Dreams can be disjointed, euphoric or, in some cases, even prophetic.
Take Mater Dei Catholic junior Eli Shelton’s surrealistic dream, for instance.
“I had a dream that I was going to score on a kick-off return, and when I saw that gap, I knew we were going to win,” the Crusader wide receiver/cornerback explained.
Call it fate, destiny or just coincidence, Shelton’s dream had a way of coming true to both his personal delight and the delight of his teammates.
Shelton fielded the opening kick-off in Friday’s San Diego Section Division IV championship football game at Southwestern College’s Devore Stadium, burst up the middle, found an opening and then scampered 87 yards for the game’s opening touchdown.
It would be the first of four touchdowns the nimble Shelton would score in the game to lead the top-seeded Crusaders (12-1) to a 49-14 drubbing of the third-seeded Bishop’s Knights (8-5) in a rematch of last year’s division championship game.
But there was little that resembled last year’s contest, which the Knights spirited away via a 19-16 overtime decision.
Friday’s contest was lopsided as Mater Dei obviously came prepared to avenge last year’s heartbreaking setback. It was an open wound that had been festering for an entire year.
The Crusaders led, 28-0, at the end of the first quarter and upped their lead to 35-0 before Bishop’s scored on the final play of the first half. Mater Dei Catholic would build its lead to 49-7 by the end of the third quarter before the Knights scored a meaningless touchdown in the final seconds of the game.
“The whole season was about finishing, and we finished today,” Shelton explained further.
Did they ever.
MDCHS junior quarterback Chris Jones doubled the Crusaders lead on a one-yard sneak and Jones then passed 80 yards to Shelton to up that lead to 21-0.
When star running back C.J. Verdell scored on a weaving 30-yard run late in the opening quarter, the reigning Metro-South Bay League champions had carved out an imposing 28-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
The Knights did drive to the Mater Dei Catholic four-yard line but Verdell ended that drive with an interception just in front of the pylon. Jones then regrouped his troops and calmly connected with Shelton on a 53-yard scoring pass.
The score ballooned to 35-0 with 5:39 still left in the second quarter.
That was enough time for Bishop’s to finally find a chink in the Crusaders’ armor as A.J. Britanico ripped off a 46-yard romp to the MDCHS one-yard line. But Verdell was there once again to deny the Knights with a pick in the end zone.
Bishop’s got the ball back again in the final seconds and quarterback Mozes Mooney (145 passing yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) finally managed to solve the Crusader defense on a two-yard scoring pass to teammate Jacob Jackson as time expired in the first half.
The evening clearly belonged to Mater Dei Catholic, however.
In fact, it was shocking to see what transpired on the field at times.
The Crusaders found themselves backed up at their own four-yard line midway through the third quarter. No problem. Jones flipped out a short pass to Shelton, who did the rest as he broke down the sideline for a 96-yard catch-and-carry score.
Shelton’s third receiving touchdown — and fourth touchdown of the game — made the score 42-7 in Mater Dei Catholic’s favor.
Verdell scored his second touchdown on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Jones just prior to the end of the third quarter.
Jeffrey Jackson closed out scoring for Bishop’s on a six-yard run.
The celebration quickly began for the Crusaders, who last won a division title in 2003 when the school was known as Marian Catholic and the campus located in South San Diego.
Shelton, a transfer from Francis Parker, was in the middle of all the post-game hoopla, and deservedly so.
“For the team, this is tremendous because they lost last year,” he said. “This is a great thing for all the seniors. Personally, it’s a great feeling. I dreamt about getting this. It’s a dream come true.”
Shelton finished the game with 254 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns, one kick-off return for a touchdown and an interception on defense. He enters next weekend’s Southern California regional playoff game with 693 receiving yards and 10 TD receptions (12 scores overall).
“I do what the coach says,” Shelton explained. “Every time I get my hands on the ball I want to score. Speed is my biggest asset.”
That might be an understatement.
Jones also turned in a player-of-the game performance with 335 passing yards and four touchdown passes.
“We just wanted to come back here and get a ring,” said Jones, who has now passed for 1,884 yards with 22 touchdowns against just one interception this season. “We executed very well. Our O-line blocked well and we played well on defense. I was able to put the ball into the hands of our play-makers.”
That the Crusaders got a title rematch against the Knights made Friday’s CIF championship game victory even more satisfying.
“It was a very long year coming up to this,” Jones said. “We wanted to finish this. We wanted it to be against Bishop’s but it could have been against any team. It happened to be them. We wanted to make up for some unfinished business. That it was against them provided us with more motivation.”
This was the second meeting between the teams this season. The Crusaders did enact a bit of revenge in a 42-21 non-league win on Oct. 2. In that game, Verdell racked up 381 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns as Mater Dei Catholic ran amok with 455 total rushing yards in the game.
Verdell entered Friday’s championship game with 1,744 rushing yards and a team-leading 27 touchdowns. However, he rushed for just 42 yards despite scoring two TDs.
“The last time we played them, we had 400 rushing yards,” MDCHS head coach John Joyner explained. “We knew they were going to make some adjustments. We knew we would see man-to-man coverage. The packed the box against C.J. We consider our offense to be balanced, so we didn’t have a problem passing the ball.
