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Calhoun's Games to Watch: Mater Dei vs. Servite

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:19:32 +0000

Best games to watch on the Week 7 schedule:

No. 8 Mater Dei (3-3, 0-1) vs. No. 3 Servite (5-1, 1-0)
Friday at Santa Ana Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

Outlook: 1988. That’s the last time Servite has defeated Mater Dei. The Monarchs enter this year’s meeting with a 20-game unbeaten streak (the teams played to a scoreless tie in 1992). This has to the year it ends, right?

Right?

On paper, you would probably say yes, but it is a good thing these games aren’t played on paper.

The Friars opened Trinity League play with a 37-19 victory over St. John Bosco of Bellflower. The Monarchs were defeated by Orange Lutheran last week.

There are a couple of big matchups that will likely determine the winner. Can Mater Dei slow Servite defensive lineman Kirifi Taula? Will the Friars be able to slow Victor Blackwell?

In case you weren’t watching, Blackwell had 12 receptions for 257 yards and three touchdowns. He also had three rushes for 37 yards. That’s 294 yards of total offense.

Last season, the Monarchs came out and ran the ball straight at Servite (rushing for 279 yards and didn’t allow any sacks) in the victory. Will they be able to dominate the line of scrimmage again?

Everybody knows about the Trinity League triple play where Orange Lutheran defeats Mater Dei who then defeats Servite who then defeats Orange Lutheran and all three teams end up 4-1.

The first leg is complete with the Lancers defeating Mater Dei (28-25) last week. Will phase No. 2 be completed?

Links to the rest of The Calhoun Six: Games to Watch:

No. 14 Trabuco Hills vs. Huntington Beach

No. 6 Orange Lutheran vs. No. 19 JSerra

No. 13 Tesoro vs. No. 2 Mission Viejo

No. 11 San Clemente vs. No. 5 Dana Hills

No. 1 Edison vs. No. 10 Newport Harbor

Click here to view the embedded video.

Calhoun's Games to Watch: Orange Lutheran vs. Mater Dei

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:30:09 +0000

The best games on the Week 6 schedule:

No. 9 Orange Lutheran (2-3) vs. No. 6 Mater Dei (3-2)
Friday, at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m.

Outlook: Is this the start of the journey to the three-way tie for the Trinity League title? We already know how this story ends.

Orange Lutheran beats Mater Dei, which beats Servite, which beats Orange Lutheran, leading us to the Saturday morning coin toss.

Is this the year the cycle ends?

If it does, it is up to Mater Dei, which starts league with Orange Lutheran and Servite. (And I thought Newport Harbor had a tough league-opening stretch.)

We will know a lot about the Monarchs after the first two weeks.

What we know so far is that the Monarchs have been a little inconsistent. They’re 3-2, but needed late drives to defeat Cypress and L.A. Jordan.

On the other hand, they could and probably should have defeated No. 1 Edison. They led by 12 in the third quarter.

Now, which Mater Dei team are we going to see in the Trinity League?

Orange Lutheran has a tough start due to injuries and illnesses knocking quarterback Bobby Wheatley and two-way starter Garret Gilliland from action.

They lost to Redlands East Valley on the last play of the game and to Narbonne of Harbor City in double overtime.

Will things start to turn their way this week?

Links to the rest of The Calhoun Six:

No. 20 Corona del Mar vs. No. 22 Laguna Hills

No. 11 Tustin vs. No. 25 Canyon

No. 15 Esperanza vs. No. 1 Edison

No. 4 Los Alamitos vs. No. 13 Newport Harbor

No. 7 Dana Hills vs. No. 12 Tesoro

Calhoun's Games to Watch: Orange Lutheran vs. Narbonne

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:40:31 +0000

Taking a look at the top games on this week's football schedule:

No. 6 Orange Lutheran (1-2) vs. Narbonne of Harbor City (2-1)
Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Orange Coast College

Outlook: The Lancers led, 14-0, with nine minutes remaining in their game against Redlands East Valley last week. However, Redlands East Valley was the team celebrating after a 20-14 victory.

Now, how do the Lancers rebound from that disheartening loss?

Quarterback Bobby Wheatley played with pneumonia until he was knocked from the game with a left shoulder injury. As of Monday, coach Jim Kunau said his senior leader was doubtful.

