Los Alamitos coach John Barnes has a favorite play from Matt Locher’s highlight film that he likes to show college recruiters.
The play happened in the fourth quarter of the Griffins’ first-round playoff loss to El Toro. Los Alamitos trailed big, or as Barnes put it, by “more than I wanted to count,” when a Chargers running back appeared headed for another touchdown.
Barnes said the El Toro player had about a 5-yard lead on Locher, but the 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker caught him and made a diving, touchdown-saving tackle along the sideline.
“That’s who he is,” Barnes said of Locher. “There’s no reason for anyone to do that. He did.”
The senior made those kinds of plays at a record-setting pace, leading the Griffins (9-2) to the Sunset League title.
For his efforts, Locher is the Register’s Orange County defensive player of the year.
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The Sunset League co-MVP racked up a school-record 155 tackles in 11 games, an impressive average of 14.1 tackles per game.
Locher also set the school’s single-game record for tackles with an eye-popping 26 against Eastlake of Chula Vista.
But the story of Locher’s season ran deeper than just numbers or awards. It was plays like the one he made late in a 59-21 loss to El Toro that showed his desire, even in the face of adversity.
“He’s a dude,” El Toro All-County receiver Kaleb Fossum said. “We were trying to run away from him. We knew he was in the middle, and we were definitely trying to go to the perimeter, and get outside.
“We did a couple times. When we didn’t, he was there. He was making the play.”
Locher also carried the ball 17 times for 94 yards against El Toro, both season highs. He took on the extra duty after an injury to Griffins running back Denzal Brantley.
“He’s just one of the best players I’ve been around,” Barnes said of Locher. “He willed himself to make play after play.”
Much of Locher’s determination was fueled by a quest to prove his ability to fellow players, college recruiters and most importantly, himself.
He missed most of his junior season with a serious foot injury.
The injury derailed his chance to build on a promising sophomore season and raise his profile with college recruiters, who place a high value on the junior year.
“I just wanted to prove that I have the motivation to come back … and really show the county and the scouts what I can really do as a player,” he said.
After Locher delivered a strong senior season, recruiters began playing catch up. Locher, who holds a 3.9 grade-point average, has recently been offered by Air Force, Montana State and UC Davis. He is planning trips to Yale and Air Force in January.
Locher knows all about comebacks. He suffered a torn ligament on the top of his left foot against Charter Oak of Covina in the Griffins’ second game in 2013. He landed on his heel after leaping to deflect a pass and soon realized something was “not right.”
He underwent his first of four surgeries in October of 2013. He endured plenty of hardware and heartache during the procedures.
“I believe there were two plates and a total of four or five screws (in his foot),” he said. “I try not to remember. It’s kind of a bad memory.”
As the ligament healed, plates and screws were removed. There was a plan to keep two screws in his foot permanently, but about a week before the start of fall camp, they were removed.
During the long recovery, Locher sometimes doubted himself.
“It was tough for a while,” he said. “I was questioning myself whether or not I was really going to come back full speed and be the player that I wanted to be.”
Locher pushed himself to return and his foot cooperated. He said the support of his parents, Donna and Mark, brother, Joe, and coaches, including defensive coordinator Barry Sher, were vital to his comeback.
Once on the field, Locher played out the season – down to the last quarter of the last game — like someone on a mission to make up for lost time.
“Every night, I just wanted to make my community proud,” he said. “I just wanted to show how hard I can play and that I can be a role model for the younger kids. … I think I really proved what I could do.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com