Defense Good as Advertised; Dana Hills Shocks Mater Dei

DANA POINT —  Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson warned his team about Dana Hills’ stubborn defense, but it didn’t do any good.

Hitting hard and coming up with one big play after another, the Dolphins defeated Mater Dei, 13-12, Friday night for their first league victory of the season.

“I tried to tell our guys all week,” said Rollinson, whose team turned the ball over five times. “I watched them dominate Capo Valley (in a 16-6 Dana Hills loss).

“We’ve been dodging bullets all year and we just ran out of luck.”

Dana Hills (3-4, 1-2) made a lot of its own luck, intercepting three passes by Mater Dei quarterback Derrek Uhl. Uhl finished six for 15 for 102 yards and no touchdowns.

Mater Dei (6-1-1, 2-1 and ranked No. 6 in Orange County) took a 6-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Brian Hall, who finished as the game’s leading rusher with 98 yards in 12 carries.

A 23-yard interception return by Dolphin linebacker Robert Meeker helped Dana Hills take a 7-6 lead, but Hall put Mater Dei back on top with a 79-yard touchdown run before halftime.

With Dana Hills trailing, 12-7, late in the third quarter, tailback Mark Reynosa fielded a punt at the Monarch 30 and returned it to the 19. Three plays later, Dolphin quarterback Scott Covington hooked up with Brendon Rickabus for an 18-yard touchdown pass. Covington finished nine for 19 for 105 yards.

In the fourth quarter, the Dolphin defense stood tall on three consecutive Monarch possessions. But Mater Dei got one last chance after tackling Meeker in punt formation after the ball had been snapped over its head.

A 15-yard penalty for celebrating moved the ball back to the Dolphin 29. Two players later, with 1:26 to play, running back Nickey Sualua fumbled, and Jason Smith recovered for Dana Hills.

The Dolphins ran out the clock to preserve the victory and then began the celebration.

For Dana Hills Coach Don Douglass, it wasn’t the easiest way to win.

“For an old guy and his heart, that’s right,” he said.

But Meeker said the defense never doubted itself, even with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.

“We knew if we could play up to our potential, we could stop anyone,” he said.