Montclair Prep Keeps It Simple in Beating South Torrance, 15-0 : Prep football: Mounties stick to basic running plays. Swinton rushes for 192 yards, and Smith scores both touchdowns.

Montclair Prep didn’t do anything fancy. But Coach George Giannini doesn’t really care.

His Mounties won.

Montclair Prep used an offense that consisted of a limited amount of running plays to defeat South Torrance, 15-0, in a Division IX quarterfinal on Friday night at Valley College.

The Mounties (11-0) will play Nordhoff next Saturday in the semifinals.

Montclair Prep running back Eliel Swinton gained 192 yards in 29 carries, raising his career total to 5,450 and moving him into third place on the all-time Southern Section list.

The Mounties had their problems, though. Kimo Atkins and Antonio McIntyre were ejected for personal fouls. McIntyre speared South Torrance quarterback Mike Rosato out of bounds in the final two minutes of the game.

“I detest personal fouls,” Giannini said. “All you can do when they happen is discipline the players and hope they don’t happen again.”

After the game, the South Torrance coaches had a brief shouting match with the Montclair Prep coaches.

“They seemed upset,” Giannini said. “I don’t know why.”

Giannini was not upset with Swinton, though. After a slow start, Swinton finished with what Giannini called his best game.

“I guess it was all that Thanksgiving food last night,” Swinton said to explain his sluggish start. “After a while, I started to get warm, though.”

Swinton’s running mate, Wilbert Smith, gained 128 yards in 22 carries and scored both touchdowns.

The Mountie defense posted its second consecutive playoff shutout. Montclair Prep beat Murrieta Valley, 26-0, last week.

South Torrance gained only 80 yards.

The victory was also the second in a row for Montclair Prep against a much larger squad. South Torrance suited up more than 40 players and Murrieta Valley had about 60.

One concern Montclair Prep coaches had about playing in Division IX was lack of depth. The Mounties use only about 14 players.

Swinton said the number of players on the other sideline doesn’t bother him.

“Only 11 guys are allowed on the field at one time,” he said.

After Swinton, who plays defensive back, sacked Spartan quarterback Mike Rosato in the end zone for a safety, the Mounties drove 58 yards on five plays and Smith scored on a 19-yard run late in the first quarter.

Montclair Prep added to its lead with a 72-yard drive in the second quarter, capped by a one-yard run by Smith.

The Mounties could have buried the Spartans in the first half, but a long drive ended with a fumble at the South Torrance 16 in the final minute of the half.