Monarchs post third shutout of season

J.T. Daniels passes for 416 yards and five touchdowns as No. 1 Mater Dei cruises.

Very little time ticked off the clock before Mater Dei and quarterback J.T. Daniels put Edison’s upset hopes to rest — not that there were any to begin with.

The No. 1-ranked Monarchs forced a Chargers fumble on the first play of the game, recovered it on Edison’s 19-yard line, and proceeded to score on Raphael Jones Jr.’s three-yard touchdown run four plays later.

Mater Dei scored on its next four possessions of the first half, taking a 35-0 lead midway through the second quarter, and cruised to a 42-0 win over No. 13 Edison on Friday night at Orange Coast College.

Daniels, a sophomore, completed 29 of his 37 passes for 416 yards and five touchdowns — spread out to five receivers — before leaving the game at the 9:42 mark of the third after an 11-yard touchdown pass to Nikko Remigio.

Daniels’ only miscue came late in the second quarter on a pass to the end zone that was picked off by Edison’s McCade Barrett.

“We have such talent across the board from our wide receivers to our line to our running backs,” Daniels said. “You really can’t put into words what it’s like to have Amon-ra and Osiris [St. Brown], Nikko and C.J. [Parks]. I can go on and on.”

But for as impressive as Daniels and his weapons were, the Mater Dei defense was equally superb as it has been all season — recording its third shutout of the year.

The Monarchs (5-0) held Edison (4-1) to 75 yards of total offense, recorded six sacks and forced Edison to use the leg of punter Jack Morrell nine times.

Linebacker Sal Aguilar and defensive end Nathan Logoleo had 1.5 sacks apiece of Edison quarterback Griffin O’Connor and rushed the Chargers’ signal caller into hurried decisions throughout with pressure off the edge.

“Obviously J.T. and the offense get a lot of compliments, but this was our third shutout,” Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “We were bringing the hat tonight.”

The Monarchs head into a bye week before opening Trinity League play Oct. 7 against Santa Margarita.

Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times MATER DEI receiver John Jackson eludes Edison safety EJ Ginnis for a long gain during the second quarter Friday. The Monarchs won, 42-0.