Mater Dei High School PAUL E. RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Related links Mater Dei football player leaves hospital after fight at practice

Mater Dei player hurt in fight 'doesn't know what happened'

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Police are investigating the fight between Sedeno and another player during a blocking drill.

SANTA ANA – A Mater Dei football player was recovering Thursday from an on-the-field brawl that left him with a broken nose and a broken tooth.

Jonathan Sedeno, 17, was "in a lot of pain," his father, Joe, said. "He's in shock. He really doesn't know what happened."

Police are investigating the fight, which broke out between Sedeno and another player during a blocking drill at practice Wednesday morning. Both players were hurt in the fight and taken to the hospital by their parents, Santa Ana police Cpl. Jose Gonzalez said.

He did not have details on the other player's injuries. Attempts to reach the family of the other player were not successful.

The fight happened during a blocking drill known as "ripping," the elder Sedeno said. Jonathan was blocking the other player and shoving him in the chest when, Sedeno said, the other player punched him in the head and then jumped on him.

Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson was traveling with the first-team varsity players and was not at practice Wednesday, when the fight broke out. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Mater Dei's president, Patrick Murphy, described the fight as "simply a football incident." In a statement issued Thursday morning, Ryan Lilyengren, a spokesman for the Diocese of Orange, described it as "a brief scuffle."

An emergency medical technician was on the field helping as a coach, Lilyengren said. He checked out the two players and decided they did not need emergency attention. The school called the players' parents, Lilyengren said, but did not call 911.

Coaches and former and current players at other schools said the intensity and competition of football practice can boil over into angry words between teammates – and that's not always a bad thing. But, they said, there's a line that players just should not cross.

Intensity "just shows that everybody wants to be the best," said Bijon Samoodi, 17, a defensive back at Servite. But, he added: "You can't take it too far. It's good if you start talking, but you don't want to throw blows."

Coaches at other schools said fistfights are rare. Most confrontations, they said, can be headed off with a sharp word from a coach and maybe a few laps around the field.

"As a coach, you've got to be able to control your players," El Dorado coach Jeff Bailey said. "With these long, hard, hot days practicing, kids get frustrated."

Dick Degen played a few years in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers and now coaches track at Marina. He said the fights he saw in practice when he was a player were "just heat-of-the-moment type things."

But, he said, there is one way to make sure kids don't fight at football practice. "If you get kids that are not competitive," he said, "they're not going to fight."

Contact the writer: dirving@ocregister.com