Sports Shorts: Tritons Looking for Reversal of Fortunes Against Mater Dei

Can you say, deja vu?

Amazingly, the scenario headed into Friday’s nonleague football showdown between San Clemente High and Mater Dei, which will be played at Santa Ana Stadium, beginning at 7:30 p.m., is almost exactly the same as last season, when the undefeated Tritons played host to the winless Monarchs.

That game didn’t turn out so well for San Clemente, which suffered a 42-14 defeat. Friday is the Tritons’ chance for retribution and to make a statement that they truly belong in any discussion of the Southland’s elite teams.

San Clemente (3-0), , has rolled to its three victories -- , and -- behind the passing of Utah-bound Travis Wilson and the running of Mike Elespuru. The Tritons are averaging 45.3 points and giving up only 7.6. This is all the more impressive when one considers the .

Wilson is completing passes at a 63 percent clip, averaging 161 yards a game with six touchdowns and only one interception. He is also averaging seven yards in 20 carries. Elespuru has rushed for 391 yards and five touchdowns.

Mater Dei (0-2), the consensus best two-loss team in the Southland, has suffered tough defeats at the hands of two perennial football powers -- 26-22 to Carson and 28-20 to Corona Centennial -- but the outcome of neither game was decided until its final seconds.

The Monarchs, mired among the “others” in the Pac-5 poll, are led by senior running back Freddie Mora, who is averaging better than five yards per carry, and junior quarterback Ryan McMahon, who has thrown for 300 yards but isn't nearly as mobile as Wilson, having lost 68 yards on the ground.

Last season’s victory over the Tritons turned around the Monarchs’ season. It proved to be the first of five consecutive victories for the team, which finished third in the Trinity League but reached the Pac-5 semifinals with playoff victories over Long Beach Poly and Tesoro.

If you can't make it to the game, check it out via live streaming video at foxsportswest.com. There's a nice story on the Tritons' program on the website as well.

TRITONS RUNNERS EXCEL AT CROSS-COUNTRY COUNTY CLASSIC

San Clemente High runners competed in the Cross Country Classic Friday and Saturday at Estancia High. The 31st annual meet was co-hosted by Woodbridge, Estancia, and Costa Mesa high schools and the Newport-Irvine Rotary Club, and was sponsored by Puma.

Here are results of races in which the Tritons scored among the top 10:

RATED

Girls Individuals Results -- 1.Scharmann (Tesoro) 16:58; 2. Joerger (Thousand Oaks) 17:07; 3. Eisele (San Clemente) 17:14; 4. Elliott (Tesoro) 17:30; 5. Lapidus (Tesoro) 17:31; 6. Grego (Edison) 17:31; 7. Gonzalez (Bullard) 17:33; 8. Van Loan (South Pasadena) 17:33; 9. Desai (University) 17:37; 10. Liem (Tesoro) 17:44

Girls Team Scores -- 1. Tesoro 45; 2. Thousand Oaks 93; 3. Great Oak 94; 4. Rancho Buena Vista 144; 5. San Clemente  184; 6. Edison 218; 7. Fountain Valley 221; 8. West Torrance 248; 9. The Woodlands, TX 258; 10. Mater Dei 286

DIVISION 2

Sophomore Girls Individuals  -- 1. Warrick (Roosevelt) 18:27; 2. Iribe (Cypress) 18:34; 3. Burkhart (Los Osos) 18:59; 4. Lesser (Woodbridge) 19:06; 5. Henderson (Woodbridge) 19:09; 6. Dominguez (Millikan) 19:18; 7. Garduno (Foothill) 19:24; 8. Perez (Saddleback) 19:33; 9. Granados (San Clemente) 19:37; 10. Hsu (Redondo Union) 19:37

Sophomore Girls Team Scores -- 1. Woodbridge 115; 2. San Clemente 130; 3. Redondo Union 142; 4. Capistrano Valley 189; 5. Los Osos 190; 6. Riverside Poly 193; 7. Claremont 202; 8. Foothill 205; 9. Simi Valley 212; 10. West Torrance 253

Freshman Girls Individuals -- 1.Carroll (San Clemente) 18:05; 2. Williams (Palisades Charter) 18:05; 2. Jones (Simi Valley) 18:11; 4. Georgi (San Clemente) 18:12; 5. Chuang (Beckman) 18:46; 6. Paquette (Foothill) 19:02; 7. Cantrell (Claremont) 19:10; 8. Loza (Capistrano Valley) 19:16; 9. Laurent (San Clemente) 19:21; 10. Barr (Capistrano Valley) 19:23

Freshman Girls Team Scores -- 1. San Clemente 37; 2. Simi Valley 86; 3. Mira Costa 159; 4. Foothill 168; 5. Capistrno Valley 183; 6. West Torrance 186; 7. Beckman 192; 8. Northwood 214; 9. Redondo Union 228; 10. Riverside Poly 234

For complete results in all divisions, click here.

Coming up on Saturday are the Dana Hills Nike Invitational as well as the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto.

SOUTH COAST WATER POLO TOURNAMENT BEGINS TODAY

San Clemente's boys water polo team, fresh off a 10-6 victory over Clovis West in the finals of the Central California Championships on Saturday, is entered in the highly anticipated South Coast tournament, which takes place today (Thursday) through Saturday at four high school pools in Orange County. The championship match is set for Newport Harbor at 4:05 p.m. Saturday.