If Wheatley is unable to go, look for Mike Markovsky to get the starting nod. Markovsky does a bit of everything for the Lancers.

The Gauchos, the defending L.A. City Section champions, have consecutive lost games to Long Beach Poly (28-14) and Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach (31-26). They were ranked second in the South Bay heading into last week and third in the L.A. City Section.

There are great athletes all over the field for Narbonne, starting with Sean Parker, who has scholarship offers from just about everybody in the nation, including the Pac-10 (everybody, even Washington State), Georgia, Notre Dame and Penn State.

The Gauchos offense is led by 6-foot-5 quarterback Chad Dashnaw. Wide receiver Bryan Douglas is headed to Boise State, and there are several All-City performers back. Running back Melvin Davis has rushed for 251 yards.

Can the Gauchos pull an upset over a Trinity League opponent, as league rival Carson did to Mater Dei this season?

Or will the Lancers be able to regroup after last week's tough loss?

Links to all of the Calhoun Six for Week 4:

No. 7 Mater Dei vs. No. 1 Edison

No. 4 Los Alamitos vs. No. 8 La Habra

No. 10 Newport Harbor vs. No. 15 Dana Hills

No. 19 El Toro vs. No. 9 San Clemente

No. 17 El Dorado vs. No. 12 Tesoro

BONUS GAME: No. 3 Servite vs. Chaparral of Temecula

Calhoun's Games to Watch: Servite vs. Chaparral

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:39:39 +0000

Taking a look at the top games on this week's football schedule:

BONUS GAME
No. 3 Servite (3-1) vs. Chaparral of Temecula (2-1)
Saturday, 7 p.m., at Chaparral High

Outlook: The good news for the Friars is that this is the final game on their nonleague schedule. The bad news is, no one knows what to expect in the Trinity League. It is likely to be a wild ride.

Servite was knocked from the ranks of the undefeated and from its No. 1 spot by Edison. The Friars, who entered that game averaging 38 points a game, scored nine against the Chargers … and none on offense.

Will the Chargers be able to get their offense back on track?

The running game managed just 89 yards against Edison. Chris Nicholls had just four offensive touches. Ouch.

The Pumas, out of the Southwestern League, are ranked second in the latest CIF-SS Inland Division rankings. They were 12-2 last season and returned 15 starters.

After a loss to Centennial of Corona in the season opener, Chaparral have responded with back-to-back victories (40-14 over Paloma Valley and 56-13 over Valley View of Moreno Valley).

Will the Pumas be able to score like that against the Friars?

Links to all of the Calhoun Six for Week 4:

No. 7 Mater Dei vs. No. 1 Edison

No. 4 Los Alamitos vs. No. 8 La Habra

No. 10 Newport Harbor vs. No. 15 Dana Hills

No. 19 El Toro vs. No. 9 San Clemente

No. 17 El Dorado vs. No. 12 Tesoro

No. 6 Orange Lutheran vs. Narbonne of Harbor City

Calhoun's Games to Watch: Dana Hills vs. Santa Margarita

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:52:04 +0000

Breaking down the best matchups of Week 0:

No. 17 Dana Hills vs. No. 14 Santa Margarita
Friday, at Dana Hills High, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Perhaps the most interesting opener of Week 0. ... At least it is in my mind.

On one side, we have the Dolphins, who are trying to crack the top three in the South Coast League.

On the other side, there are the Eagles, who are coming off of two down years in the Trinity League, where the top three (Servite, Orange Lutheran and Mater Dei) have gotten stronger.

Who needs the victory the most?

The Dolphins went 2-3 in the SCL last season and that was with quarterback Sean Schroeder, who is now playing for Duke.

The duo of Josh Dean and Trent Mason takes over at quarterback.

The Eagles went 3-7 last year and had to defeat JSerra in the final regular-season game to avoid going winless in the Trinity League.

Santa Margarita’s struggles last season were mostly on defense. The Eagles allowed more than 30 points in eight of their 10 games. There has to be improvement for them to make any significant strides in '09.

So back to my previous question, which team needs this victory the most?

