Mater Dei freshman phenom Elijah Brown was more than up for the task of taking on starting quarterback duties at the California powerhouse on Friday night, tossing three touchdown passes in his high school debut and a 52-3 rout of JSerra Catholic.
Brown wasted no time making his presence felt on the varsity level, finding senior wide receiver Josiah Zamora in the corner of the end zone at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter to give Mater Dei an early 7-0 lead.
RELATED: California powerhouse Mater Dei starting freshman Elijah Brown at QB
Touchdown Mater Dei. Elijah Brown throws his first ever varsity TD to senior receiver Josiah Zamora. 7-0 Mater Dei 5:05 left in the first Q. pic.twitter.com/sSZqYkPJwV
— Connor Morrissette (@C_Morrissette) March 20, 2021
Brown stayed hot on Mater Dei’s ensuing offensive possession, hitting junior wideout Cooper Barkate to extend the lead to 14-0. Brown’s third touchdown pass of the night came in the second half with Mater Dei already dominating, as Brown connected with Quincy Craig for six to make it a 45-3 game.
Brown, along with the rest of Mater Dei’s starters, was pulled after his third touchdown pass. While three touchdown passes is a solid outing for any quarterback, it can be argued that Brown’s most valuable contribution to Mater Dei’s season-opening win was his clean play under center. He did not account for a single turnover, which is key for his development moving forward.
Brown now joins Matt Barkley, Georgia quarterback and former five-star recruit J.T. Daniels and Todd Marinovich as the fourth freshman to start under center for Mater Dei.