with a 1-3 record, led briefly, 14-13, in the second quarter before trailing by a touchdown at halftime, 20-14.

After getting over early-game jitters, La Jolla's offense settled in to score two touchdowns in the second quarter behind Greg Nelson II's legs and Trevor Scully's arm.

After Mater Dei scored two unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter behind super-size quarterback Cameron Smith, at 6'4", 215 pounds bigger than almost every player on the visiting team, Scully generalled an 88-yard drive encompassing 18 plays that lasted eight minutes.

Nelson, the sophomore running back, showed good stuff while carrying six times before Scully went over from one yard out with 5:36 left in the second quarter. Greg had runs of eight and six yards against a big defensive line that dwarfed his 5'7" frame.

The Vikings got the ball back less than two minutes later after a horrible Mater Dei punt of eight yards. This time, given a short field at the Crusader 30, La Jolla's big strike was Scully's completion in the middle to Gabe Solis and Solis' fine run for a 29-yard scoring play. The visitors briefly led, 14-13, after Nick Goehler's point-after kick with less than four minutes left in the half.

Mater Dei, anxious to impress a big Homecoming crowd, followed in hurry-up mode to retake the lead, 20-14. Smith, showing good agility for a big man, had two keepers. Junior Simeon Speight had a catch, then a 10-yard run for the TD with 1:38 remaining to set the stage for the Homecoming court to be introduced at halftime.