Lukash Takes Advantage, Leads South to 24-7 Victory

The circumstances under which Mater Dei quarterback Scott Lukash entered the Orange County all-star football game could have been better--he replaced injured starter Scott Barlow of Woodbridge on the team’s second series.

But Lukash took advantage of extended play in his last high school game--throwing for 148 yards and three touchdowns in the South’s 24-7 victory Friday night over the North before a near-capacity crowd of 6,000 at Orange Coast College.

Lukash, who will play college football at Villanova, hooked up with Trabuco Hills running back Al Gandall five times for 84 yards, including twice for touchdowns.

“This is a great way to go out,” said Lukash, who was named the game’s top offensive player. “I’ll miss Southern California.”

Lukash was supposed to play the second and fourth quarter, but Barlow was pulled down from behind by Pacifica’s Keith Townsend on the second series. His left knee twisted as he went down and he had to be helped off the field by two teammates. South Coach Rick Gibson, also Barlow’s high school coach, said he thinks Barlow’s injury might be serious.

“I thought Scott was going to be the one getting the game ball,” Gibson said. “It’s just a crime. He’s a tough kid. He’ll come back.”

Barlow, who has signed with Weber State, completed one of three passes before leaving. On Lukash’s first play, he hit Gandall on a 44-yard bootleg pass. The South didn’t score on that drive as it turned the ball over on downs when Los Amigos back Andrew Niumata was stopped on short yardage at the North five-yard line.

But North running back Trevell Jackson (Western) was stripped on the next play and Jarom Fano (Fountain Valley) recovered on the three. Two plays later, Lukash hit Greg Orlando (Santa Margarita) on a one-yard touchdown pass after a beautiful play fake. A 12-yard pass from Lukash to Gandall gave the South a 14-0 lead with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.

The North, which struggled all game to move the ball, cut the lead to 14-7 with 2:35 left before halftime on a 19-yard pass from Jeff Crooks (Cypress) to Tim Fleming (Orange Lutheran).

The scoreless third quarter featured five punts--there were 14 in the game. The South took a 17-7 lead on a 39-yard field goal by Steve Terwiske (Woodbridge) and closed out the scoring in the final minute on a nine-yard pass from Lukash to Gandall.

“They kept buying the fakes and Gandall was the open guy all night,” Lukash said.

Said Gibson: “Lukash picked us up and so did the offensive line. They had to because Lukash was the only other quarterback to take snaps.”

North quarterbacks Ryan Hanson (Los Alamitos) and Crooks, who alternated series, didn’t find many open receivers all night. They were sacked six times and completed only 13 of 30 passes for 100 yards with one interception.