SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Mater Dei Unable to Stop Big Plays by Quartz Hill : Division I: Two long touchdown passes and two long runs help beat Monarchs, 37-7.

COSTA MESA —  After reaching the heights of the Southern Section football quarterfinals for only the second time in 24 years, Mater Dei High School was laid low by Quartz Hill, 37-7, Friday night in front of 8,000 at Orange Coast College.

Mater Dei last reached a playoff semifinal in 1966, losing to Anaheim. This unseeded Monarch team earned its spot in Friday night’s game by beating top-ranked Rialto Eisenhower, 34-20, last week, but against Quartz Hill, another unseeded team, the Monarchs (7-6) knew every which way to lose.

Quartz Hill (11-2) will meet the winner of tonight’s other semifinal between Loyola and Canyon Country Canyon next Friday for the Division I title at Anaheim Stadium.

Offense or defense, take your pick, there isn’t much good news to report for the Monarchs. The defense gave up four big-play touchdowns--two on third-and-long--and the offense committed seven turnovers.

“When we have lost we have lost because of turnovers,” Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “We turned the ball over tonight and it killed us.”

From the first drive, when Derek Sparks fumbled while trying to start a reverse, things didn’t click for the Monarchs. They had driven easily from their 18-yard line to the Rebels’ 18 before Sparks fumbled. On the drive, quarterback Billy Blanton completed three of four passed for 55 yards rushed three times for 14 yards.

In what would be an omen, Quartz Hill countered with a drive of its own, powered by its three-man backfield of Erik Thomas, David Nelson and Selves Smith. Quartz Hill drove from its 25 to Mater Dei’s five before settling for a 27-yard field goal by Attila Rethl.

Quartz Hill quarterback Jake Haro threw two long touchdown passes to give the Rebels a 17-7 lead at the half. Mater Dei’s defense was stopping the run, but Haro threw a 84-yard touchdown to Jason Mabry on third-and-seven and a 25-yard touchdown to Robert Keller on third-and-24 as time was running out in the first half.

But Quartz Hill, which now has outscored its last five opponents 122-0 in the second half, really took control in the second half. The Rebels controlled the line of scrimmage, ran up the score and ran out the clock.

Of the three Quartz Hill running backs, who rushed for 264 yards among them, Thomas hurt the Monarchs the most. On consecutive drives, Thomas scored on 49-yard touchdown runs to give the Rebels a 31-7 lead. Thomas rushed 18 times for a game-high 179 yards.

Billy Blanton, who had passed for eight touchdowns in the last two Monarch playoff victories, completed 13 of 26 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted three times. Derek Sparks was held 162 yards in 23 carries--but 102 came in the second half when the game was out of reach.

“I think we got beat by a better football team,” Rollinson said. “They made the most of their opportunities. We couldn’t handle their running backs. They just shoved it right down our throats.”