Regular season success in the playoffs is difficult for fans to decode. But as far as Mater Dei Monarchs are concerned, the calculations are pretty smooth, folks! Raul Lara and his boys had pretty good games that helped them slide into the playoffs. While their rage has been the talk of the town, looks like their 4-star cornerback and the Penn State commit have been enough to spark excitement on social media. We are talking about Daryus Dixson, who now seems to be a powerful weapon for James Franklin’s program.  

Things are a bit emotional for high school players who will soon be stepping into college. And for one last time, they are giving their everything to their respective high schools. For instance, the most sought-after 5-star QB recruit of the 2025 class, Julian Lewis, helped his Carrollton High School reach No.6 rank after their big win against Douglas County High School on November 1. Previously, they were at No.20. The same goes for Mater Dei’s 4-star cornerback Dixson, who helped his high school football program to be in the playoffs. But before that, the player came up with an intriguing IG post that showed how confidence is something that Dixson never runs out of. The caption of the post read, “🦈couldn’t afford a funeral,⚰️ so they gift wrapped in a puddle of blood🩸” But what does it mean?

The October month has been a pretty smooth ride for Mater Dei. They won over Servite High School 28-6, the JSerra Catholic High School 41-17, and the massive win came with defeating St. John Bosco 59-14. But November 1 turned out to be an ominous day as Dixson and co. lost against Orange Lutheran 38-14. So even though they tried to kick them out of the playoffs by planning a funeral, as per Eron Reid’s power rankings, they are bleeding yet alive, as they only lost just one rank and are at No.2 and still very much in the playoffs race. And what makes Penn State HC Franklin happy about it?    

James Franklin’s winning strategy with Daryus Dixson

Well, we all know after seeing Lewis rage against Douglas County, USC Trojans’ HC Lincoln Riley must have bitten all his nails off in regret. After all, the 5-star QB commit has just slipped away from the Trojans and the HC had no other options but to sit back and see his luck falter. But that’s not the case for Franklin, who was smart enough to land Dixson and bring him to Happy Valley.

The Penn State HC wasted no time to finalize on the 4-star cornerback out of California, who according to the Rivals.com rankings is the No. 53 overall player in the class of 2025. While Lewis is still going door-to-door in a mission to find out his best fit, the cornerback has committed to Franklin’s program back in June. 

Daryus Dixson will now be joining solid recruits from the Sunshine State, such as K.J. Hamler, Noah Cain, and also Parker Washington from Texas. Keeping up the fire within himself, James Franklin now knows how he made the right step to make Happy Valley happier by landing the Mater Dei phenom.