Some Familiar Matchups Are on Tap

Raul Lara studied the playoff pairings, so as soon as Long Beach Poly won its Southern Section Division I quarterfinal football game last Friday, he knew exactly who his semifinal opponent would be.

“I was like, here we go again,” said Poly’s coach.

Poly will play Santa Ana Mater Dei, a familiar foe. It will be a rematch of Mater Dei’s 21-20 semifinal victory over the Jackrabbits last season. The teams also met three consecutive seasons (1997 to ‘99) in the Division I title game.

Lara’s deja vu was understandable, but he isn’t the only Southland coach experiencing it this week. Of the 26 Southern Section semifinal games being played this weekend, 17 are rematches between teams that either met in the playoffs last season or played earlier this season.

In Southern Section Division I, both semifinal games are rematches of last year’s semifinals. In Division II, Newhall Hart and San Clemente will play in a rematch of a semifinal while Mission Viejo and Canyon Country Canyon replay their quarterfinal meeting from a year ago.

Divisions III, V, X and XIII have semifinal games between teams that met in the title games a year ago.

“I guess that means the same teams that were good last year are good again this year,” said Kevin Rooney, coach of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, which will play Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in a rematch of last year’s Division III final.

The approach to a rematch usually depends on the result of the previous game. Teams that were on the losing end of the first meeting generally use that as motivation. Winning teams take solace in past success. Both approach the game with caution.

“You can use that stuff all you want, but when said and done, it’s a 48-minute game,” said Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson. “It’s going to come down to who executes during that time, not what happened last time we played.”

Experts agree that the advantage in a rematch depends on the result from the pervious meeting. A team that won by a lopsided margin will likely retain a psychological advantage. A team that lost by only a few points will be motivated by the revenge factor.

“Generally the team that got beat is going to lick their wounds and say ‘We’ve got something to prove,’ ” said Drew Yellen, a Northridge-based clinical and sports psychologist. “But it depends on how badly the team got beat. If you’re dealing with somebody that got their butts kicked, then that can be intimidating.”

In high school sports, of course, the number of returning players will also affect the approach. Changes in the offensive and defensive schemes can have an impact.

For instance, Riverside North has 14 returning starters from a team that lost, 57-55, to Corona Centennial in the Division V final last year. They also have a new coach and run a different offense.

Centennial has only seven returning starters, the same coach and the same offense.

“It’s a whole different game this year,” Centennial Coach Matt Logan said. “We’ve played them 11 times since 1995 and it seems like it’s different every time.”

Of its 14 returning staters, North has 11 seniors. That can also have an impact on how they approach the game.

Leonard Zaichkowsky, head of sports psychology at Boston University, said that any rematch automatically becomes a rivalry, especially in the intensity of the playoffs.

“And rivalries are huge in high school,” Zaichkowsky said. “People are remembered for a long time for playing in them. Stories are told about them for generations. Psychologically you’d expect that a team with a lot of seniors are prepared to give it their all because they know they can’t come back next year. They know this is how they will be remembered.”

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Familiar Foes

Of the 26 Southern Section semifinal games being played this weekend, 17 are rematches of games played within the last year. Here’s a look at those games:

*--* Game Div. Rematch of Previous result Los Alamitos vs. Loyola I 2002 playoff Los Alamitos, 31-7 semifinal Long Beach Poly vs. I 2002 semifinal Mater Dei, 21-20 Mater Dei Hart vs. San Clemente II 2002 semifinal Hart, 24-17 Mission Viejo vs. II 2002 Mission Viejo, 48-14 Canyon quarterfinal Notre Dame vs. Mira III 2002 final Notre Dame, 20-17 Costa Agoura vs. St. IV 2002 St. Bonaventure, 68-14 Bonaventure quarterfinal Westlake vs. Moorpark IV 2003 Marmonte Westlake, 49-14 League game Corona Centennial vs. V 2002 final Centennial, 57-55 Riverside North Corona Santiago vs. V 2003 Mountain Norco, 35-21 Norco View League game Los Altos vs. Mayfair VI 2002 Los Altos, 49-14 quarterfinal Fullerton vs. La Habra IX 2003 Freeway Fullerton, 35-3 League game Serra vs. Lompoc X 2002 final Lompoc, 16-13 Nordhoff vs. Oaks XI 2003 Nordhoff, 35-28 Christian Tri-Valley League game Oak Park vs. XI 2003 Tri Oak Park, 31-0 Carpinteria Valley League game Ontario Christian vs. XII 2002 Ontario Christian, 34-7 Village Christian quarterfinal Pasadena Poly vs. XIII 2002 final Poly, 14-7 Grace Brethren Pasadena Marshall vs. XIII 2002 first Flintridge Prep, 33-6 Flintridge Prep round

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