Monarchs looking to rebound against Edison

Mike Sciacca, Independent

The way Mater Dei High football coach Bruce Rollinson was talking

Thursday, he had his team at a disadvantage for tonight’s pivotal

nonleague showdown with Edison at Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

It’s not often, mind you, that Rollinson feels this way. His

sentiments are due to the fact that his Monarchs are in the process of

rebounding from last Saturday night’s thrilling 31-28 loss to De La

Salle, the nation’s top-ranked prep team.

Mater Dei spotted De La Salle a 21-0 first quarter lead, then came up

with a big second half rally, only to see a potential game tying field

goal sail wide with 33 seconds to play.

Gone, also, was Mater Dei’s shot at ending De La Salle’s 102 game

winning streak.

“It was a tough loss, but I’m extremely proud of my kids,” Rollinson

said. “That game took a lot out of us, both physically and emotionally,

and now we need to get ready for a very talent Edison team.

“In the motivational area, I think we’re at a disadvantage. It’ll be

up to our kids to realize that this is another big time game, especially

in Orange County.”

Mater Dei has not lost consecutive games in, “as long as I can

remember,” said Rollinson. The Monarchs are favored to end their losing

skid at one game tonight as the two teams meet for the first time in 13

years, but Rollinson knows his team can’t rest on its laurels.

“This is a high profile county matchup, and our kids are well aware of

Edison’s players and the program’s well deserved reputation. We know that

they have an awfully big offensive line, speed in their offensive

backfield, and a defense that is also of a concern.”

Two of the county’s top quarterbacks, both future Division I players,

go head-to-head tonight.

Edison’s Richard Schwartz has been more than consistent in his first

three games, but has yet to have a break out performance. He has

attempted just 39 passes in three games, but has completed 23 for 383

yards and four touchdowns, with one interception.

His counterpart, Mater Dei’s Matt Leinart, will test Edison’s

secondary. Last weekend, against the nation’s top-rated prep team,

Leinart threw for 401 yards.

In three games, Leinart has thrown for a county best 827 yards and six

touchdowns with an interception, and has completed 62-percent of his

passes (56-89).

Leinart’s favorite target has been Jeff Diulio, who has 379 yards on

three receptions.

If Edison holds an edge on offense, it comes in the running game,

which is spearheaded by Darryl Poston. With 392 yards and a 7.7 rushing

average, Poston is a big concern to Rollinson.

“We’re somehow going to have to come up with a way to contain Darryl,

but it won’t be an easy task,” he said. “They’ve got a volatile offense,

so if we put all of our concentration on Poston, then we’ll get burned by

skill guys such as (Marcus) McCutcheon. Our defense has its work cut

out.”

McCutcheon, Edison’s jack-of-all trades, returned a kickoff 90 yards

for a touchdown in last week’s win over Dana Hills.

On the flip side, Rollinson has yet to find a primary running back.

Right now, the Monarchs have a rotating backfield consisting of seniors

Darious Williams and Anjel Gutierrez, and junior Cameron Carmona.

Carmona, Rollinson says, has come on strongly the past two weeks.

“We hope to improve our running game against Edison,” he said. “That’s

been one area on offense where we really haven’t jelled. Establishing a

solid running game, to compliment Matt (Leinart), is a challenge to us.”

For the sake of numbers, Edison (3-0) comes into tonight’s game

scoring an average of 31 points per game, while the Charger defense has

surrendered 15 per game. Mater Dei, despite the close loss to De La

Salle, wasn’t overpowering in season opening wins over Fallbrook (28-21)

and Loara (31-6).

Not by Mater Dei standards, anyway. The Monarchs average 29 points on

offense, and the defense has yielded an average of 19 points per game.

Both teams come into tonight’s showdown relatively healthy, although

the Monarchs continue to be without the services of junior outside

linebacker/tight end Keith Greer, and quick outside linebacker/running

back Billy Ewing, each of whom have been slow recovering from early

summer camp injuries and have yet to see action.

Will last week’s close call against untouchable De La Salle serve as a

motivation, or will the Monarchs still be dwelling on what might have

been?

“That’s where we coaches need to come up with a solution,” Rollinson

added. “We’ve taken a few positive steps in practice this week, and

that’s good to see. We’ve dealt well with the “almost game” against De La

Salle, and now we’re putting our focus on Edison. I’ll tell you what,

we’d better be ready, because we’re moving from one buzz saw to another.”

In other games tonight involving local teams, Fountain Valley (2-1)

will entertain Warren (1-2) at Huntington Beach High’s Sheue Field,

Marina (3-0) takes on rival Westminster (1-2) at Westminster High’s Bill

Boswell Field, and Ocean View (2-1) tangles with Costa Mesa (3-0) at

Newport Harbor High’s Davidson Field.