Fryer takes first look at CIF finals

It was not too surprising that Tesoro beat Orange Lutheran. But the dominating way that Tesoro won was shocking.

Tesoro controlled this game from the beginning to beat Lutheran, 42-14, in a Pac-5 semifinal at Santa Ana Stadium on Saturday night.

Tesoro takes a 13-0 record into the Pac-5 final, in which the Titans will play Long Beach Poly, also 13-0, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Angel Stadium.

The Titans took on what seemed to be the best defensive team in Orange County and tore that defense apart from the start. They ran the ball well, with Zach Mitchell. They passed it well, too, with quarterback Robbie Picazo getting great protection from that offensive line while throwing to that talented group of receivers that includes Zach Bevan, Brett Gudim and Preston King.

Lutheran's offense never got any rhythm going, too. Tesoro has a terrific defensive line, an outstanding group of linebackers led by Scott Graves and Jake Warden, and a tough secondary featuring Gudim and King.

Now, a big question: Can Tesoro do the same against Long Beach Poly, the top-ranked team in California?

The first challenge for Tesoro is the team's mental outlook. The Titans can't be intimidated by the surroundings of playing in the big stadium, and they can't be thinking about Poly's legacy and history of sending more players to the NFL than any high school.

Another possible distraction: college coaches. Now is the time when college coaches can visit high school campuses. Prospects have emerged on this Tesoro team, especially, in my opinion, on the offensive line.

Another prospect who should have emerged as a future Pac-10 player is King. He is 5-foot-10 and 175-pounds - not the dimensions that the big colleges seek. King does not have state-champion sprinter speed.

All he does is get open and catch the ball, on offense. On defense, he makes tackles and interceptions. Especially impressive is that King, as a cornerback, is up on the line and still can look back and move other defensive players around - practically absurd that a high school player is savvy enough to do that.

He is the leader of a smart, confident team that has what it takes to beat Poly.

The other CIF-SS championship game Saturday at Angel Stadium is the Southwest final at 2 p.m.: La Habra vs. Tustin.

La Habra beat Trabuco Hills, 27-22, in a Southwest semifinal Saturday. Trabuco had a 16-7 lead but La Habra rallied with its big-play offense led by Ronnie Hillman, Randall Nygren andJosh Quezada, and a defense that made big, clutch stops and got some timely turnovers.

Tustin beat Canyon, 63-28, in the other Southwest semi, on Friday. Tustin's double-wing offense is running like a sports car that just came out of an expert mechanic's shop. That expert mechanic at Tustin is Coach Myron Miller, who has assembled some top-grade parts like running backs Ameer Webb and Anthony Wilkerson, quarterback Taylor Richardson and an excellent line, and created an offensive machine.

That could be one high-scoring game at Angel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Laguna Hills found out who its Southern Division final opponent will be: Mayfair of Lakewood, which beat Corona del Mar, 14-6, in a Southern semifinal on Saturday. Laguna Hills, which beat Norwalk, 42-8, in a semifinal Friday, will play Mayfair on Friday. The site is to be determined, perhaps Monday, but Cerritos College seems a likely venue.

Laguna Hills has outscored its playoff opponents by a cumulative 100-24. Mayfair has outscored its playoff opposition, 107-33. Yes, that looks like an evenly-matched game.

St.  Margaret's plays Twenty-nine Palms in the East Valley Division final next Saturday at a site to be determined. St. Margaret's routed Maranatha of Pasadena, 63-0, in a semifinal Friday. A St. Margaret's victory was expected, sure, but the score was unexpected. St. Margaret's is playing its best football at the best time of year to do so.

St. Margaret's has won 41 in a row to tie Mission Viejo for longest winning streak in county football history. Another county record within reach: the county single-season record for shutouts, which is nine (Villa Park, 1981).

St. Margaret's, Laguna Hills and Tesoro are all undefeated going into their CIF-SS championship games.

Will they be undefeated after one more week? We shall see.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com