HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : CITY 2-A : University vs. Reseda

It’s the rematch of mismatches, the City 2-A championship game, but will it be as good the second time? Will the big Reseda line beat up University’s tiny interior linemen once again? Will University be able to fashion another improbable comeback against the stingy Reseda defense?

These questions will be answered when Reseda meets University for the 2-A title Thursday night at Birmingham High School at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of a wild game won by University, 29-24, in November.

But perhaps the most important question has already been answered. Coach Joel Schaeffer said that he will definitely not use the man-to-man coverage that University receivers exploited for touchdowns of 26, 27, and 39 yards, enabling the Warriors to come back from a 24-7 third-quarter deficit.

“I don’t think there are any cornerbacks (in the City) that can cover Marc Rodgers and Paul Richardson one-on-one,” Rodgers said after the first game. Schaeffer agrees.

“No, we won’t (single cover),” Schaeffer said. “We’ll have to show them several different things. I don’t know if there’s anyone in the City that can single cover them.”

In that first game, the Reseda offensive and defensive lines dominated the opening half.

University Coach Joe Sedia then adjusted his run-and-shoot offense and decided to throw deep. Quarterback Daryl Hobbs threw touchdown passes to Varian Smith, Rodgers and Richardson to give University the Pac-8 title. Hobbs completed 13 of 22 passes for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Still, University could manage only 64 yards rushing against Reseda, and that’s more than the Regents usually allow.

“The problem with our team, if you want to call it a problem, is the size of our line,” Sedia said. “We’re very, very small. (Our) interior linemen are tiny people, really. And Joel has a way of coming up with some very big people.”

Indeed, University has only one offensive lineman heavier than 200 pounds, while the Reseda line averages well over 200. The Regents hold a similar edge on defense.

But Reseda may be as mismatched in the secondary as it is dominant on the line. Richardson and Rodgers, the City’s finest pair of receivers, each averaged 19 yards a catch this season. Richardson, also a defensive standout, had 16 touchdowns. Smith, a tight end, also averaged 19 yards a catch.

Reseda (9-2) relies on running back Ronald Wilkinson, who had a touchdown run in the first game, and Donnie Grant, who Schaeffer refers to as his “plain wrap quarterback.”

In the first game, Grant was effective running behind tight end David Wilson and fullback Darrell Armstrong, especially on Reseda’s game-opening touchdown drive. However, 14 of Reseda’s points were set up by defensive plays.

But this time, Schaeffer says, a few points might be enough.