‘92 Mater Dei Team Perks Up in First-Round Romp

The chitchat around the coffee cart had little to do with football Friday night. Sure, the Mater Dei-Encino Crespi game was only a few moments away. But what were all those Epicureans pouring into Orange Coast College stadium supposed to do? Discuss game strategy when there was cappuccino in the air?

Hmmmm, yes. I’ll have a cafe au lait--chocolate sprinkles, hold the cinnamon--and gee whiz I hope Mater Dei gets that blitz going tonight.

Face it, football fans. Compared to 1991, Mater Dei has been something of a double decaf this season. Looks fine, just lacks pizazz.

That South Coast League championship the Monarchs won this year? Not too shabby.

Their 8-1-1 regular-season record? Above average.

The fact that they hovered within the county’s top 10 ranking? Ho hum, ho hum.

Sorry, Monarchs. This is what happens to teams that dare to take the field a year after winning the Southern Section Division I title. Even if you are a different bunch of players, you have to live with at least a trace of last year’s expectations. That’s just the way it goes.

Unless, of course, you find a way to step out of last year’s shadow.

Mater Dei’s 40-0 victory Friday night was more than a first-round rout. The game put the Monarchs back on track--mentally, physically, maybe even astrologically.

And now, whom do the Monarchs meet Friday at Santa Ana Stadium? Their good pals from Rialto Eisenhower. You know Eisenhower. The team Mater Dei beat in last year’s championship game. The team that watched its No. 1-national ranking evaporate in the air over Anaheim Stadium. More on this in a sec.

This year’s edition of Mater Dei was clicking Friday night. Every move was running smooth. The Monarchs took the field like kids let loose on a Toys-R-Us shopping spree. Intensity never knew such fun.

Running back Nicky Sualua got the best pickings--six touchdowns and 106 yards rushing--thanks to a body that, while built like a small bull (6 feet 1, 245 pounds), almost floats across the field.

Sophomore quarterback John Flynn, in his third varsity start, showed he’s something else. Flynn passed for 178 yards, connecting on 12 of 16 attempts. All this, with a big cardboard sign in the stands that read: “JOHN FLYNN IS MY HERO.”

Consider the fact that Flynn is a kid who looks like he just toilet-papered the principal’s house--his grin is ever-elfish. He’s refreshingly un-robotic, even screams with joy after he makes big plays.

“He’s a very positive child,” his mother, Carol, says. “When he was born, he just had this look on his face like, ‘Here I am world, let’s go to it!’ ”

Which sums up the Monarch attitude at the moment.

“We’re on an outstanding high right now,” said Parker Gregg, senior linebacker and team captain. “It’s amazing, really. We never thought at the beginning of the season that we’d be doing this well.”

Who did?

The 0-0 tie with Servite the first week of the season certainly didn’t show much offensive zing. The league loss to Dana Hills made the Monarchs want to bury themselves on the field for a week, maybe more.

But then the seniors called a players-only meeting. Topics were tossed around, issues were discussed. Everybody voiced an opinion and the opinion was this: Forget about last year; we can do better.

“We recommitted ourselves,” Gregg says. “And now (since the Crespi game), we know we have the chance to take it all the way to the championship game again.”

The next step, of course, is against Eisenhower, which beat Lakewood, 49-8, Friday night. Like Mater Dei, Eisenhower is 9-1-1.

The Monarchs will need to key on junior running back Marlon Farlow, who rushed for 697 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season. Quarterback Glenn Tompkins completed 48 of 78 passes for 875 yards. Damond Wilkins is a talented receiver . . .

Not that any of this information makes a difference.

Last year, if you recall, Eisenhower came into the division final as the most powerful running team in the world. Or something like that. Eisenhower traditionally looks at the passing game as Dracula does garlic--with considerable panic.

So what did Eisenhower Coach Tom Hoak decide to do in last year’s championship? He passed. And passed and passed until his team’s chance of victory passed before Eisenhower’s eyes. This year, who knows? Hoak might go with the kicking game.

As for the Monarchs, it doesn’t matter. Their double decaf days are over.

Barbie Ludovise’s column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Ludovise by writing her at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, 92626 or by calling (714) 966-5847.