“Every game, we have C.J. in there for us, but we also have other players who step up. Eli happened to be the player who stepped up today.
“It feels great winning. We have the chance to play another game in the state playoffs. We’ll see how we do there. Hopefully, we can keep our season going.”
The Crusaders will find out who their regional playoff opponent is on Sunday and where that game will be played.
The CIF title was the first for the relocated east side Chula Vista school and the first since 2003 for the Crusaders overall, including the team’s incarnation at its previous as Marian Catholic. The CIF championship was the fourth overall for the Crusaders, dating to 1988.
The future looks bright for Mater Dei Catholic: All seven Crusader touchdowns in Friday’s Division IV championship game were scored by underclassmen.
San Diego Section Football Championship Games
Southwestern Community College
DIVISION IV: (1) Mater Dei Catholic (12-1) 49, (3) Bishop’s (8-5) 14
DIVISION I: (1) Oceanside (9-4) 23, (3) El Camino (7-6) 14
DIVISION III: (1) Bonita Vista (11-2) 52, (2) Mission Bay (10-3) 14
DIVISION II: (2) Rancho Bernardo (11-2) 41, (4) Mt. Carmel (9-4) 23
OPEN DIVISION: (1) Helix (12-1) 44, (2) St. Augustine (10-3) 30
MATCHUPS SET FOR 2015 CIF REGIONAL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BOWL GAMES
IRVINE, Calif. – The matchups for the 2015 CIF Regional Football Championship Bowl Games are now set following the placement of the 50 Section Championship teams. Games will be held Friday-Saturday, December 11-12, at various host sites in the North and South please see below for schedule and game locations.
Additionally, the top teams from the North and South respectively have been selected and will advance directly to the Open Division CIF State Championship Bowl Game:
OPEN DIVISION
De La Salle (12-1) vs. Centennial, Corona (14-0) at Sacramento State – Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8:00 p.m.
The following is the schedule for the 2015 CIF Regional Football Championship Bowl Games for Divisions Open-Small School through VI-AA. Winners from these NorCal and SoCal Regional games will advance to the CIF State Football Championship representing the respective divisions for the title of CIF State Champion. All teams were slotted based on competitive equity and the respective criteria.
DIVISION OPEN–SMALL SCHOOL
North: Marin Catholic (12-1) at Central Catholic (14-0) – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
South: San Marino (14-0) vs. Sierra Canyon (14-0) at Granada Hills HS – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION I–AA
North: Bellarmine (12-1) at Folsom (14-0) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Helix (11-1) at Mission Viejo (14-0) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION I–A
North: Clayton Valley Charter (12-1) at Oak Grove, San Jose (11-2) – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Narbonne (12-2) at Ridgeview (13-0) – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION II–AA
North: Del Oro (8-6) at Liberty, Bakersfield (9-3) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
South: La Habra (13-1) at Camarillo (14-0) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION II–A
North: St. Francis, Mountain View (11-2) vs. Pleasant Valley (12-0) at Harrison Stadium, Oroville – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Calabasas (13-1) at Citrus Hill (12-2) – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION III–AA
North: Milpitas (10-3) at Campolindo (13-1) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Oceanside (9-4) at La Mirada (11-3) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION III–A
North: McClymonds (12-0) vs. Sacred Heart Prep (10-3) at Independence HS, San Jose – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Rancho Bernardo (11-2) at Oak Hills (9-5) – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION IV–AA
North: Hanford (12-1) at Sonora (12-1) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Canyon, Anaheim (9-5) vs. Bonita Vista (11-2) at Southwestern Community College, Chula Vista – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION IV–A
North: Sierra, Manteca (8-5) vs. Sutter (9-4) at River Valley HS, Yuba City – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Fairfax (8-6) at Chowchilla (11-2) – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION V–AA
North: Bradshaw Christian (12-1) vs. Immanuel, Reedley (10-2) at Reedley HS – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Notre Dame, Riverside (14-0) at Mater Dei Catholic, Chula Vista (12-2) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION V–A
North: Fall River (12-0) vs. St. Bernard’s (12-1) @ Humboldt State University – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Kennedy, Bakersfield vs. Saddleback Valley Christian @ TBD – Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION VI–AA
North: Stone Ridge Christian (12-1) at East Nicolaus (11-2) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
South: Belmont (14-0) at Coronado (9-4) – Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for the 2015 CIF Regional Football Championship Bowl Games are available at host sites. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for high school students (with a valid ASB card), seniors (65+) and children. Two tickets would be required to attend at least one game on each day.
Procedure for Team Selection: To be eligible for the State Regional Football Championship Bowl Games, teams must have been their respective CIF Section Champion, except for those Sections with an Open Division Championship.
In order to balance the number of teams from the north and the south, Central Section Divisions I, III and V have been slotted in the north and Central Section Divisions II, IV and VI have been slotted in the south. The Central Section teams were slotted in their respective regions in a manner to ensure that two teams from that Section would not play each other in a CIF State Football Championship Bowl Game.
