SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Quartz Hill-Loyola Final Matches Contrasting Styles : Comparison: Canyon’s Harry Welch, whose Cowboys lost to both teams, sees no clear favorite.

Looking for inside information on tonight’s Southern Section Division I football championship?

Why not ask Canyon High Coach Harry Welch? He knows the competitors--Quartz Hill and Loyola--as well as most.

Welch’s Cowboys were 11-2 this season, losing only to Quartz Hill, 12-6, in the Golden League opener at Canyon on Oct. 12 and to Loyola, 10-3, in a Division I semifinal last week at College of the Canyons.

“Quartz Hill is definitely peaking, but there’s a double edge to that sword,” Welch said of the Rebels, who have won eight consecutive games. “You just don’t do what they’ve been doing--making one big play after another in the last couple of weeks--all the time. They’ve just had it too easy. That could hurt them.”

In contrast, Loyola has had to scratch and claw its way past its last two opponents. But the Cubs made a breakthrough of sorts when they beat Canyon after suffering semifinal losses to Bishop Amat and San Gorgonio in 1988 and ’89.

“Loyola is deceptively good on defense,” Welch said. “What I mean by that is their worst athlete is a good athlete, but their best athlete is not sensational. If you watch them on film they look pretty good, but then you try to block them live in a game situation and your guard doesn’t block their linebacker and your tackle doesn’t block their defensive end.”

Ralph Gutierrez, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior defensive tackle and fullback, and Selves Smith, a 5-11 1/2, 205-pound senior inside linebacker and running back, are the heart and soul of Quartz Hill’s defense, which has allowed only 9.5 points and 207.4 yards a game.

Offensively, Loyola (11-2) and Quartz Hill (11-2) have powerful rushing attacks, but the Cubs are apt to grind it out in time-consuming marches and Quartz Hill has a penchant for the big play.

“Quartz Hill has the ability to explode at any time,” Welch said. “That’s a big difference between the teams. Loyola doesn’t believe in their offense, they believe in their defense. Quartz Hill believes in their offense and their defense.”

The quarterback matchup between Quartz Hill’s Jake Haro (1,033 yards and 13 touchdowns passing) and Loyola’s Corby Smith (1,059 yards and five touchdowns) will play a crucial role, according to Welch.

“Haro is not an accomplished passer, but he is a very good quarterback,” Welch said. “He reminds me of Doug Flutie. . . . If he passes like he did against Mater Dei, no one has a chance against Quartz Hill. But I don’t anticipate that happening again.”

Although Quartz Hill, the Golden League champion, has been more spectacular than Loyola this season, the Rebels could be at a disadvantage mentally because of their victory over Mater Dei, which defeated Loyola, 3-0, earlier this season.

“Quartz Hill has a real big problem in that Loyola only finished third in (the Angelus) league,” Welch said. “No matter what they say, and no matter what the coach says, it’s in their players’ minds that they blew out Mater Dei, and Mater Dei beat Loyola.”

So which team is going to win tonight? It depends, Welch said.

“Loyola if it’s close,” he said. “Quartz Hill if it’s a blowout.”