Raul Lara’s spring debut at Mater Dei leads to passing tournament championship

Wearing a gray Mater Dei T-shirt and white hat, Raul Lara is reminded constantly how strange he looks in Monarchs football gear by his acquaintances from his Long Beach Poly coaching days.

He had a 13-year run, winning five Southern Section Division 1 championships. Saturday at Long Beach Millikan was his team’s first seven-on-seven passing competition since he took over for Frank McManus at Mater Dei on April 25.

“It’s like when I took over at Poly when Jerry Jason established something,” Lara said. “[Bruce] Rollinson did the same thing. It’s my job hopefully to keep up with that. If we can do a little bit better, then we do. I don’t feel pressure, but I feel obligated to keep this program at the top.”

Lara, who resigned as head coach at St. Anthony, has kept much of Mater Dei’s coaching staff, enabling a smooth transition since the dismissal of McManus, who was head coach for one season.

Lara made it clear one of his assignments is to make sure players grow on and off the field. He’s a retired probation officer and plans to use the word accountability quite often.

Mater Dei head coach Raul Lara coaches the team after a game with Upland in the Long Beach Millikan tournament.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“My biggest thing in coaching is always the character of the kid,” he said. “I want the kid when he leaves our program to learn the tools to become a responsible and good adult in the community. The kids are starting to see I have their best interest. And there’s a lot of accountability going on.”

Mater Dei won the seven-on-seven tournament championship, defeating rival St. John Bosco in the final while going 7-0 on the day. Dash Beierly, a senior transfer from Chaparral, and sophomore to be Furian Infererra handled quarterback duties. Corona Centennial and JSerra also reached the semifinals.

The tournament was filled with top players, from Edison receivers Jacob Martin and Jake Minter to Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel. It launches a busy schedule of seven-on-seven weekend tournaments for the next month. St. John Bosco and Simi Valley will have tournaments on June 29 and the Edison tournament is July 13.

Crean Lutheran defeated San Juan Hills to win the Dana Hills tournament. Charter Oak won its own tournament championship, defeating Bishop Amat in the final.