LJ FB 28, Mater Dei Catholic 14 - D3 Quarterfinals

Max Smith (center), surrounded by teammates,
is interviewed on PPR after scoring 3 TD's
and making 7 tackles, including a sack
of Mater Dei QB Raymond Romero.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

An observer remarked before La Jolla's playoff game against Mater Dei Catholic Nov. 15 that Jackson Stratton's play would be a key for the Vikings.

As it turned out, the sophomore quarterback threw no interceptions and did enough against the pressure of the Crusaders' big defensive line to play his part in La Jolla's 28-14 win in the Division 3 quarterfinals before a delighted home crowd.

With the La Jolla defense asserting itself with Mater Dei back Aiden Calvert still pounding his way to repeated ground gains, the Crusaders took a 7-0 first quarter lead. Calvert had a three-yard plunge for a touchdown just before the period ended.

Then, behind playmakers Max Smith, Diego Solis, and Makai Smith, the Vikings scored 28 unanswered points for a 28-7 advantage with two minutes left in the contest.

Jubilant La Jolla football fans, who have suffered through years of irrelevance, celebrated the surprising win by joining in singing the Alma Mater with team members and looking ahead to next week's home semifinal match against Brawley. That pairing resulted from Brawley's upset of second-seed Hilltop.

As Smith was interviewed on PPR, surrounded by boisterous teammates, it became more evident to Viking observers how special a season this is, and the linebacker/running back's central role in it.

As Max and partner-in-crime Jack Wiese once again applied bone-crushing hits, their trademark this season, on the other side of the ball Max Smith ran in for a nine-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter to come within 7-6. Devin Bale's kick, only his second miss of the season, pulled left and could have been a damaging miscue in the final result.

Max Smith again punched the noticeably bigger Mater Dei defense for a six-yard TD run later in the third period. This time Bale made good on the PAT. 13-7, La Jolla with its first lead.

Stratton, staying within himself, found Max Smith on the right for a seven-yard TD aerial with 5:57 left in the final stanza. This was almost too good to be true for Viking fans against a talented opposition from the private (read: scholarship) faith-based South Bay school. Max then ran in the conversion for two points to ensure Bale's earlier miss wouldn't matter, a 21-7 advantage.


Makai Smith, though he didn't score, had some sparkling runs from scrimmage, as well as receptions from Stratton and a kickoff return.

Solis, coming off a vindicating win over nemesis Christian to secure the sole Eastern League title two weeks before, ran down the left sideline 46 yards for a TD romp with 2:08 remaining. He gesticulated to a photographer positioned in the end zone, then Bale deposited the PAT, 28-7.

Calvert, ever scary, took the ensuing onside kick all the way for an answering TD. But, with the 28-14 lead, Coach Tyler Roach kept the ball in the Smiths' hands to run out the clock, Max twice, then Makai, to nail down the win.