Matagi Comes Up Big for Los Amigos

His numbers are big but Anthony Matagi isn’t, and that’s why he often gets strange reactions from opponents and their fans when he steps onto the football field before games.

“They say, ‘Are you supposed to be that running back?’ ” Matagi said. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess so.’ ”

More times than not, Matagi, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior at Fountain Valley Los Amigos, gives them a more definitive answer by his on-field performance. He is among the state leaders with 2,374 yards rushing and 43 touchdowns, and as the stakes get higher, Matagi only gets better.

Last week, he rushed for 321 yards and six touchdowns and caught a pass for a touchdown in a 65-28 Southern Section Division IX quarterfinal victory over Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro. The week before in a first-round victory over Fullerton Sunny Hills, he had 300 yards and five touchdowns.

Los Amigos (10-2), the division’s top-seeded team, plays Anaheim Western in the semifinals Friday.

“He’s got a great ability to see the whole field,” Coach Roger Takahashi said. “He has great instincts, makes great decisions and has great breakaway speed.”

Matagi demonstrated that speed with touchdown runs of 92, 88 and 83 yards in the last two games. His size has kept college recruiters away and he probably will attend a community college next year, but Matagi has already proven that size isn’t everything.

He has run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds and excels in three sports where size is considered paramount. He is a guard on the Los Amigos basketball team and is a standout hitter on the volleyball team.

“I hear that about being small,” he said. “But I just like to go out and prove them wrong.”

Matagi is closing in on 6,000 career yards. Last year, he helped Los Amigos set a school record with 11 victories. A championship this year would surpass that total and would be the school’s first in football. The Lobos played in the 1981 Central Conference final and lost to Mission Viejo, 35-0.

With a strong nucleus that includes Matagi, quarterback Maopu Tuato, linebacker Edgar Islas and defensive end Alex Toailoa, Los Amigos has a good shot at returning to the title game.

And if they do, Matagi will likely carry them.

“We don’t have to pass, but we can,” Takahashi said. “Until they stop Anthony, we’re going to run.”

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Inglewood Morningside has been the rags-to-riches story of this season, and the Monarchs have shown they are no fluke by reaching the Division X semifinals.

It is the first semifinal appearance since 1991 for Morningside, which had not won more than three games in the last 10 years.

“It’s a big deal,” Coach Mike McCarthy said. “The school is behind us, the community is behind us, alumni that haven’t been out in years are coming out. Last year, we didn’t have 50 people in the stands and this year the crowd support has been a big turnaround.”

Morningside will play host to Santa Maria St. Joseph on Friday night at 7:30 at Coleman Field in Inglewood. The last time the Monarchs played in a semifinal, they ended up winning the Division VIII title, but later had to forfeit it for using an ineligible player.

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Lakewood Mayfair Coach Mike Fitch knows exactly what his team is up against Friday, when the Monsoons face defending champion Hacienda Heights Los Altos in a Division VI semifinal, and that’s what troubles him.

Los Altos (12-0) has won 18 consecutive games and has outscored opponents, 462-119, this season. Last year in the Division VI quarterfinals, Los Altos defeated Mayfair, 49-14.

“We’ve seen a lot of good teams and that is the finest team I’ve seen in CIF,” Fitch said. “They have an aggressive, no-nonsense defense that gets after the ball, and on offense, I don’t think anyone can stop them.”

Mayfair (9-3) has also proven difficult to stop. The Monsoons have won nine consecutive games and have averaged 37.8 points during that stretch. Running back Dereik Driscoll has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and quarterback Kevin Dehaas has close to 1,400 yards passing.

Still, Fitch said it will take a nearly perfect game to upset Los Altos.

“This is a big challenge and with big challenges come big rewards,” he said. “I’d just like it to be a good game. If we can go to the fourth quarter with a chance, then anything can happen in the last 12 minutes.”

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Sherman Oaks Notre Dame needed four overtimes to beat Lynwood in a Division III quarterfinal, 48-45, and the player who ended the game with a 37-yard field goal was a novice kicker.

Tim Rubey began the season as a receiver and defensive back, but he stepped forward after sophomore kicker Kai Forbath pulled a thigh muscle a few weeks into the season.

“Tim volunteered to start kicking in case we needed him, and he started doing very well,” Coach Kevin Rooney said. “So we weren’t going to make any changes [in the overtime].”

Rubey had one point-after attempt blocked, but has made all five of his field-goal attempts, including one from 51 yards against Harvard-Westlake.

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Temecula Linfield senior running back James Waite set the school’s career rushing record with 3,054 yards and 44 touchdowns in only two seasons. Linfield had its season end with a 43-16 loss to Flintridge Prep in the first round of the Division XIII playoffs.

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Calabasas Viewpoint, which has won two league titles since starting its eight-man program in 1990, will begin playing 11-man football next fall.

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Staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this report.