ESPN West recruiting Blog

Posted by Greg Biggins

I was in attendance to see Mater Dei's (Santa Ana, Calif.) surprising win over 2008 state champion Centennial (Corona, Calif.) last Friday. The Monarchs went old school and looked like the team that dominated Southern Cal football back in the 90s with a smash mouth running game and leading the charge was talented offensive lineman Chris Ward.

With the Matt Barkley era now over at Mater Dei, the Monarchs have gone back to being more of a run dominated team. They owned the line of scrimmage against a very good Centennial team and Ward showed why he could be the top offensive lineman in the state.

Ward plays left tackle for the Monarchs, but his size will likely dictate a move to guard in college. He was tough, physical and dominated an aggressive Huskies defensive line all night. Whether it was leading a sweep, showing improved athleticism from a year ago or just man handling his man in front of him, Ward was arguably the most impressive player on the field for either side.

"That was a fun game, we did what we had to do out there and ran the football," Ward said. "I told everyone we were going to surprise some people and I know no one expected us to beat Centennial. The whole line really dominated up front and we could tell we were wearing them down in the fourth quarter."

On the recruiting front, Ward is still no closer to making a decision between his two co-favorites, Cal and UCLA.

"I'm going to take an official visit to Cal (Oct. 2) when they play USC," Ward said. "I think I'll take an official visit to UCLA too, but I don't have a date in mind right now. I did go to the UCLA-Kansas State game Saturday night and had a great time hanging out with all the recruits.

"Right now, the two schools are still pretty even. That's why I haven't been able to decide yet. I'm going to take my official visits to each of the schools and then hopefully I'll be able to make a well-informed decision."

More notes from the game

Monarchs junior wide receiver Victor Blackwell made his season debut after missing the teams first two games with a high ankle sprain. Blackwell limped off the field in pre-game warmups and it appeared he might not be ready to go.

He had his ankle re-taped and made a somewhat-inauspicious debut fumbling the first pass that came his way to kill the Monarchs' opening drive. However, he more than made up for it in the third quarter by getting behind the Huskies' defense for a 78-yard touchdown and showing the speed that has him such a highly coveted prospect.

Cal and Tennessee have offered scholarships and word from the Monarchs coaches is USC could be on the verge of offering as well.

For Centennial, linebacker Brandon Brown had a monster game and looks fully recovered from an injury-riddled junior season. Brown broke his femur prior to his junior season, recovered to play in five games and then broke his other femur.

He recently had the screws removed from his leg after it was found out they were causing an allergic reaction, which caused him to miss the Huskies' season opener a week ago. Brown was all over the field delivering huge hits, running down plays from behind and looking like the Division I prospect he was destined to be after a huge sophomore season at Norco (Calif.).

Idaho, Iowa State and SMU have offered Brown, but look for him to get recruited at the Pac-10 and high MWC/WAC level with a few more performances like Friday night.