Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders are the high school version of Komeback Kids

Through the years, there have been some great comebacks in football.

Remember 1993 when the Buffalo Bills trailed the Houston Oilers 35-3, but rallied to win?

In Super Bowl LI, the New England Patriots got behind the Atlanta Falcons 29-8 in the third quarter but won.

In 2003, Peyton Manning brought the Indianapolis Colts back from 21 points down with 5:09 to play to beat the Tampa Bay Bucs.

The last two weeks, the Mater Dei Catholic High football team has written itself into comeback lore and become the high school version of the “Komeback Kids.”

First, there was a last-second win over No. 1-seeded Mission Hills to capture the San Diego Section Division I championship.

Then last Friday in the Southern California 2-A Regional championship, the Crusaders trailed state-ranked No. 33 Downey 21-0 before coming together to beat the Vikings 22-21 and earn a second straight trip to the State Championships at Saddleback College.

“The tough game against Mission Hills, battling back, helped us against Downey,” said Mater Dei Catholic coach John Joyner. “We played horribly in the first half, but we were able to settle down, shut down their offense, and get it done.

“I’d like to tell you there was some kind of magical speech, but there wasn’t. It was a matter of settling down, believing we could get it done because we had done it before.”

Following is the anatomy of the comebacks:

Mater Dei Catholic 28, Mission Hills 23

• Trailing Mission Hills 23-14 with 8:34 to play at Southwestern College, Mater Dei Catholic used five plays to go 79 yards, scoring on a 51-yard swing pass from quarterback Dominic Nankil to running back Anthony McMillian with 6:27 remaining to get to within 23-21.

• After forcing a punt, the Crusaders scored again with McMillian capping a seven-play, 42-yard drive to take a 28-23 lead with 2:04 to play.

• Mission Hills, however, wasn’t done. The Grizzlies appeared to put the game away, scoring on a 15-yard pass from QB Keaton Smith to Lucas Scott with 1:25 remaining to lead 29-28.

• That’s when Nankil went to work. Starting from his 5 after a holding penalty, Nankil took his team 95 yards, running for 24 yards and passing for 59 with the final 30 coming on a pinpoint strike to Jerry McClure in the corner of the end zone with 3 seconds left.

“Everyone talks about McClure’s catch, and it was a great one,” Joyner said. “But what about Dom’s throw?

“Does any other quarterback in this county make that throw in that situation?”

Mater Dei Catholic 22, Downey 21

• Trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter, the Crusaders were playing as poorly as they have all season.

• Then things started to change. After a failed fourth-down pass at the Downey 8, Mater Dei Catholic forced a punt. The snap was high, the punter jumped on the ball for a safety and the Crusaders trailed 21-2.

• After a 42-yard return of the free kick by McClure, Nankil hit McClure with a 5-yard scoring pass, and it was 21-8 at the half.

• Late in the third quarter, McMillian capped a 50-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run, and it was 21-15. Nankil’s 29-yard pass to Surahz Buncom was the big play in the drive.

• An interception by DJ Overstreet gave the ball right back to the Crusaders, and Nankil drove the Crusaders 96 yards on four plays with McMillian capping the drive with a 3-yard TD run with 3:52 left. The big play was an 88-yard pass to a wide-open Rollin George after Nankil scrambled out of trouble. The Crusaders now led 22-21.

“When 10 (Nankil) has the ball in his hands, the play is never dead,” George said. “When he’s scrambling the receivers know where to go. We know he’ll find someone. The guy covering me saw him scrambling, left me, and I was all alone.”

• Mater Dei Catholic recovered a pooch kick and appeared to have the game salted away. But the Crusaders turned the ball over on downs with 1:59 remaining at the Downey 33.

• That gave the Vikings time to rally. But with 28 seconds to play and the ball on the Crusaders 40, Overstreet came up with his second interception of the game, and Mater Dei Catholic ran out the final 13 seconds.

“I had a couple opportunities earlier in the game for an interception, but I was late reacting,” Overstreet said. “This time, I saw the back circle out. He was my man. I laid back, and when the ball came my way, I jumped the route.”

Asked the difference between the first half and the second, Overstreet said, “The players.”

“The coaches really didn’t say much at the half,” Overstreet said. “The players talked. We knew we could play better. It was just a matter of doing it.”

State Championship

Division 2-AA

Oakland McClymonds vs. Mater Dei Catholic

Friday: 4 p.m. at Saddleback College