This kind of matchup is one that we dream of for the finals - and we get it in the first round. That just goes to show the strength of the Pac-5 division.
Everybody who knows anything about high school football will be jumping up and down at a game like this. Not only do both of these schools have histories of great football, but they have a history of playing each other.
The History
The rich playoff history between the Poly Jackrabbits and the Mater Dei Monarchs started in 1997, when the schools faced off in the title game. Poly won that game 28-25.
The next year, however, the schools met again in the title game, and Mater Dei took home the trophy, 33-26. You can see the rivalry building here.It was in 1999 that you could consider the rivalry "built." Meeting for the Pac-5 title game for the third consecutive year, the Jackrabbits and Monarchs...tied. Yes, they tied 21-21 and exposed one of the stupidest rules ever written.
Poly took the title from Los Alamitos in 2004 with arguably one of the best high school football teams ever assembled, but did not meet Mater Dei on the way there.
2005 lived without excitement as both schools had relatively early exits from the playoffs. Now we get to the part that I was actually there for.In 2006, Poly played Mater Dei for the first time in 3 years - in the first round. After all of the years of Jackrabbit-Monarch finals/semifinals matchups, here were two storied programs facing each other in the first round.
Poly took home the victory in a 10-0 thriller that was nearly hidden from the fans by a massive amount of fog. A Poly defense that included USC star Jurrell Casey, former Jets cornerback Donovan Warren, and Oregon DE Kenny Rowe was able to shutout a freshman quarterback by the name of Matt Barkley, who would go on to win the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2009 and currently starts at USC.
So, as you can see, Friday's matchup will be more than just a first-round playoff game.
The Now
Mater Dei and Poly will be meeting for the first time since 2006, a four-year break that is the longest between the since 1997.
Both schools are coming off of rare rebuilding years and are not completely revived from disappointing 2009 seasons. That does not mean, however, that the game (which will be played at Veteran's Stadium of Long Beach at 7:00pm) will be a disappointment as well.
These are the top recruits for each school, according to Rivals.com:
Mater Dei
QB Max Wittek, 4 stars, USC
WR Victor Blackwell, 4 stars, USC
Poly
LB/DE Corey Waller, 3 stars, considering USC, Oregon State, Boise State, Washington
DB Kameron Jackson, 3 stars, Washington
DB Ryan Goforth, 2 stars, Nevada
TE Earnest Pettway III, 2 stars, considering California, Oregon State, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Washington
The Prediction
While Mater Dei is coming off of a tough Trinity League schedule, the Jackrabbits haven't faced a legitimate test since beating Lakewood in early October.
Poly's non-league results may be more telling, however, as porous defense gave up 32 and 37 points to St. Bonaventure and Mission Viejo, respectively, in blowout losses to both schools. Poly did show massive improvement, however, in a strong victory over Lakewood as looked impressive as usual blowing out helpless Moore League opponents.
Mater Dei played a tough non-league schedule as well, losing by 4 to Carson and getting blown out by powerhouse Centennial Corona. In league games, they had tough losses to Servite and last week to Santa Margarita, coming very close to running the table in a competitive Trinity League.
Friday night, however, a revitalized Poly defense will bend but not break against the 4-star QB-WR duo of Mater Dei. A strong running game will open up Poly's newly invented passing attack, led by much improved QB Chaise Hayles and WR Richard Smith.
Final score: Poly 28, Mater Dei 24
Jason,
ReplyDeleteJust a fantastic article. Your perspective on the history is impressive and accurate. As for your prediction? We'll see who shows up Friday night.
Chris Stevens