Los Alamitos Will Try to Live Up to Coach’s Promise

It was the shot heard around the county.

Moments after Mater Dei had defeated Los Alamitos, 40-23, in the second round of last year’s Southern Section Division I playoffs, Monarch Coach Bruce Rollinson shook hands with Griffin Coach John Barnes and told him how good his team would be next year, when most of the players return.

Barnes agreed and said to Rollinson: “This is the year to get us, because it won’t happen like this next year.”

Will those words come back to haunt Barnes and Los Alamitos Saturday in their Division I semifinal game against Mater Dei?

The Griffins and Monarchs will kick off at 7:30 at Edison Field.

This will be the fourth time the schools have met in the 1990s and sixth time overall, dating back to 1979. Mater Dei holds a 3-1-1 advantage.

Some recent highlights:

* In 1994, Los Alamitos had a 47-game unbeaten streak when it met Mater Dei in the semifinals. An Anaheim Stadium crowd of 33,321--fifth largest in section playoff history--watched the Monarchs score a couple late touchdowns to win, 28-24.

* After stewing over the defeat for a year, the Griffins got revenge in the 1995 playoffs, defeating Mater Dei, 23-14, in the second round.

* And then there was last year’s game. Mater Dei’s victory was its 26th in a row and sent them into another Division I final. But Long Beach Poly won, 28-25, at the Coliseum.

“When we played them in 1994 during the streak,” Barnes said, “I thought they would be tough to beat. Since then, we’ve gone back and forth. In every game I felt the team that was better did win.”

Barnes insists he was smiling when he made his prediction after last year’s game, but admitted his team must have some attitude for the game.

“You have to take some swagger if you want to have chance to win,” he said.

Rollinson said the remarks may provide his team with some psychological ammunition.

“John will downplay it, but he said it,” Rollinson said, “even though he has a team that can back it up.

“It will be in the back of our minds. But the reality is the kids on both sides will have to play 48 minutes. All that other stuff goes out the window by the fourth play.”

At 12-0, Los Alamitos is the county’s only unbeaten and untied team. The Griffins’ closest call came against Fountain Valley, which fell, 24-23, in a game that was decided in the final seconds.

Mater Dei was expected to be a step below stellar this season, but the Monarchs have lost only once--a 28-21 decision to Northern California powerhouse Concord De La Salle. The last time Mater Dei lost to a county school? In the 1995 playoffs, to Los Alamitos.

Both teams feature superb offenses.

Los Alamitos averages 42 points and has the county’s best passer-receiver combination in seniors Ryan Hanson and Keenan Howry. Hanson has thrown for 3,018 yards and 30 touchdowns (with two interceptions); Howry has caught 69 passes for 1,293 yards and scored 21 touchdowns.

Opponents who gang up on Howry can be burned by senior receivers Ryan Godfrey (43 receptions, 686 yards, six touchdowns), Blasi Ritacco (27 catches, 390 yards) and Austin Guyness (24-288).

Senior Josiah Doby (1,401 yards, 25 touchdowns) is Los Alamitos’ first running back to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season since Enrico Bozeman rushed for 1,635 in 1993.

“What they have in Doby they had in [Ryan] Gragnano in 1995,” Rollinson said. “In that game Gragnano broke our backs [with three touchdowns].”

Said Barnes: “Doby has become so good lately. He’s a man on a mission. Gragnano played a great game in 1995, but Doby can break a tackle better then anyone we’ve had.”

Mater Dei averages 32 points and has steadily improved each week.

Senior Scott Lukash has had an excellent season--2,197 yards, 28 touchdowns, three interceptions.

Senior wide receiver Kelvin Millhouse gives the Monarchs a sorely needed deep threat. He has 46 receptions for 1,072 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is complemented by senior possession receiver Jose Aguilar (35 catches, 478 yards) and senior tight end Gerard Fane (11-154).

Because of injuries, Mater Dei’s rushing attack sputtered early until senior backup quarterback Matt Grootegoed became the permanent tailback in Week 4. He has gained 839 yards and scored 15 touchdowns in 100 carries.

It’s Mater Dei’s defense that Barnes respects the most, however.

The Monarchs have given up only 160 points in 12 games; the Griffins have given up 175. And Mater Dei was strengthened by the return of senior linebacker Kevin Mitchell, who missed five games because of an injured hamstring.

“No one we’ve played will have the same toughness they do,” Barnes said. “I don’t think you ever play a team as well prepared to play as Mater Dei. If you have any weakness, they find it. Anything they can exploit, they will.”

Each team has size, strength and speed. So might the difference prove to be Barnes’ postgame remark?

“It shouldn’t,” Barnes said. “I said it, but it wasn’t a big deal to me then and it isn’t now. If they want to use it for motivation, fine, but you don’t need anything extra to motivate you for this game.”

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Titanic Clashes

Mater Dei and Los Alamitos, two of the county’s most storied programs, have developed a strong postseason rivalry since Los Alamitos’ move to the Sunset League and into the Southern Section’s Division I. Here is a complete record of the series, which Mater Dei leads, 3-1-1:

1979: Mater Dei 21, Los Alamitos 14

Regular Season

1980: Los Alamitos 0, Mater Dei 0

Regular Season

1994: Mater Dei 28, Los Alamitos 24

Division I Semifinals

1995: Los Alamitos 23, Mater Dei 14

Division I Second Round

1997: Mater Dei 40, Los Alamitos 23

Division I Second Round