No Doubt as Eagles Roll, 56-3 : Prep football: Farlow gains 200 yards and scores three touchdowns and Thompkins throws three touchdown passes and runs for another for Rialto Eisenhower.

Rialto Eisenhower High hopes its 56-3 rout of Santa Ana Mater Dei in the Southern Section Division I championship game Friday night does more than prove it is the best team in the Southland.

The Eagles want their impressive victory and 14-0 record to guarantee them a top ranking in the final state poll. And with a little luck, they hope to finish as the No. 1 team in the nation. Eisenhower was No. 2 in two national polls last week.

“I’m sorry for the lopsided score,” said Tom Hoak, Eisenhower’s coach. “We weren’t trying to run it up, despite what some people might think. But everything worked well tonight, and we proved what a good team we can be. I never would have imagined this kind of score.”

Before 15,328 at Anaheim Stadium and a live television audience, Eisenhower had no trouble proving its claim as the top team. It was dominating from start to finish, handing Mater Dei one of its worst losses ever.

How bad was it?

The 56 points were the most scored in the final by the section’s major division champion, eclipsing the 55 Huntington Beach Edison scored in a shutout victory over Redlands in 1979. And the 56-3 score was the second-most lopsided.

With a powerful lineup that includes at least six Division I college prospects, Eisenhower scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and led, 21-0, in the first quarter. It extended its lead to 35-3 at halftime and 56-3 in the third quarter.

The Monarchs’ Brandon Smallwood kicked a 34-yard field goal late in the first half, but even that did not bring many cheers from the large Mater Dei contingent. Many of the school’s fans left at halftime and nearly all were gone midway through the fourth quarter.

“I can’t tell you right now what one thing happened tonight,” said Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson, whose team finished 12-2. “With their level of talent, there is no room for mistakes, and we made several.”

Mater Dei had four turnovers and botched a fake punt.

There were plenty of heroes for Eisenhower, which avenged a 35-14 loss to Mater Dei in the Division I final two years ago.

Senior running back Marlon Farlow gained 200 yards in 13 carries and scored on touchdown runs of three, 40 and 93 yards.

Quarterback Glenn Thompkins, another senior, had touchdown passes of 46, 63 and 48 yards and scored on a 72-yard run.

Senior defensive back Walter Ford intercepted a pass by John Flynn in the second quarter and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown.

Sophomore R. Jay Soward also got into the act. He had touchdown receptions of 46 and 63 yards, caught one two-point conversion and passed for another.

“I think this goes to show that when we put our heads into it, we can do anything we want,” said Thompkins, clutching the game ball. “Last week we struggled, but this was a new game and you only need to look at our crowd to see the end result.”

The title is Eisenhower’s first.

A Big Night for Eisenhower

Biggest margins of victory in Southern Section football championship games (all divisions, 11-man only):

*

Edison 55, Redlands 0

Margin Score: 55

Year: 1979 Eisenhower 56, Mater Dei 3

Margin Score: 53

Year: 1993 San Diego 53, Monrovia 0

Margin Score: 53

Year: 1959 Pasadena 50, Whittier 0

Margin Score: 50

Year: 1915 Santa Monica 49, Poly 0

Margin Score: 49

Year: 1920