Serra League

The Serra League will get the showdown many fans have been looking for. Santa Ana Mater Dei used a stifling defense to get past Bellflower St. John Bosco, 34-7, Saturday night at Santa Ana Stadium and set up a battle next week against Los Angeles Loyola that should help determine the champion of one of the toughest leagues in the state. Mater Dei (6-1, 2-0) held St.

In a statement game one week before the Pac-5 Division playoffs begin, Bellflower St. John Bosco won its first Trinity League title with a 42-15 victory over Santa Margarita on Friday night at St. John Bosco. Running back Darren Walker scored three times. The Braves (6-4, 5-0) will be one of the top three seeded teams in the Pac-5 Division despite having to forfeit four victories because of an ineligible player. They are 10-0 on the field. Mater Dei (8-2) finished second and Santa Margarita (8-2)

It took the opening week of Serra League play for the six schools to show why the new and enhanced league is considered the toughest in California. League favorites Los Angeles Loyola and Santa Margarita lost their openers, demonstrating the depth and balance of a league that is only four years old but already establishing traditions unlike any other. Bellflower St.

There's a new sheriff in town in the Trinity League ... for now, anyway. Lonell Woodhouse ran for a game-clinching first down on fourth and one at the 41-yard line with 47 seconds left as Bellflower St. John Bosco moved into sole possession of first place in league with its 27-19 victory over host Santa Ana Mater Dei on Friday night. It was the Braves' first win against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium in 10 years and moved them one step closer to their first league crown since they captured the Serra League title in 2002.

In the first step of what could be a heated process involving the formation of new leagues in the Southern Section, administrators from Santa Ana Mater Dei, Anaheim Servite, Santa Margarita and Bellflower St. John Bosco have asked to form a new private schools league in Orange County that could include Orange Lutheran. If the plan were adopted, Los Angeles Loyola and La Puente Bishop Amat, two Division I football schools that compete with Mater Dei, Servite, Santa Margarita and St.

1998 RECORD: 7-6 overall, 4-1 in league COACH: Larry Toner (69-48-1 at school) RETURNING STARTERS: 4 on offense, 4 on defense TOP RETURNERS Steve Ayers, RB/DB, 5-11, 190, Sr.; Curtis Bibolet, WR/DB, 6-3, 200, Sr.; Tom Blashaw, DB, 6-1, 175, Sr.; Chad Bystedt, RB/WR, 6-1, 185, Sr.; Mike Carolyn, DB, 6-0, 170, Jr.; Justin Dunleavy, DL, 6-3, 210, Sr.; Jonathan Ekno, OL, 6-7, 285, Sr.; Brendon Hopkins, WR, 6-2, 180, Sr.; Frank Magdaleno, RB/DB, 5-9, 170, Sr.; Lamar Mason, WR, 5-7, 160, Jr.

It didn't take long for the parity in the Southland's toughest league to surface. After only two weeks of league play, there's a six-way tie among the Serra League's six teams at 1-1. Over the weekend, the three teams from Los Angeles County -- Bellflower St. John Bosco (6-1 overall), La Puente Bishop Amat (5-2) and L.A. Loyola (4-3) -- defeated the three from Orange County -- Santa Margarita (6-1), Anaheim Servite (6-1) and Santa Ana Mater Dei (3-4).

The Serra League football race could become the toughest in the Southern Section starting in 2002, when traditional powers Los Angeles Loyola and La Puente Bishop Amat join the four-team league to create what Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson has labeled a six-team "super league." "It's going to be harder to win a league title," said Rollinson, whose Monarchs won the Serra League in its inaugural season in 1999.

If it seems that Santa Margarita, Servite and Mater Dei are playing soccer as if there's no tomorrow, it's probably because they are. Santa Margarita has played 15 games, Servite 17 and Mater Dei a whopping 20 in 26 days. No, Santa Margarita Coach Curt Bauer, Mater Dei Coach Martin Stringer and Servite Coach Mike Lussier are not so terrified of Y2K that they're trying to finish their seasons before 2000.

Mission Hills Alemany secured the Serra League's top spot in the Pac-5 Division playoffs with a 38-30 victory Friday over defending champion La Puente Bishop Amat, thanks to a quick-strike offense that featured senior quarterback Vernon Adams, who completed 15 of 18 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 19 carries for 70 yards and one touchdown. The game wasn't decided until Warriors junior defensive back Deron Smith intercepted Rio Ruiz's pass on Bishop Amat's 42-yard line with 2:08 remaining.

