Few players in Southern California, or the West for that matter, have been as productive in the passing game as Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei receiver Robbie Boyer (6-1, 180).
Teaming with his cousin Matt Barkley, the Monarchs’ stellar junior quarterback, the childhood days of playing catch are paying huge dividends for Mater Dei, the top ranked team in California and one of the top ten teams nationally.
Boyer and Barkley hooked up nine times in the Monarchs 51-37 win over Corona Centennial, Boyer scoring early on.
With a strong start to his senior season, Boyer has had more and more schools start to contact him, though he’s waiting for a second offer to come in.
“I still have the offer from Harvard but a bunch of Pac-10 schools have been interested like Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Cal plus San Diego State. They haven’t quite said if an offer is coming, but they’re just getting my senior film. They’ve all been saying that’s what they’ve been waiting for.”
One Pac-10 school has initially offered him a preferred walk-on spot.
“Stanford offered me a recruited walk-on spot and they will help me get me into the school and earn a scholarship later. But something could change,” said Boyer.
And Boyer has interest in the Cardinal, but he’s still hoping to see his season make scholarship offers more likely. While he’s a little frustrated by the slow pace of his recruitment, he’s got his eyes on bigger things.
“I’m probably most interested in Stanford, Oregon and Cal,” said Boyer. “It gets a little frustrating, but right now I’m focused on the team and winning, and I know if I keep doing my part, something will work out in the end. To me, it’s all about winning the championship.”
Boyer was at his best in the Corona Centennial game, which matched up the top two teams in California.
“That game was so much fun, it was crazy,” said Boyer. “We were focused for that game and it was really the biggest challenge we faced early in the year so we were ready for it.
And the time he’s spent playing catch with Barkley, which they’ve done since they were kids, has become clear in their chemistry in the Monarch passing game.
“We’ve been on the same page like that for a while, it just shows more because we’re throwing the ball more. With our chemistry, we’re rolling. He’s putting it where its supposed to be.”
With Oregon State freshman Ahmed Mohktar carrying the ball last year for the Monarchs, Mater Dei stuck with a ground game as their primary source of offense. But all offseason, the Monarchs became more aggressive in the passing game, much to Boyer’s delight.
“It’s so fun, we get excited for each game because we know we’re putting the ball in the air 30-40 times,” said Boyer. “We get a lot more excited, where we know we were once pretty much just blocking, now we’re getting the ball more. Matt’s having fun. We’re all having fun.”
The Trinity League is one of the toughest leagues in the nation, and is arguably the toughest in the state, so no game is easy for the Monarchs. This weekend, they’ll face Santa Margarita then St. John Bosco before ending the year with defending D-II state champ Orange Lutheran and longtime rival Servite.
“Every game in league is important so we can’t let our focus up,” said Boyer.
A fine student, Boyer has a 3.75 GPA and scored an 1850 on the SAT.