Mater Dei Looking for Repeat Performance

Football playoffs begin tonight with 192 schools competing for championships in 12 divisions.

Santa Ana Mater Dei, the defending Division I champion, has won 24 consecutive games. The Monarchs play a first-round game Friday against Bellflower St. John Bosco.

No school has won consecutive titles in the Southern Section’s largest division since Servite in 1982 and 1983.

Eisenhower, the 1993 champion, is the only public school to win a Division I title in the ‘90s.

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Cross-country championships in five divisions will be held Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Long Beach Poly is the defending Division I boys’ champion. Other defending champions include Hemet (Division II), Tustin (III), Ojai Nordhoff (IV) and Orange Lutheran (V).

Anaheim Esperanza is the defending Division girls’ champion. Yucaipa (Division II), Orange El Modena (III), Ojai Nordhoff (IV) and Orange Lutheran (V) also will attempt to repeat.

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Girls’ volleyball championship matches begin Friday at Long Beach State with the Division III-A final between Huntington Beach Ocean View and Bishop Montgomery at 5 p.m., and the III-AA match between La Habra and Corona del Mar at 7:30.

Saturday’s matches at Long Beach:

Division II-A--Westlake vs. Lakewood St. Joseph, 10 a.m.; II-AA--San Marcos vs. Santa Margarita, 1 p.m.; I-A--Mater Dei vs. Marina, 4:30; I-AA--Manhattan Beach Mira Costa vs. Newport Harbor, 7:30.

Championship matches in Divisions IV-A, IV-AA, V-A and V-AA will be played Saturday at Cerritos College beginning at 10 a.m.

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Tayshaun Prince, a 6-foot-7 senior who helped lead Compton Dominguez to consecutive state Division II basketball titles, announced he will attend Kentucky.