OC Game of the Week

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Mater Dei (7-0, 2-0) vs. Orange Lutheran (6-1, 1-1), Santa Ana Stadium, Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson figures to reach deep into his bag of motivational hyperbole this week as his Monarchs, ranked No. 1 in the Southland and the state, take on a Lutheran squad coming off its first loss of the season and in a must-win situation. Although Mater Dei is the favorite, Lutheran has won three of the five games these teams have played, and is the toughest opponent to prepare for because it does so many different things on offense.

The Lancers, ranked No. 11 in the Southland by The Times and No. 13 in the state by CalHiSports.com, are led-by USC-bound Blake Ayles, a standout tight end and defensive end. Lutheran must control the ball and avoid turnovers -- anything to keep Mater Dei’s offense and quarterback Matt Barkley off the field -- if it hopes to win this Trinity League matchup.

‘Sometimes players get over-hyped, but I don’t think he is,’ Lutheran Coach Jim Kunau said of Barkley. ‘He’s playing as well as any high school junior quarterback you’ll ever see.’ Barkley’s numbers bear that out: He has completed 67.5% of his passes for 2,380 yards -- a 340 yards a game average -- with 26 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Lutheran is no slouch on offense, either. It’s averaging 196 yards rushing and 204 yards passing. That’s balance.

‘We’re rolling along, but we have to play one of the Daddie-Os of the league,’ Rollinson said of last year’s Pac-5 and Division II State Bowl champions. ‘They were beaten by Servite and now it scares me that their feet are back on the ground.’

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image by Lori Shepler/Los Angeles Times