Mater Dei Falls Short in State Final

PISCATAWAY – It’s not easy to win a state championship and no one knows that better than Mater Dei Prep. For the third straight year the Seraphs made it to the final game of the season only to fall short. Last year, Mater Dei outgained Red Bank Catholic but fell short 14-10 at MetLife Stadium. At Rutgers on Saturday night, Mater Dei outgained DePaul Catholic 400-392 and stormed back from a 20-6 halftime deficit but a couple of critical plays resulted in a 27-25 win for the Spartans who won their fifth state title this decade.

When DePaul Catholic took a 13-6 lead on a 50- yard TD pass from junior Andrew Butler to Tedy Afful, the Seraphs responded with a drive fueled by running back Malik Ingram to threaten deep in Spartans territory. On a fourth and goal from the 4-yard line, Richie Pekmezian booted a field goal that would have made it a 13-9 game. DePaul Catholic was called for offsides and with the ball moved forward 2 yards on the penalty, the Seraphs elected to take the points off the board and turn to Ingram to tie the game. The DePaul defense was able to make the stop and then on the final play of the first half, Butler was able to score from 1-yard out to give DePaul Catholic a commanding 20-6 lead.

The Seraphs stormed back in the second half starting with a Clarence Lewis 48-yard TD catch over a double team. But the Seraphs missed the extra point changing the deficit from seven points to eight. Following Butler’s third TD pass of the game, once again Mater Dei didn’t back down. Ingram closed out the third quarter with a 4-yard TD run to make it 27-19 The senior running back ran for 104 yards on 24 carries in his final high school game.

Alex Brown left the game to an injury after his TD pass to Lewis. Isaiah Noguera stepped in and gave a new dimension to the Seraphs offense, running for 103 yards on just eight carries. Dominick Guidice had a dominant three-sack game on defense and everything was pointing to a Mater Dei comeback. Naran Buntin took a jet sweep around the right side 50 yards for a Mater Dei touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Down 27-25, the Seraphs went for 2 to tie the game but Noguera fell a yard short from drawing even after he faked a hand-off to Ingram.

In the end, it was those precious few yards that ultimately kept Mater Dei from winning it all: Ingram in the second quarter, Butler to close out the half and Noguera on the 2-point conversion.

Mater Dei won the Non-Public Group 2 state championship in 2016 under Shannon Hoadley and Dino Mangiero has brought the Seraphs to the state finals in three straight years. Mater Dei has become a state power that is respected well beyond the Shore Conference. That’s little consolation to the heartbreak of another state finals loss, but the Seraphs have built a program that will no doubt have more opportunities to get that extra yard in the coming years and experience the thrill of winning it all once again.

SCORING SUMMARY
DEPAUL CATHOLIC – 27
MATER DEI PREP – 25

1ST QUARTER
DePaul: De’Mere White 9-yard TD pass from

Andrew Butler (Matt Wilderson kick)

2ND QUARTER

Mater Dei: Malik Ingram 2-yard TD run (kick blocked)DePaul: Teddy Afful 50-yard TD pass
from Butler (kick blocked)
DePaul: Andrew Butler 1-yard TD run (Wilderson kick)

3RD QUARTER
Mater Dei: Clarence Lewis 48-yard TD pass

from Alex Brown (kick failed)DePaul: Marshawn Ferguson 12-yard TD pass from Butler (Wilderson kick)
Mater Dei: Malik Ingram 4-yard TD run

4TH QUARTER
DePaul: Naran Buntin 50-yard TD run

(2-point conversion failed)