Burgner nabs Defensive MVP

COSTA MESA ? Recent Corona del Mar High graduate Matt Burgner will look back on the 47th edition of the Orange County All-Star Football Game with his head held high.

But he may be one of the few.

Burgner, who said he entered the 10-practice preparation period intent on earning respect for his game and his former school, showed he was a star among stars in helping the South earn a 32-3 win over the North before 6,700 Friday at Orange Coast College.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder bound for Georgetown University started at fullback. He caught two passes for 22 yards and carried twice for five yards.

But it was on defense that he stole the show. The Sea Kings’ career sack leader ? having amassed 36 in three varsity seasons, two of which ended in All-CIF Southern Section Division IX recognition ? had two sacks Friday. He also made two additional tackles for losses and was named Defensive Most Valuable Player.

But Burgner’s prolific performance was muffled somewhat by an early end to a game marred by penalties and a series of showboating excess that began before the opening kickoff.

After Joe Robles kicked the third of his three field goals, a 49-yarder that finalized the scoring, the North made a long kickoff return. After the play was whistled dead, and with two penalty flags already having been thrown during the runback, a melee erupted near the North sideline, as players from both teams appeared to be yelling and, in some cases, pushing opposing players.

When players rushed to the center of the fray, from both benches, officials and coaches tried to separate the two teams. When order finally was restored, the officials elected to end the game with 2:48 left on the clock.

The referee, before leaving the field at the request of his fellow officials, said the game could not have continued, after all the mandatory ejections of players who left the bench were levied.

Corona del Mar product Shaun Mohler, a starting outside linebacker for the Rebels, also contributed to the South’s defensive dominance. He leveled a ballcarrier in the backfield for a five-yard loss on the North’s third series.

Newport Harbor High’s Charles Schultz, who started at right offensive tackle, was part of a blocking unit that helped Trabuco Hills High product P.J. Vallier rush for 124 yards on 15 carries. Vallier was named Offensive MVP.

“How do you stop him?” South Coach Bruce Ingalls said of Burgner, who recorded an eight-yard sack early in the second quarter, then leveled a receiver who had just taken the ball on a reverse for a loss of six on the next play.

“We called it a crush blitz,” Burgner said of one ploy that helped him consistently get into the North backfield.

The game got off on an ominous note, when South players, led by linebacker Timothy Niumata, assembled at midfield, faced the north bench and did what Ingalls later called a traditional Samoan dance ritual that lasted less than a minute.

Two unsportsmanlike penalties were later called on the South, which also used pregame introductions to perform choreographed gestures, some directed at North players and fans seated behind the North bench.dpt.15-football-4-CPhotoInfoQU1SVN3T20060715j2fgdmncCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: Ex-Corona del Mar High star Matt Burgner, right, plows through a tackler during the Orange County All-Star Football Game. It was on defense where he shined the most. He was named Defensive Most Valuable Player for the South. dpt.15-football-3-BPhotoInfoQU1SVNHR20060715j2fgdgncCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: Former CdM star Shaun Mohler, left, wraps up the North’s Raymond Rangel in the first quarter of Friday’s 32-3 South win.