Castleton Twice the Trouble for Capistrano Valley : South Coast: Mater Dei junior alternates between wide receiver and quarterback to help Monarchs win, 24-10.

SANTA ANA —  The good things that happen when Mater Dei’s David Castleton has the ball were too enticing to limit.

So he went from wide receiver to quarterback and back again Thursday at Santa Ana Stadium, hurting Capistrano Valley from both positions.

With Castleton here, then there, the Monarchs made off with a 24-10 victory that virtually assured a three-way tie for the South Coast League title. Mater Dei, Capistrano Valley and San Clemente each have one loss and play the league’s have-nots to finish the season.

The scenario could have been a whole lot worse for the fourth-ranked Monarchs (8-1, 3-1 in league), who were coming off a 23-17 loss to San Clemente. They had not lost back-to-back games since 1990. That was still a possibility, until Castleton took over.

He caught a 77-yard touchdown pass to extend a 7-0 lead in the third quarter. On the Monarchs’ next possession, he caught a 70-yard pass, then scored on a one-yard run two plays later.

Castleton, a junior, alternated at quarterback with Nick Stremick and was responsible for all three Monarch touchdowns. Castleton, who played occasionally at quarterback earlier this season, threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Rod Fraser in the second quarter.

“We should have done this last week,” Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “There were things we asked Nick to do. There were things we asked David to do.”

Stremick’s chores were mainly to lay out two deep passes for Castleton to run under.

Castleton’s role was a bit more complicated. He split time between the two offensive positions and played defensive back. He completed only three passes for 24 yards, but seemed to give life to an inert Monarch offense.

This was not virgin territory for Castleton. He had, after all, prepped to play quarterback the past two seasons behind John Flynn. But the Monarchs were thin at wide receiver and Stremick seemed capable at quarterback, until the San Clemente loss.

Stremick threw one pass that was intercepted and had a key penalty, passing beyond the line of scrimmage, against the Tritons. So in stepped Castleton .

“I told them I may change them in the middle of a series,” Rollinson said. “I did it how ever I felt and it worked.”

Castleton’s athletic ability got the Monarchs their first score. Linebacker Ryon Holland intercepted a pass from Austin Moherman and returned it to the Cougar 12-yard line. Two plays later, Castleton rolled right, ducked under a defender, then found Rod Fraser in the end zone. It was Castleton’s first touchdown pass of the season.

“Being a receiver, you forget what it feels like to be back there,” said Castleton, who had thrown 10 passes this season before Thursday. “It’s exciting.”

It was about the only excitement Mater Dei had offensively in the first half. But while the offense seemed limited, the defense was limiting.

The second-ranked Cougars (7-2, 3-1) were held to 10 yards in the first half and finished with 165. Maleafou MacKenzie, who had rushed for 817 yards, was held to 35. The Cougars also committed key mistakes. A holding penalty wiped out a 55-yard touchdown run by MacKenzie. Moherman threw two passes that were intercepted, both by linebacker Holland.

Things didn’t go much better in the second half. Moherman finished four of 16 for 80 yards.