La Puente Bishop Amat (5-0-1, 0-0) at Mission Hills Alemany (6-1, 1-0), 7 p.m. - Alemany hasn't lost a Serra League game since it joined the league in 2010, going 9-0. This should be one of the Warriors' toughest tests. Bishop Amat has balance on offense with quarterback Koa Haynes and running back Dionza Blue. Darren Andrews is a terrific receiver-defensive back. Alemany gave up 42 points last week in a win over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The offense scored 49 points and might need to equal that, putting the pressure on quarterback Devon Dunn and receivers Steven Mitchell and Devin Ross.

Every time Elijah Asante is underestimated, doubted or looked upon with skepticism, he rises up and changes attitudes like a fiery preacher delivering a sermon to his flock. He's at it again in his latest challenge, taking over as football coach at Santa Fe Springs St. Paul. He knows it's not just any job he has. As head football coach at a private school, he's been admitted into an exclusive club. He's the only African American football head coach in the Trinity, Serra or Mission leagues, the three most powerful football leagues made up of private schools in the CIF's Southern Section.

When it comes to quarterbacks fulfilling their potential, put junior Devon Dunn of Mission Hills Alemany near the top of any list. Untested and unknown when the season began, Dunn has become a consistent, mistake-free passer and leader. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns Friday night to help the Warriors clinch at least a share of the Serra League championship with a 28-14 win over Los Angeles Loyola. It was Dunn's four-yard touchdown pass to Corey Sims on third and goal with 46 seconds left that broke a 14-14 tie. Then came a Steven Mitchell 52-yard interception return for a touchdown to seal the win. Last season, Alemany won the Serra League championship behind senior quarterback Vernon Adams.

Late last football season, Los Angeles Loyola was desperate. A concussion to starting quarterback Jerry Neuheisel had left the Cubs struggling to find a replacement. "Believe me, we were going through quarterbacks like tissue," Coach Mike Christensen said. "We were hemorrhaging badly and looking for somebody. " In week eight, Loyola turned to backup receiver Nicolas Cotton , who had never taken a snap from center in his life. "I thought, 'This is ridiculous, this is crazy,'" Cotton said.

Encino Crespi's Tyler Foreman saw the opposing wide receiver break on a slant toward the end zone. The pass, thrown on fourth down from about 10 yards away with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter, was right on target, headed straight for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame's Sam Robinson. A sold-out stadium, more than 5,000 fans who had been through ups and downs of a thrilling back-and-forth game Friday night, held its breath. A catch and Notre Dame would re-take the lead.

They're the biggest teenagers on a high school football field, the offensive linemen, and no one seems to notice them until they're called for a holding penalty. But after an exhausting weekend of driving around Southern California and watching five games in three days while getting about six hours of sleep each night, my first impression is there are some very good offensive lines this season. The quarterbacks and running backs at Anaheim Servite, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Orange Lutheran and Gardena Serra are going to appreciate the big bodies up front.

In a statement game one week before the Pac-5 Division playoffs begin, Bellflower St. John Bosco won its first Trinity League title with a 42-15 victory over Santa Margarita on Friday night at St. John Bosco. Running back Darren Walker scored three times. The Braves (6-4, 5-0) will be one of the top three seeded teams in the Pac-5 Division despite having to forfeit four victories because of an ineligible player. They are 10-0 on the field. Mater Dei (8-2) finished second and Santa Margarita (8-2)

Orange County principals have passed a proposal to add Orange Lutheran and San Juan Capistrano Serra to the Serra League during the first stages of realigning leagues for the 2006-07 school year. The realignment, voted on Friday, would also force Los Angeles Loyola and La Puente Bishop Amat to find another football league. St. Joseph, an all-girls school in Lakewood, would leave the Serra League.

Mission Hills Alemany secured the Serra League's top spot in the Pac-5 Division playoffs with a 38-30 victory Friday over defending champion La Puente Bishop Amat, thanks to a quick-strike offense that featured senior quarterback Vernon Adams, who completed 15 of 18 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 19 carries for 70 yards and one touchdown. The game wasn't decided until Warriors junior defensive back Deron Smith intercepted Rio Ruiz's pass on Bishop Amat's 42-yard line with 2:08 remaining.

Not even a member of the Harlem Globetrotters could have pulled off the feat accomplished by Mission Hills Alemany quarterback Vernon Adams on Friday night in a 28-17 victory over Encino Crespi. Adams leaped over a teammate in the first quarter, lost the ball, somehow caught it in midair and went in for a nine-yard touchdown run. It was part of a near-flawless first-half performance when he completed all six of his passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns in giving Alemany a 21-7 lead.