That’s ‘D’ as in Diablos’ Defense

Deep in the bowels of Edison Field, behind closed locker room doors, a sobbing and battered Sean Norton of Newhall Hart High tried to explain life as a quarterback after facing the most harrowing defense in Southern California.

“I couldn’t see straight,” he said. “I couldn’t remember what the stadium looked like. They were putting pressure on me all night. We just didn’t have enough time to throw.”

You’ve heard of the Orange Crush. What Hart endured Saturday was the Red Crush of Mission Viejo, an unyielding defense that recorded 13 tackles for losses. Norton was sacked six times and came away with minus-52 yards rushing, not to mention a throbbing headache.

The Diablos (14-0) defeated Hart, 10-6, to win their second consecutive Southern Section Division II championship. It was the first time since 1990 that a team had held Hart (12-1-1) without a touchdown.

“It was unbelievable,” Mission Viejo linebacker Jedidiah Collins said. “We counted on our defensive line to stop them. Everybody played with their heart. We knew they’d never quit. We remember they’ve scored 45, 46 points in games, but we knew they couldn’t stop our defensive line.”

Norton, a 5-foot-11 junior, came out of the locker room at halftime feeling a bit light-headed after several hits in the first half. But he probably thought he was riding the Matterhorn at Disneyland after the opening series of the third quarter.

On consecutive plays, he lost 11 yards on a bad snap, was sacked for minus-six yards by Justin Williams, then was dropped in the end zone for a safety by Williams.

“They didn’t know how to block us,” said Williams, who had 21 sacks this season.

Welcome to the dilemma coaches faced all season against Mission Viejo. When you try to double-team one lineman, someone else steps up. The biggest sack of the night was made by unsung Brady Beach on fourth down with 4:58 left on the Mission Viejo 34-yard line. That was the last scoring threat for the Indians.

“The defense is amazing,” Mission Viejo Coach Bob Johnson said.

Johnson guided Lake Forest El Toro to three section titles during the 1980s, but he’s having the time of his life at Mission Viejo.

“Two years in a row of this stuff is fun,” he said.

Most people assume the best team in Southern California comes out of the Division I playoffs, but players from both teams in the Division II game were convinced this year was an exception.

“I think this was for the championship of Southern California,” Collins said. “[Hart] has a great team, great coaches, but today we outplayed them.”

Unfortunately for Norton, he suffered the same fate every quarterback experiences taking on the Red Crush.

“They deserve every accolade they get,” Norton said.

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Final observations from the 2002 season:

Most impressive sophomores: 1. Receiver Jeremy Childs, Los Alamitos; 2. Running back Aaron Ware, Westlake Village Oaks Christian; 3. Lineman Aleksey Lanis, L.A. Crenshaw; 4. Linebacker Luke Laolagi, Lake Balboa Birmingham; 5. Running back Dwight Tardy, Sante Fe Springs St. Paul; 6. Running back Dane Morck, Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula; 7. Defensive back Cary Harris, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; 8. Defensive back Ryan Wolfe, Hart.

Top college prospects for 2004: 1. Running back Terrell Jackson, Corona Centennial; 2. Defensive back Randy Estes, Los Alamitos; 3. Receiver Derrick Jones, Long Beach Poly; 4. Quarterback Rocky Hinds, Playa del Rey St. Bernard; 5. Defensive end Jimmy Miller, Westlake Village Westlake; 6. Quarterback Nathan Longshore, Canyon Country Canyon; 7. Defensive end Michael Stuart, Westlake; 8. Tight end Thomas Herring, L.A. Fremont; 9. Linebacker Jedidiah Collins, Mission Viejo; 10. Receiver Michael Bumpus, Culver City; 11. Lineman Norris Malele, Carson; 12. Lineman Brandon Nicolas, Santa Ana Mater Dei; 13. Quarterback Sean Norton, Hart; 14. Receiver Justin Shaw, Palmdale.

Top teams for 2003: 1. Los Alamitos, 2. Hart, 3. Mater Dei, 4. Corona Centennial, 5. Long Beach Poly.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com