Mater Dei Gets a Break . . . to 5-A Final? : Opposing Coaches Think Monarchs Are Entered in Easy Bracket

Mater Dei High School Coach Gary McKnight said he doesn’t think any game will be easy in the Southern Section 5-A division playoffs, but the Monarchs will likely advance to the championship game for the third straight year thanks to some generous bracketing by the playoff committee.

As expected, the Monarchs (25-0) were seeded first in the 16-team tournament that was announced on Sunday, and they open first-round play on Tuesday, Feb. 26, against Verbum Dei (12-11) at Chapman College’s Hutton Sports Center.

Verbum Dei was selected as the wild card team after finishing fourth in the Camino Real League. Mater Dei defeated the Eagles, 73-56, in a nonleague game at Anaheim Convention Center two months ago.

“I was flabbergasted when I saw we drew Verbum Dei,” McKnight said. “I think we got the toughest first-round game in the division. Verbum Dei is as good as any second-place team in the 5-A. They split with St. Bernard and played us tough.”

But McKnight wasn’t getting much sympathy from opposing coaches at the Southern Section office in Artesia. Most pointed to the lower bracket where four of last week’s top five teams in the Southern California writers’ poll were placed.

“The brackets aren’t even close,” second-seeded Ocean View Coach Jim Harris said. “We’ve got to play St. Bernard and then either Long Beach Poly or St. Anthony to get to the finals. Who does Mater Dei play?”

The lower bracket features the Seahawks, Camino Real League co-champion St. Anthony, defending State champion Long Beach Poly and perennial power St. Bernard. Some have picked St. Anthony as the team with the best chance of defeating Mater Dei, but the Saints lost a coin flip to Serra and enter the playoffs as its league’s No. 2 entry.

McKnight, whose teams have compiled an 82-5 record over the past three seasons, sees the nine-day wait before the opening of the 5-A playoffs as an advantage to his opponents.

“We don’t need the preparation . . . I’d just as soon get started,” he said. “The delay is advantageous to our opponents. They’ve got all that time to prepare for us.”

Last year, Long Beach Wilson and Notre Dame unsuccessfully tried delay tactics in an effort to slow down the Monarchs. McKnight doesn’t foresee any stalling tactics in the new division.

“The teams we’re playing won’t slow it down and I expect them to come right at us,” he said. “But no matter what we do, we’re expected to win it all . . . we have to win it all.”

Besides the Mater Dei-Verbum Dei game, there are two other rematches in the first round. Fountain Valley (16-7) hosts Compton (14-9) in what should be the division’s most competitive opener. Fountain Valley edged Compton, 37-36, in a nonleague game before opening Sunset League play.

Servite (10-13) travels to Poly (17-7) in a rematch of a first-round game of the Tournament of Champions that Poly won, 43-33. Poly has won 10 of its last 11 games since opening the season with a 7-6 record under rookie Coach Chris Kinder.

Three all-Orange County matchups highlight the 4-A division that begins on Friday night. County teams failed to receive any of four seedings. Undefeated Glendale (23-0) is the top team and Santa Monica (19-4) is seeded second.

The best game figures to be Corona del Mar (19-6) at Mission Viejo (22-4) on Friday night. Other interesting matchups include Estancia (24-3) at Santa Ana (17-8) and Dana Hills (17-5) at Orange (18-7).

“Corona del Mar is probably the toughest third-place team in the division,” Mission Viejo Coach Bob Minier said. “They’re on a roll and you know you’re not going to blow them out.”

Dana Hills was the only second-place team in the 4-A that was scheduled to play a league champion and the Dolphins must play in one of the county’s toughest gyms for opposing teams. Orange was 8-0 at home this year.

“I’ve been down here seven of the past eight years with Loara and Dana Hills and I’ve opened the playoffs at home once in that time,” Dolphin Coach Steve Thornton said. “We won 9 of our last 10 games and played in a tough league. So what’s our reward? We have to go to Orange.”

It could be worse. Capistrano Valley (20-5) must travel to Redlands (17-7) where the Terriers haven’t lost a home game in the past three years. Redlands has won 17 straight games at home. El Modena (15-8) travels to North High (20-3) in Riverside to face the defending 3-A division Huskies.

Sea View League champion Newport Harbor (22-3) won’t find out who its plays until Wednesday night. The Sailors play host to either San Gorgonio (17-7) or Hemet (14-9) who must play a wild card game Wednesday.

“There is an advantage because we’ll get to look at them once,” Sailor Coach Jerry DeBusk said, “and they only have one day to prepare for us.”