Brothers Try to Bring Home Trophy : Division III: Los Alamitos center Eddie Dominguez and his brother, defensive back Marco, are league MVPs at their positions.

In junior high, they were simply known as the Dominguez Connection. It was only flag football, but Eddie and Marco Dominguez usually spelled defeat for the opposition. Eddie, 1 1/2 years younger, played center and Marco, now five inches taller, played quarterback.

When the Dominguez brothers entered Los Alamitos High School and took their first crack at tackle football, the connection was broken. Eddie stayed on the offensive line and Marco moved to the defense.

They have tried to maintain close contact on the field, but Eddie has been busy bowling over defensive linemen and Marco has been smothering wide receivers as a defensive back. Rarely do they miss a snap. Often, they’re too pooped to cheer each other from the sideline.

After four seasons, they have been reunited on the 1991 Empire League honor roll. Eddie, a 5-foot-9, 231-pound senior, is the league’s offensive lineman of the year. Marco, a 6-2, 195-pound senior, is the defensive back of the year.

Together, and yet separately, they have helped Los Alamitos reach the Division III championship game for the fourth time in the school’s history. The Griffins (11-2) play Empire League rival Esperanza (13-0) at 7:30 tonight at Cerritos College.

They watched the Griffins’ last championship game in 1988--Eddie from the stands, Marco from the sideline--both helpless to alter a 30-20 loss to Paramount.

Tonight, they hope to have an impact on the outcome. It’s their last high school game, and it could be their final game together, though each would like to play college football.

Over the years, the brothers have eaten a lot of plates of pasta, the Griffins’ pregame meal of choice. Eddie has started 25 consecutive games at center; Marco 35 of the past 36 in the secondary.

“It’s the biggest game of our lives,” Eddie said. “Win or lose, it’s the biggest game of our lives.”

Either way, Aurora and Joe Dominguez couldn’t be prouder of their sons.

Initially, they weren’t so sure they wanted Eddie and Marco playing tackle football as youngsters.

In time, they saw how the boys loved to watch football on TV, then play pickup games in the street.

The boys’ first organized experience came while playing flag football at St. Hedwig junior high in Los Alamitos. Quickly, they set out to carve their own niches. Still, they were nearly inseparable.

“They needed a center in junior high and wanted to know if I wanted to try it,” Eddie said.

There wasn’t much contact, but Eddie grew to love the simplicity of the position.

“You get the ball to the quarterback, block the guy ahead of you and hardly get any recognition,” he said.

For two seasons, Marco dominated the spotlight, taking the snaps and directing St. Hedwig to the championship of its league.

Each player yearned for more, however. They wanted to put on the pads and hit somebody. Their parents gave the final OK, and Eddie and Marco became members of the Griffin freshman team in the fall of 1988.

“We knew we were coming to a school with a great tradition,” Marco said. “We knew they had a great football team and we wanted to be a part of that.”

On the freshman team, Eddie put in workmanlike efforts in the trenches, and Marco showed his versatility by playing running back and defensive end.

By season’s end, Marco had been promoted to the varsity to play defensive back on the scout team.

He has been there ever since, missing only one game since his sophomore season. Interestingly enough, he was absent for the Griffins’ 28-7 loss to Esperanza on Oct. 25 because of strained knee ligaments. He said he is about 95% recovered.

Though sidelined by a broken shoulder in his freshman season, Eddie’s two-year varsity career also has been relatively injury-free.

With the exception of losses to Esperanza and El Dorado, Eddie’s and Marco’s senior seasons have gone off like a dream. So far, the highlight has been their respective league MVP awards, though they hope that will change.

“My brother had a great year, but I would never have expected anything like that,” said Eddie, who was duly inspired to play harder after the announcement. “I had to prove I deserved that kind of award.”

The only way to top that is to go out as champions. Together.