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OCVarsity’s Dan Albano tackles the hottest topics in Orange County football, including questions from readers, heading into Week 8:
1. How concerned should Mater Dei be after losing to Santa Margarita 7-6? The Monarchs’ struggles on offense have to be considered significant because of the inconsistency throughout the season and the remaining schedule.
It’s been a roller-coaster campaign for the Mater Dei offense.
There have been highlights such as the second quarter against St. Thomas Aquinas of Florida and the steady performance at Bishop Gorman of Nevada. But there have been concerning efforts such as a scoreless second half against St. Thomas Aquinas, the output against Kahuku of Hawaii, the seven turnovers against Centennial and now six points against Santa Margarita.
Two of Mater Dei’s three remaining games in the Trinity League appear daunting.
On Saturday, the Monarchs (4-2, 1-1) face Servite (5-2, 1-1) at Santa Ana Stadium. The projection by HSratings: Mater Dei 24-21. The Monarchs close league at national No. 1 St. John Bosco on Oct. 31.
The good news is the Monarchs’ defense has played well, the offense is loaded with talent and they have a champion-winning coach in Raul Lara.
Mater Dei was balanced its run and pass attempts against Santa Margarita, and paid a price against the best defense in the county.
The ground attack has been curious. The Monarchs’ leading rusher is Justin Lewis with 318 yards in six games.
A strong running game would help immensely but can the Monarchs unlock that against Servite and St. John Bosco, or a Division 1 playoff opponent? If the playoffs started today, the Mater Dei’s foe could be Santa Margarita in the quarterfinals.
2. Can Santa Margarita beat with St. John Bosco on Friday at Trabuco Hills High?
Yes. The Eagles not only have the defense (12.5 ppg allowed) to slow down the Braves’ high-octane offense (46.7 ppg) but a recent history of playing St. John Bosco tough.
Remember, Santa Margarita and St. John Bosco were scoreless going into the fourth quarter of their Trinity League game last season before the Braves grabbed a 13-0 victory.
Later in the playoffs, St. John Bosco edged Santa Margarita 31-29 in the Division 1 quarterfinals.
Santa Margarita (5-2, 2-0) is better this season, but so is St. John Bosco (7-0, 2-0). The Eagles, however, played the tougher nonleague schedule.
Interestingly, the Santa Margarita-St. John Bosco clash could end up being for the Trinity League championship. Who predicted that at the start of the season?
3. Who’s No. 1 in Orange County football?
Mission Viejo (7-1) received my vote this morning but it wasn’t an easy choice. Yes, the Diablos beat Santa Margarita 7-3 in the teams’ season opener but the results since matter.
Santa Margarita defeated Centennial and Mater Dei, and lost to Bishop Gorman. Mission Viejo beat Folsom and Lincoln back-to-back but lost at McCallie of Tennessee, which fell a few weeks later to undefeated Baylor of Tennessee.
Mission Viejo received the vote because my value of head-to-head results and the Diablos’ schedule. They edged Santa Margarita with Trent Mosley playing, and they’ve played a strong enough schedule that keeps them No. 1 for now.
Mission Viejo needs to keep proving itself starting Friday when it plays host to San Clemente (4-3) in an Alpha League opener. But if Santa Margarita continues to impress, the Eagles could pass Mission Viejo.
4. What do you think of the MaxPreps rankings?
They’re solid but if you read the comments in recent weeks from an increasingly vocal HSratings, there are issues.
This week, HSrating takes MaxPreps to task about having San Juan Hills well ahead of Corona del Mar — five spots in the Southern Section. The Sea Kings recently handled the Stallions 33-10.
Yes, CdM should be ranked above San Juan Hills, at least this week. But the slight dip of the Sea Kings’ strength of schedule this fall and San Juan Hills’ trip to Texas might explain MaxPreps’ issue.
San Juan Hills’ schedule included Rockwall-Heath of Texas, which beat the Stallions 34-26 and hasn’t lost since. How good is Rockwall-Heath (5-1)?
MaxPreps now at Rockwall-Heath No. 20 in Texas.
HSRatings has Rockwall-Heath even high at No. 8 in Texas.
Makes some sense that this result on the road is helping San Juan Hills’ rating.
But generally, football fans are blessed to have multiple rankings working hard to pump out data.
5. What teams surprised you in Week 7?
El Modena, Costa Mesa and Beckman jumped out.
The Vanguards (4-3, 2-0) have an excellent chance of finishing at least third in the Delta League after beating Western 28-21. Considering El Modena graduated standout dual-threat QB Xzavior Guess (UC Davis), that’s impressive.
Costa Mesa (6-1) delivered a huge statement in the Tango League by defeating Anaheim 37-14. The Mustangs look poised to defeat Bolsa Grande, La Quinta and Loara to finish the regular season 9-1.
And Beckman (4-3, 2-0) secured a major win by beating Sunny Hills 35-14 on the road in the Lambda League. The Patriots showed their physical side (261 yards rushing) as they grabbed sole possession of first place in the league.
Beckman stays on the road the next two weeks with Kennedy and Valencia before closing against Marina (5-2, 1-1) at Tustin High on Oct. 31.
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