No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) eked out a 21-16 win over No. 10 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) in the CIF-SS semifinals with strong defense and timely offense. And a hurdle from Oklahoma commit Raleek Brown.
Centennial had a 9-7 lead as Mater Dei marched the ball downfield midway through the second quarter. The Monarchs had been unable to gain any real offensive momentum, and they faced the rare challenge of trailing in the second quarter of a football game.
No matter. Brown, a five-star player on the 247Sports Composite who is ranked the No. 2 player in California and the No. 2 running back in the class of 2022, figured out a way to get to the end zone.
It’s as the old childhood song goes: Can’t go through them, gotta go over them.
Oklahoma RB commit Raleek Brown out here taking flight! ✈️ @raleek2 @MDFootball
(🎥 @prepzone ) pic.twitter.com/blC5pZAb9D
— MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) November 20, 2021
Brown was determined to get in. No more waiting. He leapt over an opponent.
The referee must have thought that the play was just unreasonably cool, because that flag doesn’t seem necessary from the vantage point of the replay.
Mater Dei took down Centennial and will face Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) for the Southern Section championship.
Brown is one of two five-star players committed to Oklahoma. He and Lakeland (Fla.) High School defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy headline a class that is, as of Saturday morning, ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 8 in the nation.
With moves like these during prime-time moments, it’s clear why the Sooners are so high on Brown.
