By Daniel Archuleta
Daily Press Staff Writer

SAMOHI Santa Monica High School began the season with great expectations, but as they head into league play tonight, the Vikings will have to fight for their postseason lives if they are going to make it past the regular season.

Following a 2-0 start to the preseason, Samohi has dropped two of their last three and are looking at Ocean League play as a chance to salvage a spot in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs. At 3-2, the Vikings maintain a pretty respectable record considering that the pair of losses came to the likes of Venice and Los Alamitos high schools. Both squads are 4-1 and are most likely going to advance.

“Our kids played well. We gave them (Los Alamitos) everything they can handle. They had a big quarterback that just wore us down. We made a couple mistakes on offense and that really set us up for the loss,” said Samohi head coach Zach Cuda. “It was a very close, one-score game.

“We had a chance to take a lead late in the fourth quarter, but we fumbled our chance away.”

Last week, junior Christian Ross filled a vacancy at tailback left by senior starter Vince Lawrence, who sprained his ankle in the Jordan game the previous week. Ross shined, finishing the Los Al game with 183 yards on 22 carries, but it was his late fumble that may have sealed the Vikings’ fate.

While this may be enough to get any team frustrated, Cuda said it shouldn’t linger as he prepares his team to open league play against a talented Morningside High School.

The only problem with the Vikings’ prospects for the regular season is that it isn’t going to get any easier from here on in. They still have to face — in addition to Morningside — co-league champs Beverly Hills and Culver City.

Morningside has been spectacular on offense thus far. The Monarchs have scored 193 points over five games, while giving up just 80. On the other hand, Samohi has scored a respectable amount of points — 141 — yet have given up a generous 101.

Those numbers don’t seem to worry Cuda, but Morningside’s athleticism does seem to give the coach a reason to approach the game with caution.

“They (Morningside) are very athletic, as usual, and they have a decent balance on offense, which makes it certainly tough to defensively scheme against,” said Cuda during a phone interview.

Cuda added that the Monarchs’ defense is aggressive and he expects them to pressure standout quarterback Ryan Katz all night.

The Oregon State-bound Katz will need all the time he can get this week against a Monarch pass rush that has registered 35 sacks on the season through five games — nearly six sacks a game. Pressure like that may hurry Katz into bad throws, something he hasn’t done too much. Although he threw his first two interceptions of the season last week, Katz has enjoyed a stellar season, sporting a gaudy 108 QB rating, and throwing for 852 yards and tossing eight TDs coming into tonight’s game.

“We have been stressing the importance of execution and ball control. We have to sustain drives. Not get careless with the football and give it up,” said Cuda.

The return of Lawrence this week should help the Vikings accomplish Cuda’s goals for Friday’s contest. Although he will return to his starting role, he will split time with the nimble Ross. The pair have amassed 619 yards and have scored a total of eight touchdowns. Add in Katz’s 191 yards rushing and you have a pretty potent ground attack that should keep Morningside guessing.

“I feel pretty good right now. I can run and maneuver, just not fully yet, but I’m working hard to get back to my regular caliber,” said Lawrence.

daniela@smdp.com