Orange Lutheran Not in Awe of Perfection

Orange Lutheran showed the meaningless of a perfect record achieved against inferior competition when it hammered previously unbeaten and second-seeded Los Angeles Cathedral, 35-7, in a Southern Section Division XI semifinal Friday at Downey St. Matthias High.

The fourth-seeded Lancers, who learned valuable lessons in early-season losses to Division VI powers Newport Harbor and Irvine, simply outclassed the spunky but overwhelmed Phantoms.

Lutheran scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and won going away as running back Ryan Cecil finished with two rushing touchdowns and quarterback Jason Taylor added two more.

“They were at the top of their game,” said Cathedral quarterback Tony Colton, who failed to find a rhythm. “They have a real good chance to win the championship.”

The Lancers (11-2) will try to win their first football title in school history when they face the winner of tonight’s game between top-seeded Ventura St. Bonaventure (12-0) and Carpinteria (6-5-1) Dec. 9 at a site to be determined. It will be Lutheran’s first appearance in a title game since 1995.

The Lancers have made it back because of their schedule and because they learned to win without their stars. Three of Lutheran’s top five players, including quarterback Robby Hobbs, missed the first four games of the season, yet the Lancers persevered.

On Friday, Hobbs completed five of six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown as the Lancers’ two-quarterback system worked to perfection. Taylor churned up yardage on the ground, finishing with 54 yards in 11 carries.

“I’m proud of the effort they showed and their discipline,” Lutheran Coach Jim Kunau said. “Defensively, we bent a little bit in the first half, but we didn’t break.”

Cathedral (11-1) scored its only points in the second quarter when Georgia Tech-bound receiver Earvin Johnson made a nifty grab of a 23-yard pass from Colton despite being mauled by Lancer defenders. The Phantoms moved the ball inside Lutheran territory three other times in the first half but came up empty.

In the second half, Cathedral self-destructed with two fumbles. The farthest they moved the ball was to their 37-yard line.

The Lancers, by contrast, were a model of efficiency. Lutheran drove 80 yards on its first possession, needing only one third-down conversion along the way. Cecil took a pitch and scored from three yards to make the score 7-0.

The Lancers went ahead, 13-0, on a 13-yard scramble by Taylor early in the second quarter.