Nike 5 Days to Friday Game of the Week
Teams: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) vs. Servite (Anaheim)
Where: Cal State Fullerton
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Mater Dei 3-2, Servite 3-2
Playmakers: Mater Dei — QB Matt Barkley (87 of 174, 1,438 yards, 12 TDs, 11 int), WR Ario Winston (31 catches, 561 yards, 4 Tds), RB Jaron Hytche (57 carries, 579 yards, 9 TDs); Servite — RB Greg Portis (86-679-4), QB Cody Fajardo (70-109-868-5).
Last year, Mater Dei 38, Servite 13: Click here.
5D2F video page: Click here.
By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
Servite football coach Troy Thomas is perfect in the vaunted Trinity League, considered one of the toughest six-team leagues not only in Southern California but the country.
Entering his fourth season Friday night against arch-enemy Mater Dei, Thomas is an unblemished 12-0 against four of the squads in the renowned Southern Section league.
“We won’t talk about the fifth team,” Thomas said.
Indeed the Friars are also perfect against the unknown squad — psssst, it starts with Mater and ends with Dei.
They are perfectly imperfect against the Monarchs.
Mater Dei has beat Servite three straight years with Thomas as coach.
“We’re going to have to turn that around sometime,” Thomas said.
But Thomas isn’t just talking about his personal Monarch ping.
He’s felt just a twinge of what the Friars have endured the last two decades.
Since 1988, Mater Dei is a remarkable 18-0-1 against Servite, one of the state’s most inexplicable and amazing streaks.
It’s not like the Friars are the Clippers of Orange County football. Ah contraire.
They’ve won three CIF and 16 league championships and can boast some pretty fair alumni like NFL standouts Steve Beuerlein, Derek Brown and Blaine Nye.
“No matter what the records say, it’s still an unbelievable rivalry,” Thomas said. “It’s a lot of fun and a very cool experience for all involved.”
The last two seasons, the game attracted more than 20,000 fans at Angel Stadium and there are reports that Friday’s game at Cal State Fullerton was sold out in less than 24 hours.
Fullerton holds 10,000 fans.
“It’s a big game no matter the records or what’s at stake,” Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said.
We can only imagine how fast the game would have sold out had both teams been undefeated.
Instead, both are somewhat of a disappointment at 3-2.
Servite, led by super elusive yet diminutive tailback Greg Portis (5-6, 151) and giant likely Pac-10 bound offensive lineman Matt Jakubiec (6-8, 272), could easily be 5-0 but lost tough games to Crespi (21-20) and last week to Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks (31-24).
Mater Dei also lost last week to Edison-Huntington Beach (24-14) and earlier were controlled most of the night by nationally-ranked Centennial-Corona (47-35).
Thomas appears more upbeat and pleased with his young squad. “We’re real young on offense and played well every game,” he said. “They’ve probably exceeded my expectations.”
Rollinson, always a ball of energy, isn’t overly concerned except one area. “If I’m losing any sleep it’s concerning our lack of execution on offense,” he said.
Much has been made about the mere human numbers produced by USC-bound quarterback Matt Barkley, the No. 1 recruit in America and reigning Gatorade Athlete of the Year.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior and fourth-year starter has completed just half of his 174 attempts for 1,438 yards and 12 touchdowns. Most troubling have been his 11 interceptions.
The TD-to-pick ratio and pass completion percentage is well off last year when he completed 213 of 340 for 3,560 yards, 35 scores and nine interceptions.
“The surrounding cast is different,” Rollinson said.
The top five receivers from last seasons all graduated and even though some truly gifted players have stepped in and stepped up, clearly the timing and overall offensive chemistry is off.
“No. 5 (Barkley) can only take us so far,” Rollinson said. “We’re still going to put it in his hands and we’re still going to throw it 25 or 30 times for sure, because that’s what we do.”
Thomas hasn’t seen any drop off in Barkley. And frankly, he’s somewhat worried Barkley is due for a breakout performance.
“I think his stats are a little misleading,” Thomas said. “I think he’s had some drops and tips. Hopefully he’ll have an off night against us. But even a bad night for him is pretty good.
“The thing is he’s been in this (big game) atmosphere before. We want to limit his impact on the game.”
It will help that Servite has a couple defensive backs, Michael Marcoux and Dwight Storay, back at 100 percent. Marcoux returned last week for the first time and recorded a pair of interceptions.
That could spell trouble for the Monarchs according to Rollinson, who is extremely impressed with Servite’s front seven.
“They’re active and physical and they do a nice job of not showing blitzing and getting after it,” he said. “If they dominate us up front, it could be a long night.”
Rollinson also is impressed with the all-around skills of Portis and the sheer toughness of Servite junior quarterback Cody Fajardo.
“Portis is legit and once he gets past the second level is very dangerous,” he said. “You have to respect (Fajardo). He’s about as tough as snot. I really admire the kid.”
If Mater Dei can get talented tailback Jaron Hytche going along with Barkley’s top two receivers Ario Winston and Victor Blackwell (14 catches, 319 yards, 5 TDs), the Monarchs might extend the streak another season.
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com
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Matt Barkley
Last year’s game
