A Bad Start Doesn’t Keep Mater Dei Down

Look who’s laughing now.

Santa Ana Mater Dei’s football team, which lost its first three games, has reached the Southern Section semifinals for the 11th time since 1989 after its 35-7 victory Friday over Fountain Valley, the fourth-seeded team in Division I.

Often overlooked is the quality of those three teams that beat the Monarchs on successive weeks: Orange Lutheran, ranked sixth in the state; Mission Viejo, ranked second in the state, and Riverside North, ranked third.

“All three of those teams could beat anybody in the Serra League,” said Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson, putting his team’s schedule into perspective.

In fact, nine of Mater Dei’s opponents were ranked in The Times’ top 25, and another, La Puente Bishop Amat, lost to second-seeded Los Angeles Loyola, 10-9, in a Division I quarterfinal on Friday, after missing two field-goal tries.

“I felt a little pressure [during the losing streak] ,” said junior quarterback Jason Forcier, who on Friday rushed nine times for 81 yards and three touchdowns and also threw a touchdown pass to Kyle Brown. “That happens when you’re a big-time school and people are expecting you to win.”

Rollinson said Forcier held the team together as it bounced back to share the Serra League title with Los Angeles Loyola.

The emergence of running backs Dane Bower and Rick Russell, both juniors, and senior Justin Guzman has given legs to the Monarchs’ ground game.

Instead of struggling in the red zone as it had previously -- Mater Dei scored only 41 points in its first four games -- turnovers are down and point production is up. In the last eight games, the Monarchs have averaged 28.4 points and their only loss was to Loyola, 31-28, in overtime.

Improved play on defense has also helped to make a difference.

“Our defense just decided enough was enough,” Rollinson said. “They bore down and flat-out started to play as a unit and they got very aggressive in their play. Once that came, their confidence rose.

“I really believe [the team is] hungrier now because of the disaster at the start of the season.”

*

It’s deja vu in the Division I semifinals, where last year’s participants will meet again in a doubleheader Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Defending champion Los Alamitos, which beat Loyola, 31-7, in the semifinals last year, plays the second-seeded Cubs at 4 p.m. Mater Dei, which beat Long Beach Poly, 21-20, in the semifinals last year, plays the top-seeded Jackrabbits at 7:30 p.m.

Recently, Mater Dei and Poly have become well acquainted during the playoffs.

The Jackrabbits defeated the Monarchs, 28-25, to win the 1997 Division I title game and the Monarchs returned the favor the following year, winning, 33-26, to claim the championship. In 1999 the teams shared the title after playing to a 21-21 tie.

“I think they might be ready for us because of last year,” Mater Dei’s Rollinson said.

*

It appears that the 2003 football campaign could be remembered as “The Season of Toby Gerhart,” as the sophomore running back continues to carry Norco toward the Division V championship game. Is his story becoming ridiculous?

“It is,” said his coach, Gary Campbell. “At one time if a kid made 150 yards, you put him in the paper as a top performer of the week.” That’s a good half for Gerhart, who sat out the first three games this season because of tight hamstrings.

On Friday, Gerhart rushed 38 times for 374 yards and four touchdowns -- his final score coming on a four-yard carry as time expired -- to give the Cougars a 49-47 quarterfinal victory over Temecula Chaparral. With no timeouts, Norco drove 90 yards in the final 2 minutes 29 seconds for the winning score.

A week earlier, Gerhart’s 27-yard scoring run in overtime -- his fourth touchdown of the game -- defeated Hemet, 41-34, capping a 13-point comeback in the final five minutes.

Over the last five games, including three in a 10-day span to start this streak, Gerhart has rushed 176 times for 1,701 yards and 20 touchdowns -- all against teams that qualified for the playoffs. Four of Norco’s last five games have been determined on the last play.

So, how much of it is Gerhart, and how much of it is his offensive line?

“You can’t really tell,” Campbell said. “You know he’s a very gifted back, but it’s the best offensive line we’ve ever had and they’re tremendous blockers. The feats he’s doing are phenomenal. Not just any back would be doing what he’s doing.”

And so, the more Gerhart runs, the more likely his linemen will spark interest among college recruiters. Left tackle Adam McDowell (6 feet 4, 245 pounds) has received an offer from Fresno State. Left guard Cameron Harris (6-4, 255) and right tackle Josh Smith (6-5, 320) have trips scheduled to Wyoming and Nevada Las Vegas. The center is Matt Lawrie (6-3, 275), and right guard Ray Parker (6-0, 265) is only a junior.

“I’m sure their stock has risen,” Campbell said of the linemen. “Going into the season, none of them had much hype.”

*

Ventura St. Bonaventure Coach Jon Mack said Ryan Mole, the Santa Maria Righetti running back, is the real deal, but that didn’t stop the Seraphs from clamping down on the high-scoring runner during a 48-19 Division IV quarterfinal victory on Friday.

Mole came into the game with 14 touchdowns in four games -- he sat out seven games because of a broken collarbone -- but scored only once, on a 22-yard run, with his team behind, 24-7.

“Our goal was to keep him out of the end zone and prevent him from breaking the big one,” Mack said. “I thought our defense did a great job.”

The Seraphs used an eight-man front and got terrific play from defensive back Terrail Lambert, who played linebacker for the first time this season, and linebacker Allen Brunner.

“Mole accounted for almost 80% of their offense,” Mack said, “so we put about 90% of our practice time toward him.”

Mole rushed for 176 yards, a season high by an opponent against St. Bonaventure -- and caught four passes for 66 yards, accounting for about 77% of Righetti’s offense.

*

Will Brogan, the replacement for injured quarterback Nate Longshore, threw a 23-yard pass with less than a minute left to Sean Coen, who had subbed at quarterback to give Brogan time to warm up, to give Canyon Country Canyon a 40-36 Division II quarterfinal victory over La Verne Damien on Friday.

It was one of only two plays for Brogan, who took a knee to end the game.

Canyon had trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter.

“As luck would have it, Longshore made a big play and his leg went out on him,” Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. “Certainly, in the second round of playoffs, to be playing a league champion and be behind by 15 in the last quarter, I don’t remember anything that mirrors that.

“You bring in your third quarterback [of the game] to throw one pass, you don’t know whether to start cheering ‘Rudy’ or what.”

Welch said he was unsure of Longshore’s condition, whether he suffered cramps or a hamstring injury that forced him from the game.

*

Villa Park scored with 50 seconds left to trail by one point, 28-27, but with sophomore Taylor Buckley filling in for his regular kicker, Stephen Olson, tore a knee ligament in the last game of the regular season, Coach Pat Mahoney decided to go for a two-point conversion against Hacienda Heights Wilson in a Division VI quarterfinal. However, Jose Barrientos made an open-field tackle on rusher Viken Bitar, who had just caught a 25-yard scoring pass, and the third-seeded Spartans lost for the first time this season.... Marty Tadman scored four touchdowns the first four times he touched the ball in Mission Viejo’s 52-18 Division II quarterfinal victory over Diamond Bar. He scored on touchdown passes of 46, 14 and 46 yards, and on a 36-yard reverse.... Phelan Serrano’s defense held La Quinta’s two 1,000-yard rushers, Drew Flores and Patrick Rivenes, to 21 and 31 yards in a 35-20 Division VIII quarterfinal victory.... Westlake Village Oaks Christian scored 65 points and gained 424 yards in the first half of its 71-12 Division XI quarterfinal victory over Twentynine Palms.... All four semifinalists in Division XI are from the Tri-Valley League: Ojai Nordhoff, Oak Park, Carpinteria and Oaks Christian.