Here are where the teams will begin their two days of pool play today. Quarterfinals will be held Friday at each pool, and winners will advance to Saturday’s semifinals, which will take place at 10:40 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. at Newport Harbor.

Capistrano Valley High -- 1. Mater Dei; 2. Laguna Beach; 3. Capistrano Valley; 4. Vista; 5. Northwood; 6. San Clemente; 7. Granite Hills; 8. Buena Park.

Foothill High -- 1. El Toro; 2. Loyola; 3. Santa Barbara; 4. Foothill; 5. Punahou (Hawaii); 6. Mission Viejo; 7. Santa Margarita; 8. University.

Newport Harbor High -- 1. Newport Harbor; 2. Los Alamitos; 3. The Bishop's (La Jolla); 4. Long Beach Wilson; 5. Servite; 6. Edison; 7. Dana Hills; 8. Redlands.

Corona del Mar -- 1. Corona del Mar; 2. Huntington Beach; 3. Villa Park; 4. Dos Pueblos (Goleta); 5. Riverside Poly; 6. Esperanza; 7. La Canada; 8. Long Beach Poly.

DAVE MOHS O.C. CHAMPIONSHIPS IN GIRLS VOLLEYBALL BEGINS FRIDAY

Here are the pool assignments and schedule for pool play for the Divisions 1 and 2 brackets of the Dave Mohs O.C. Championships, which begin play at 3 p.m. Friday and resume at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Friday's pool schedule: 1 vs. 3; 2 vs. 4; 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3. On Saturday, it's 3 vs. 4 and 1 vs. 2. Afterward, the top two teams advance to the playoffs Saturday afternoon at Edison High.

The Division 1 final is Monday at 7:30 p.m., and it's preceded by the Division 2 final at 6 p.m. Both games are at Edison High.

DIVISION 1

Pool 1 at Edison -- 1. Los Alamitos; 2. Rosary; 3. Mission Viejo; 4. Los Osos.

Pool 2 at Corona del Mar -- 1. Corona del Mar; 2. El Dorado; 3. Tesoro; 4. West Ranch.

Pool 3 at Edison -- 1. Edison; 2. Poly/Long Beach; 3. Bakersfield; 4. University/Irvine.

Pool 4 at Marina -- 1. Mater Dei; 2. San Clemente; 3. Marina; 4. Beckman.

Pool 5 at Newport Harbor -- 1. Newport Harbor; 2. Harvard-Westlake; 3. Capistrano Valley; 4. Chaparral.

Pool 6 at Newport Harbor -- 1. Laguna Beach; 2. Orange Lutheran; 3. Centennial/Corona; 4. Murrieta Valley.

Pool 7 at Edison -- 1. Santa Margarita; 2. Palos Verdes; 3. Wilson/Long Beach; 4. Upland.

Pool 8 at Huntington Beach -- 1. Huntington Beach; 2. Yucaipa; 3. Dana Hills; 4. Carson.

DIVISION 2

Pool 1 at Huntington Beach -- 1. Notre Dame; 2. Garces Memorial; 3. La Habra; 4. Estancia.

Pool 2 at Costa Mesa -- 1. Francis Parker; 2. Villa Park; 3. Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana; 4. Norco.

Pool 3 at Fountain Valley -- 1. Temecula Valley; 2. San Juan Hills; 3. R.E. Mountain; 4. El Modena.

Pool 4 at Marina -- 1. Trabuco Hills; 2. Peninsula; 3. Woodbridge; 4. Fullerton.

Pool 5 at Corona del Mar -- 1. Ayala; 2. Troy; 3. Stockdale.

Pool 6 at Costa Mesa -- 1. Sage Hill; 2. Carlsbad; 3. Canyon/Anaheim; 4. Costa Mesa.

Pool 7 at Corona del Mar -- 1. St. Margaret's; 2. Northwood; 3. Valencia/Placentia; 4. Silverado.

Pool 8 at Fountain Valley -- 1. Brea Olinda; 2. Laguna Hills; 3. Bonita; 4. Connelly.

WRESTLING OFFICIALS NEEDED FOR 2011-12 SEASON

The Orange County Wrestling Officials Assn. is looking to add officials to its rosters and is holding its first mandatory meeting for candidates for the 2011-12 high school season on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Room 240 (across from gymnasium) at Corona Del Mar High School.

For more information, contact Bruce Terry at (714) 876-7230 or drbruceterry@yahoo.com.

IVC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL HOSTS 'DIG PINK' GAME

Proceeds from the Irvine Valley women's volleyball home match on Friday, Oct. 28, against Orange Empire Conference rival Golden West, dubbed the "Dig Pink" match, will be donated to the Side-Out Foundation, which raises awareness for breast cancer research nationwide through volleyball matches, clinics and camps.

Everyone who donates $5 will receive a pink T-shirt from ASICS and a pink spray cleaner from Simple Green. To check out the Side-Out Foundation’s website, click here.

Have some high school news or a score that you'd like to share? Send it to O.C. Patch sports editor Bob Rohwer at bob.rohwer@patch.com.