Look: Stanford-bound Elijah Brown interview after final high school game, Mater Dei's 35-0 win over Serra
MISSION VIEJO, CALIFORNIA — Elijah Brown said he doesn't go down easily.
The Mater Dei senior quarterback Elijah Brown, interviewed by SBLive's Myckena Guerrero shortly after his final high school game (see at top of page), said he "could push through hard times."
His hardest time as a prep were a couple of defeats — his only prep losses at Mater Dei — both to St. John Bosco, 24-22 to close the 2022 season in the Southern Section Division I finals, and 28-0 on Oct. 13 in a stunning upset defeat as the nation's No. 1 team.
Brown could have curled up then, been satisfied with a stellar prep career with a scholarship to Stanford secured. Instead, he led the Monarchs to six straight victories, including an equally stunning 35-7 revenge Southern Section finale win on Nov. 23, and then Saturday's 35-0 triumph over Serra in the CIF State Open Division championship game at Saddleback College.
Brown was at his vintage best, completing 27 of 22 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns, all to different receivers. He spread the ball around beautifully, completing scoring passes to freshman Mark Bowman (16 yards), Marcus Harris (74), Jonah Smith (12) and Michael Shannon (31), the final one on a nifty flea-flicker play.
Afterward, Brown told Guerrero, "It's going to go down as a core memory being the last game I play in high school, with my brothers. It's a surreal feeling."
His career numbers are more than a little impressive. Brown completed better than 70 percent of his passes (627 of 890) for 9,277 yards and 115 touchdowns. More impressively, the Monarchs went 42-2 during his career as starter, which was all four seasons (his freshman season was the COVID-shortened spring of 2020).
This season he was 203 of 289 for 2,948 yards and 39 touchdowns.
