Mater Dei's Matt Barkley still at top of his game

The first major seven-on-seven passing competition of the summer Saturday at Dana Hills High was an opportunity to see whether Santa Ana Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley, the Gatorade national player of the year, would be able to prosper despite the loss of his receiving corps to graduation.

There were a couple of dropped passes and few signs of the special chemistry developed last season between quarterback and receiver, but the results showed that the Monarchs aren't far off from being a Pac-5 Division title contender.

"This is what it's about, baby!" Barkley said moments after throwing the winning touchdown in the Monarchs' 28-26 victory over Los Alamitos in the championship game.

Barkley's charisma, leadership and competitiveness seems to rub off on teammates. The USC-bound senior refuses to rest on last season's accomplishments, and he understands it's up to him to get his new group of receivers on the same page.

"In the end, I think they'll be able to put up the same numbers as last year," Barkley said.

There's much improvement to be made this summer, and most important, it's about consistency and limiting the dropped passes. That's what made the Monarchs so impressive a year ago, with receivers such as Robbie Boyer catching balls anywhere near him.

Among the new receivers, one of the most promising is junior Derek Campbell, a baseball standout expected to take over at shortstop next season for UCLA-bound Tyler Rahmatulla. Campbell is a rarity, a top Mater Dei athlete who is not focusing exclusively on one sport. He made several catches at decisive moments Saturday, and he insists he's not about to give up football even though his nickname among some is, "Future Major Leaguer."

"I just want to play a variety of sports," Campbell said. "It gets me in shape. I feel I don't want to burn out by playing one sport. I just wanted to prove myself today."

Andrew Roth, Sean Sierra and Christian Maldonado also caught passes from Barkley, who Coach Bruce Rollinson said is better than ever.

"He'll put the ball where it's supposed to be," Rollinson said. "Then it comes down to catching."

------

The best group of receivers in the eight-team tournament was from Los Alamitos. Senior Darryl Jenkins, who caught 63 passes last season, was scoring touchdowns in bunches. Junior Paul Richardson Jr.is another outstanding talent.

Los Alamitos quarterback Clark Evans was consistent throughout, and he could have a big weekend ahead. Evans is headed for Tempe, Ariz., to participate in a camp at Arizona State. He said if the Sun Devils offer him a scholarship, he will probably accept.

------

Long Beach Poly is known for turning out top defensive backs, and the Jackrabbits unveiled another good one Saturday in senior strong safety Stanjarivus McKay, who twice came up with interceptions against Barkley.

McKay was a backup last season behind two players who signed with Miami and North Carolina, respectively. On one of his interceptions, he collided with a teammate but still held onto the ball. He showed the kind of fearlessness and toughness that are needed in a strong safety.

Poly struggled with its passing game and went 1-2 in the tournament.

------

On the day before Father's Day, tournament organizers matched Los Alamitos, coached by John Barnes, against Tesoro, coached by his 29-year-old son, Brian.

Another Barnes son, Jimmy, watched from the sideline, saying, "I hope it ends in a tie so I don't have to hear it from either one."