If host Point Loma was going to stay unbeaten and advance to the Division 1 quarterfinal with a win over Mater Dei Catholic on Friday night, Pointers head coach Ryan Price was sure his formidable defense would have a major hand in it.

The Pointers were leading the Crusaders 14-0 at the end of the first quarter on a pair of Romeo Carter TDs, including a pick-six.

“I think statistically and performance wise we are one of the top defenses in the county,” said Price, also the proud defensive coordinator. “Our guys on defense deserve all the credit, they’ve played their hearts out this year.”

He gave accolades to his defenders for their 14-7 upset over Cathedral Catholic.

“Holding a Cathedral offense to seven points was special,” Price said. “They were averaging 250 yards rushing and to hold them to 63 yards on 23 carries is no small feat.”

The stingy Pointer defense has given up just 94 points, one behind county best Maranatha Christian with 93.

Leading the Point Loma defense, which held opponents to a touchdown or less seven times this year, is unsung senior hero Matteo Correia. The senior outside linebacker has been in on 75 tackles, 59 were solo tackles.

“He’s a game wrecker,” said Price. “He’s the best linebacker in the county.”

Correia is one of 10 returning defensive starters. The lone newcomer is senior linebacker Ace Selchow, who  ended up with 69 regular season tackles. Braeden Bartocci is among county leaders in sacks with 12 and safety Owen Ice has picked off seven passes.

Add into the mix offensive standout Romeo Carter at safety, a spot he hopes to be at for Boise State next year.

Did they deserve better?

Only three teams navigated the regular season voyage to perfection – the Pointers, Santa Fe Christian and Mission Bay. The Eagles and Bucs got byes, Point Loma’s seeding points didn’t align that way.

“I feel we deserved a bye, what else could we have done?” said Price. “We were 10-0 and beat the No.13 team in the state at the time. We earned the right for a bye.”

We’ve seen this before.

Mater Dei Catholic has a history of playing some of the best competition early in the season, then capitalizing on the experience to make deep runs into the playoffs.

“It’s kind of our thing,” explained Mater Dei Catholic coach Rashard Cook. “We like to challenge ourselves early and see where we are. Our goal is to win them all, of course, but you learn a lot about yourself from that kind of schedule.”

In 2022 the Crusaders started out 0-4, then ran the table. They beat Mission Hills 34-29 to win the Section Division 1 title en route to downing Oakland McClymonds 26-18 for the 2-AA state title. They finished 11-4.

This year the Crusaders lost three of their first four games — to No. 2 Cathedral Catholic, No. 6 Granite Hills and No. 8 San Marcos, before winning six in a row. So far.

League dominance

With their perfect 4-0 Metro Mesa League season, Mater Dei Catholic has now won 22 straight league games. Not counting COVID Spring games in 2020, the last time the Crusaders lost a league contest was October 4, 2019 against Eastlake. That puts them tied for ninth all time in the county. Ironically the Metro also has the all-time leader as Sweetwater won 31 straight league games in the early 70s.

Next up

Tonight’s winner travels to play fourth-seeded San Marcos next Friday night in the quarterfinal. The 2024 Division 1 finalists Knights (7-3) beat the Crusaders 45-13 in September. Things don’t get any easier from there, that winner will likely face Lincoln, who held the top spot in the poll for the first nine weeks of the season before being upset by Cathedral Catholic to knock them out of the Open Division.