SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Big Game Comes Down to the Defense : Mater Dei: Monarchs hope to avoid getting involved in a high-speed chase with the Griffins.

SANTA ANA — Welcome to a defensive coordinator’s nightmare.

Brad, go down to your dad’s Chevy and turn around. I’ll fake it to ya. Tony, you run to the manhole cover and turn around. Stan, you go deep.

It’s street football, Los Alamitos style. Their attitude: Just try and stop us.

No one has yet.

Mater Dei defensive coordinator Eric Johnson will attempt to reel in Los Alamitos’ offense in tonight’s Southern Section Division I semifinal game.

“We have to somehow stop this from becoming a scoring contest,” Johnson said. “If it does, the last team with the ball will win. In that case, my advice would be not to punt in the fourth quarter.”

The key is in his secondary, which will have to blanket receivers Brad Melsby, Tony Hartley and Stan Guyness. A trio that has speed and savvy. And none of them drop too many.

Getting them the ball is Kevin Feterik, a junior quarterback who has thrown for 2,583 yards and 27 touchdowns despite missing 3 1/2 games because of a broken hand.

Those four--with a little support from a decent offensive line and an average running game--are the heart of an offense that averages 33.8 points.

“We haven’t seen anything like them,” Johnson said. “We’ve played a couple teams that had one receiver who was close to their level. But we haven’t had to deal with three like them.

“No matter what you design, you got to cover those receivers.”

So welcome to your private hell Robbie Tritz, Kevin Braga, Jason Lundstrom and Peter Campbell, the secondary that will face the fire.

Feterik picked them apart twice in summer passing leagues.

“I don’t think anyone can beat (Los Alamitos) in a passing league,” Johnson said. “Hopefully it will be different with linemen rushing.”

The Monarchs have one advantage. While they haven’t seen the likes of Los Alamitos’ offense, the Griffins have not run into a defense this talented.

Mater Dei has allowed 11.3 points per game.

“The strength of this defense is it plays like a unit,” Monarch Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “Each week a different kid is rising to the occasion.”

Last week it was Braga, who intercepted two passes in a 31-7 victory over Los Angeles Loyola. This week, one guy won’t be enough.

Johnson will try to take the pressure off the secondary by pressuring Feterik. The Monarchs made pass a priority against Mission Viejo and it produced two sacks.

Still, they have the muscle up front to do it with Matt Motherway (6 feet 4, 265 pounds), Bryan Williams (6-5, 235) and Kevin Donahue (6-3, 262). Johnson will mix and match blitzes, trying to keep Feterik off-balance.

That has been tried. Marina sacked Feterik three times and rushed him into hurried throws on several plays. Feterik still threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-14 victory.

“I don’t think you can stay with one thing against them,” Johnson said. “You have to adjust and throw different things at them. At the same time, you have to keep from confusing your own players.”

Los Alamitos had three close games this season. None of those defensive strategies would be advisable.

--Long Beach Poly rotated coverages and blitzed often. The Griffins scored only one touchdown in the 7-0 victory. But they also turned the ball over three times inside the five-yard line.

--Edison nearly knocked off the Griffins. The Chargers stayed close by holding onto the ball for long stretches. Still, Feterik drove the Griffins 48 yards in two plays that took 26 seconds for a 15-12 victory.

--Esperanza tried to play last-one-with-ball-wins and lost, 35-32. The Aztecs made the fatal mistake of giving up the ball with two minutes left. It took Feterik only 48 seconds to go 83 yards.

“They seem to have the ability to adjust to whatever you throw at them,” Rollinson said. “We’re going to play physical and just try to hold on.”