PREP FOOTBALL : Angelus League : St. Paul Gives Mater Dei History Lesson

St. Paul High School Coach Rick Ready decided that his team needed an emotional lift before Saturday’s Angelus League game against Mater Dei.

Ready had his players wear old, tattered jerseys and returned a sword decal to the St. Paul helmets, emulating the look of the 1981 Swordsmen, the last St. Paul team to beat Mater Dei.

The ploy seemed to work as Jayson Pantages returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and the Swordsmen never looked back, defeating Mater Dei, 27-6, in Santa Ana Stadium.

“I didn’t know much about tradition,” said Ready, a second-year coach. “I wanted to do this for our league games and it got the kids excited.

“There’s three games (Mater Dei, Servite and Bishop Amat) we want to win this year that we didn’t last season. And this was the first.”

Mater Dei (1-1, 4-3) was held to minus 13 yards rushing, with leading rusher Matt Spence gaining only nine yards in four carries.

And the Monarchs appeared confused by St. Paul’s combination of quick passes and trap plays.

St. Paul (2-0, 4-3) held the ball for more than 10 minutes in the second quarter and allowed Mater Dei only three possessions in the first half.

The Swordsmen increased the first-quarter lead to 14-0 as quarterback Jeff Willis scored on a one-yard run. Willis ran for a two-point conversion.

With nine seconds remaining in the half, Willis’ 10-yard pass to Mondo Costello made it 21-0.

The Monarchs finally scored with 6:16 left in the third quarter on a five-yard run by Spence. Willis ended the scoring with a three-yard run.

“We were overmatched early in the season,” Ready said. “But all along we’ve wanted to save ourselves for league.”

ST. PAUL 27, MATER DEI 6 SP--Pantages 86 kick return (kick failed)

SP--Willis 1 run (Willis run)

SP--Costello 10 pass from Willis (Granda kick)

MD--Spence 5 run (kick failed)

SP--Willis 3 run (kick failed)

Attendance--3,000