*Rankings are based on the OCVarsity.com preseason poll

Check out the rest of this week's Calhoun Six:

• No. 1 Servite vs. Long Beach Poly
• No. 5 Mater Dei vs. Carson
• No. 12 Fountain Valley vs. No. 22 Foothill
• No. 10 Tustin vs. Kennedy
• No. 24 Fullerton vs. No. 19 Canyon

Football rankings: CIF Pac-5 Division

STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:20:09 +0000

CIF-SS PAC-5 DIVISION
Preseason rankings
(Voting is done by the division's coaches)

1. Long Beach Poly, Moore League (14-1 in 2008)
2. Servite, Trinity (7-4)
3. Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, Serra (11-1)
4. Mission Viejo, South Coast (10-2)
5. Edison, Sunset (7-3)
6. Orange Lutheran, Trinity (10-3)
7. Lakewood, Moore (10-3)
8. Crespi, Serra (6-4)
9. Tesoro, South Coast (13-1)
10. Los Alamitos, Sunset (8-3)

Others to watch: San Clemente, South Coast (8-3): Esperanza, Sunset (8-4); Mater Dei, Trinity (8-4); Newport Harbor, Sunset (7-3); St. John Bosco, Trinity (7-3); Fountain Valley, Sunset (7-4); Loyola, Serra (6-5)

RELATED:

All CIF preseason rankings

O.C. football Top 25: No. 1

STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:41:04 +0000

O.C. FOOTBALL TOP 25
1. Servite
(7-4 overall, 4-1 and tie for first place in Trinity League in 2008)

The Friars have six All-Trinity League returnees, and a quarterback, Cody Fajardo, who looks ready for a big year. Chris Nicholls is one of the fastest receivers in the county. The line should be solid, although standout tackle Matt Jakubiec likely will miss some nonleague games because of a dislocated knee cap. The chief area of concern will be running back, where there is a shortage of returnees. Servite is playing the most challenging nonleague schedule imaginable. Will that prove to be overambitious when league games come around?

Related links:

O.C. football Top 25: No. 2

STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:39:11 +0000

O.C. FOOTBALL TOP 25
2. Orange Lutheran
(9-3 overall, 4-1 and tie for first place in Trinity League in 2008)

Lutheran has one of Southern California’s top returning quarterbacks, Bobby Wheatley, who was all-league in 2008 and is poised for a huge year in ’09. But in the Lancers' 28-14 loss to Pickerington Central of Ohio on Sunday, Wheatley was blitzed early and often and had a shaky outing. Pickerington Central was the quicker team in that game. Garrett Gilliland, ’08 league co-MVP, is an outstanding linebacker but also very good at running back, too. Lutheran does have to find replacements for what was a tremendous defensive backfield in ’08, but this has matured into a program that just reloads year after year. Lutheran, by the way, was No. 2 even before Sunday's game since voting on the preseason rankings was finalized more than a week ago.

Related links:

O.C. football Top 25: No. 5

STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:18:55 +0000

O.C. FOOTBALL TOP 25
5. Mater Dei
(8-4 overall, 4-1 in the Trinity League in 2008)

Yes, the Monarchs have to replace Matt Barkley. Is this the first time Mater Dei has had to replace a big-time quarterback? Nope. The Monarchs churn out winners at every position year after year, so they will be fine. They have some very good ones returning -- Victor Blackwell at receiver, and Chris Ward on the offensive line. This will be an interesting team to watch.

Related links:

O.C. football Top 25: No. 14

STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:51:30 +0000

O.C. FOOTBALL TOP 25
14. Santa Margarita
(3-7 overall, 1-4 and fifth place in the Trinity League in 2008)

Is this program sinking? People might think the rise of JSerra and St. Margaret’s means those schools are attracting the football players that used to automatically go to Santa Margarita. But the Eagles still get plenty of fine athletes in a variety of sports, including football. They had 16 senior starters last year, so they have plenty of holes to fill. Santa Margarita has a couple of ’08 all-league returnees like linebacker Troy Willet and defensive lineman Andrew Spangenberg. This will be a good team by the standards of general OC football. But can the Eagles find a way to grab a playoff spot in the tough Trinity League?

Related links:

O.C. football Top 25: No. 11

O.C. football Top 25: No. 12

O.C. football Top 25: No. 13