ON OCT. 13, 2013, in a key matchup between Trinity League rivals Orange Lutheran and Servite, the Friars found themselves down by six points with eight seconds remaining in the game.
Friar quarterback Travis Waller dropped back and heaved a deep, high-arching “Hail Mary” pass into a cluster of players in the end zone, and Equanimeous St. Brown leaped high above the scrum and came down with the ball for a game-tying touchdown as the clock expired.
Andrew Acosta nailed the extra point to give Servite the 2013 victory, sending the crowd on the Servite side of the Cerritos College stadium into a frenzy while the Orange Lutheran side of the field fell silent.
“It was clearly the most exciting thing I’d ever seen,” recalled Servite PA announcer Tim Brundige, who is in his 36th season announcing Friars football and basketball games. “You knew you lost the game and then all of a sudden, boom, you’re the winner. It was a pivotal point for us that season.”
Both St. Brown and Waller went on to play in college and the NFL. Ironically, St. Brown, brother of NFL wide receiver and Mater Dei grad Amon-Ra St. Brown, played college football at Notre Dame, where the Hail Mary prayer first became intertwined with the sport more than a century ago.
‘WE NEED A MIRACLE’
On Oct. 28, 1922, Notre Dame was trailing 3-0 in the second quarter against Georgia Tech when Fighting Irish guard Noble Kizer is said to have turned toward his teammates in the huddle and said, “Boys, let’s have a Hail Mary.”
Two plays later, Notre Dame’s Elmer Layden scored on a 4-yard run to put the Irish ahead. Kizer repeated the Hail Mary request on another Fighting Irish possession in the fourth quarter, and quarterback Harry Stuhldreher scored to clinch the victory, 13-3.
Multiple published accounts of the game reported a quote from Kizer, who said, “That Hail Mary is the best play we’ve got.”
In 1935, the phrase resurfaced in a showdown between Notre Dame and Ohio State — a contest that was dubbed the “Game of the Century.” After Bill Shakespeare’s dramatic 19-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Miller in the game’s final seconds gave the Fighting Irish an 18-13 victory, Fighting Irish coach Elmer Layden — as reported by the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press — used the term in his postgame comments, referring to the winning throw as a “Hail Mary” play.
Over time, the phrase shifted from an actual prayer to a familiar idiom meaning “we need a miracle,” and eventually to the modern definition as a low-probability desperation pass in the final seconds of a game.
CLUTCH TIME
On Dec. 28, 1975, the colloquialism solidified itself as part of everyday football vernacular after Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach launched a last-second, 50-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, 17-14, in a divisional playoff game.
The Associated Press reported Staubach saying, “I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary.”
Then there was Doug Flutie’s famous Hail Mary pass in a game between Boston College and Miami on Nov. 23, 1984. With six seconds remaining on the clock and the Eagles trailing 45-41, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and launched a desperate 64-yard pass into the wind. The ball flew over the Miami secondary and dropped cleanly into the arms of Gerard Phelan, in the end zone after time had expired for a walk-off touchdown.
BRONZE STATUE COMMEMORATING DOUG FLUTIE’S 1984 “HAIL MARY” PASS STANDS IN FRONT OF BOSTON COLLEGE’S ALUMNI STADIUM. PHOTO BY PATTY MAHONEY
The throw cemented his Heisman Trophy win that season.
Over his three-plus decades coaching high school football, Mater Dei coach Raul Lara has seen successful Hail Mary plays multiple times.
MATER DEI HEAD COACH RAUL LARA YELLS OUT INSTRUCTIONS DURING THE GAME AGAINST CENTENNIAL IN SANTA ANA ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2024. PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER/ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
“We’ve definitely had Hail Mary plays work for us over the years, including situations at the end of a half,” said Lara, who guided the Monarchs to a CIF Southern Section Division 1 title and state championship in his first season at Mater Dei in 2024. “When it works, it’s just an incredible feeling. There’s so much excitement because everyone knows it’s a low-percentage play, and then suddenly your guy comes down with the ball. The players and fans go crazy. It’s a pretty ecstatic feeling.”
There have been multiple other successful Hail Mary plays at every competitive level.
Among the most notable is a play involving Carson Palmer, former Arizona Cardinals quarterback and current coach of Santa Margarita Catholic High School’s CIF State champion football team.
SANTA MARGARITA HEAD COACH CARSON PALMER WATCHES THE TEAM DURING THE PREGAME WORKOUT AT THE SEASON-OPENING GAME AGAINST MISSION VIEJO AT TRABUCO HILLS HIGH SCHOOL IN MISSION VIEJO ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2025. PHOTO BY LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER/SCNG
During a Jan. 16, 2016, playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and Palmer’s Cardinals, the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Janis as time expired, thus forcing overtime.
Palmer opened the extra period by finding Larry Fitzgerald uncovered on the right side. Fitzgerald tore through the Packers’ defense for 75 yards. Two snaps later, Palmer shoveled a short pass to Fitzgerald for a touchdown, giving Arizona a 26-20 victory. But instead of being remembered as a Hail Mary, Palmer’s last-second pass was coined by ESPN as the “Hail Larry.”
Palmer summed up Fitzgerald’s night simply: “As simple a word as ‘special’ is, it describes him probably the best.”
THE SEASON AHEAD
With the high school football season underway, and the Trinity League portion of the schedule getting underway on Oct. 2, perhaps one or more of the games featuring league rivals will end with another Hail Mary play.
In the meantime, here’s a look at the 2026 Trinity League, which is once again loaded with nationally ranked teams and future NCAA Division I players.
Santa Margarita, the defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 and CIF State Open Division champions, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco remain the league’s center of gravity, but Orange Lutheran, JSerra and Servite all have enough talent to pull off upsets at any time. The Eagles are the state’s No. 1 team in multiple polls.
Mater Dei is ranked No. 4 in the state and No. 2 in Orange County behind the Eagles. The Lancers are No. 9 in the state and No. 3 in the county. JSerra is No. 17 and No. 5 in the state and county, respectively, and Servite is No. 13 and No. 6 in the state and county, respectively.
Key matchups involving county teams include: Mater Dei vs. Santa Margarita (Oct. 2), Mater Dei vs. Servite (Oct. 15), Orange Lutheran vs. Mater Dei (Oct. 23) and Orange Lutheran vs. Santa Margarita (Oct. 30).