HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE : El Monte Arroyo vs. San Bernardino Cajon

El Monte Arroyo High’s football team has not had much success early in the season the last two years.

The Knights split their first four games last year and lost three of their first four this season.

But the bottom line has been the same for Arroyo, which has reached the Southern Section Southeastern Conference championship game for the second straight year.

Arroyo, defending conference champion, has won nine straight games and takes a 10-3 record into the title game against second-seeded San Bernardino Cajon (12-1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Cajon.

“Traditionally, we just haven’t been a fast starting team,” Arroyo Coach Don MacKinnon said. “I think over the last four years, we’ve played our best football at the end of the year. Maybe it just takes that long for our players to learn our system.”

The Knights have made it to the semifinals again despite losing two top players to injuries in the first quarter of their quarterfinal game against Apple Valley. Tackle Rick Fuller, 6 feet 8 inches and 270 pounds, tore ligaments in his ankle and was lost for the rest of the playoffs, and running back Jason MacLellan is still nursing a sprained ankle and may not be able to play Friday.

Two games before that, Arroyo lost its other starting tackle to injury, so the Knights have shifted their offensive focus from the run to the pass. The change in strategy was in evidence when quarterback Willie Reyna passed for 183 yards and Arroyo’s only touchdown in a 7-3 win over Victor Valley in the semifinals.

Arroyo also has two good pass targets in receivers Marc Chavarria and Paco Chavez, and All-Southern Section guard Frank Imperial has played well since moving to tackle after Fuller’s injury.

The Knights will face a Cajon team playing in a championship game for the first time, although the Cowboys are no strangers to postseason play. Cajon, which beat Baldwin Park in the semifinals, 16-14, has reached the playoffs seven straight years and the semifinals three times during that span.

The Cowboys may pose problems for Arroyo along the interior line because their offensive line averages 225 pounds across. The biggest are All-Southern Section tackle Sam Stahlheber at 6-5 and 240, and tackle Luke Parhan, 6-5 and 230.

That line may be the biggest reason for Cajon’s successful rushing attack. The rushing leader is senior tailback Michael Beauxregard, who has gained 1,926 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. Fullback Corey Thurston and wingback Ray Washington have also combined to rush for more than 1,200 yards.

“I doubt that they’ve seen as good of a rushing attack as we have,” Coach Chuck Pettersen said. “But they will also be the best defense we’ve gone up against.”

Arroyo has allowed only six points in its first three playoff games and the Knights are particularly strong against the run. “If we had a choice, we’d like to try to stop a one-dimensional team and they’re basically a one-dimensional team,” MacKinnon said. “They have a big line and they just try to wear you down.”

Arroyo has been led on defense by linebackers Mike Cabral, Javier Holguin and Eric Martinez, and cornerbacks Ron Arellano and Darren MacLellan--a sophomore who is Jason’s brother.