Division II Finale’s a Struggle of Strong Suits

High-powered offenses, stingy defenses and teams that have established traditions of excellence unmatched in Southern California in the last few seasons -- the Southern Section Division II championship football game has it all.

Top-seeded Mission Viejo (13-0), the defending champion, is riding a 27-game winning streak heading into the 2 p.m. showdown today at Edison Field. Second-seeded Newhall Hart (12-0-1) has a 35-game unbeaten streak and has won four consecutive Division III titles.

A couple of coaches who have had the misfortune of playing each team weighed in on which might prevail today.

Canyon Country Canyon suffered a 35-9 loss to Hart during Foothill League play and fell to Mission Viejo, 48-14, in a quarterfinal.

“I would certainly give Hart the advantage with its outstanding offense,” Coach Harry Welch said. “I don’t know how Mission Viejo prepares for that offense in one week. Mission Viejo may be in for mission impossible.

“The sophistication of Hart’s passing attack is something they haven’t seen nor can they duplicate in practice.”

Indeed, Hart’s pass-first, pass-second, run-third offense has generated 37.8 points per game behind quarterback Sean Norton. The junior playmaker, generously listed at 6 feet on the roster, has passed for 3,769 yards and 35 touchdowns and probably will extend the Indians’ string of all-section quarterbacks to 18 consecutive years.

What makes Norton doubly dangerous is his scrambling ability in the spread offense. He has rushed for 576 yards and six touchdowns, including 63 yards last week during Hart’s 24-17 semifinal victory over San Clemente.

But Eric Patton, the San Clemente coach, doesn’t think Norton will be able to roam freely against a Mission Viejo defense that limited his Tritons to 14 points during a 35-point victory in South Coast League play.

“What you will see is a pass rush that just won’t quit,” Patton said of Mission Viejo. “I don’t think Hart has a way to block [nose tackle] Chris Cole, and he could be devastating. That’s going to neutralize Hart quite a bit.”

Mission Viejo’s defense is giving up only 8.7 points per game, thanks in large part to its starting linemen, who average 6-1 and 240 pounds. Still, the Diablo linebackers will face a big challenge against Hart: containing its third and fourth receivers.

“Mission Viejo’s corners should neutralize Hart’s outside receivers,” Patton said, “but I don’t think Mission has seen a team that throws the ball so effectively to so many receivers.

“I still think the edge goes to Mission. Hart’s a good football team and they’re very skilled, but Mission’s skilled and physical.”

The coaches on the hot seat today know plenty about winning championships. Hart’s Mike Herrington has won five section titles, one more than Mission Viejo’s Bob Johnson.

Herrington is concerned about the Diablos’ balanced offense, which could match Hart yard for yard. Mission Viejo quarterbacks Josh Rodarmel and Marty Tadman are both expected to play, and for good reason.

Rodarmel has completed 70% of his passes for 903 yards and 13 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Though not as prolific a passer as his teammate, Tadman brings tremendous scrambling ability, having rushed for 184 yards on the season.

A mammoth offensive line led by USC-bound Drew Radovich has provided ample protection for the quarterbacks and opened Texas-sized holes for running back Ryan Holmes (1,131 yards, 16 touchdowns).

“They have that big offensive line with the power running game and the play-action pass,” Herrington said. “We hope technique overcomes [their size advantage], but it looks like it might be a big problem for us.”

Johnson said the onus would be on each team’s defense, but added, “There’s tiebreakers, so somebody’s going down.”