Pacifica Expecting Competition From La Quinta, Kennedy

Bill Craven, coach of defending Garden Grove League champion Pacifica High School, has heard through the grapevine that La Quinta is going to have one of its best teams in recent years.

And Craven knows that Kennedy has fine athletes, including one of the league’s best running backs in Ed Williams.

So Craven--whose team lost 17 starters, including all but one on defense--insists that La Quinta and Kennedy must be the preseason favorites to win the league title.

That’s news to the rest of league coaches, who are pointing to Pacifica. And why not.

The Mariners, fifth in Southern Section Division VI preseason rankings, lost a lot, but they retain senior leadership and experience in key offensive positions. The league’s best runner, three-year starter and All-Southern Section running back Chris Shockley, returns after gaining 1,324 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns. Also back is last year’s starting quarterback, senior Bob Anderson, who completed 118 of 216 passes for 1,675 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Another key: Craven knows how to build winners.

“I know Bill graduated so many key people,” La Quinta Coach Roger Takahashi said, “but he runs such an outstanding program there that I don’t see Pacifica ever having a rebuilding year.”

Said Kennedy’s Mitch Olson: “I can agree with La Quinta (contending) but (Craven) has got to put himself at least second.

“I wish I could understand how he could pick us for the top,” Olson said. “We lost 29 seniors. What does he think we’re doing, bringing guys in trucks or something.”

Craven’s Mariners will be young and untested this year, especially on defense, a Pacifica mainstay, where only cornerback Mark Flatten returns.

None of the offensive and defensive linemen started last year. Guards Milt Thomas (6-0, 200) and Jim Murphy (6-2, 205) will move from offense to the defensive line.

Here’s a look at the teams:

BOLSA GRANDE--Though the Matadors have been rebuilding the past couple of seasons, they are still a few steps away from returning to their former dominance.

Coach Bill Holst is hoping his team will execute the fundamentals better, hang on to the ball and improve on last year’s fifth-place finish in the league.

“Hopefully those big guns will knock each other off and not pay too much attention to us and we can sneak up and beat them,” said Holst, in his second year at Bolsa Grande.

With nine starters returning, including seven defenders and the entire secondary, the Matadors have some defensive stability.

Senior Sonny Nguyen, who started at wide receiver last year, will fill in at quarterback. He has been learning the position during the summer and has the edge on junior Freddie Ornelas.

Three-year starter Tim Desrosiers (5-11, 200), an all-league linebacker last year, replaces Eric Shimomura, who graduated, at tailback.

Another three-year starter, Rick Pantardini, returns at center and defensive end.

Trent Wood, a defensive back/wide receiver, returns for his senior year. He led the team in receptions with 24 for 314 yards, and also intercepted three passes.

GARDEN GROVE--Only four starters and six lettermen return from last year’s 0-10 team.

“We are in the process of really trying to rebuild--attitude, work ethic, numbers, spirit, the whole shot,” second-year coach Jeff Buenafe said. “Last year everything was in the gutter and we are just trying to clean up. It’s going to take a couple of seasons, hopefully not more than that.”

The Argonauts lost quarterback Frank Wursthorn, all-league tailback Jerrold Johnson, fullback Josh Bove and the entire offensive line.

But Buenafe already has seen improvement in attitude and numbers. He has 39 players out for varsity, up from 22 last year.

“We are just so dad-gummed green,” he said. “Of the 22 positions we have 17 juniors playing.”

Quarterback Bob Ioja has moved from the junior varsity.

The four seniors who will anchor the team are running backs J.J. Cortez and Joe Crespo, wide receiver Joe Squyres and linebacker John Carlock.

Junior Alex Ripley, who will play tailback and inside linebacker, is the team’s top newcomer on defense.

KENNEDY--Last year, in only his second as coach, Mitch Olson led Kennedy to a second-place league finish and the team’s best season in seven years.

Olson is cautiously optimistic about the Fighting Irish, who have only six starters back.

“I think if the kids rise like we think they will, we can get into the playoffs,” he said. “It’s kind of unrealistic to say we could be a favorite in the league losing what we did.”

Kennedy lost 29 seniors, including three All-Southern Section Division VI players: quarterback Pete Montera, linebacker-receiver Greg Hansell and tight end Tom Deep.

Nobody returns on the defensive line.

Steve Lundby, a starter at strong safety and wide receiver as a junior last year, is out for the season with a knee injury suffered in preseason.

Last year’s leading rusher, tailback Ed Williams, returns. Williams scored 17 touchdowns last year and has a good chance to be an all-county selection, Olson said.

Center Trevor Watters and guard Jason Mehr return to the offensive line. All-league linebacker Keith Sewell returns on defense, as does corner Vince Church, who started last season as a sophomore and had four interceptions.

Three players are competing to start at quarterback: Sean O’Hearn, Russell Clark and Rod Rosales.

Kurtis Lindquist, a 6-1, 205-pound senior, will start at fullback and linebacker.

LA QUINTA--Coach Roger Takahashi is intent on earning a playoff spot and is moving players around to try to reach that goal.

Julian Trent, who carried 74 times for 133 yards and completed 72 of 160 passes for 1,056 yards and four touchdowns last year, is moving to tailback.

Trent, an all-league selection at free safety, has worked on his speed and quickness and now is the fastest player on the team, Takahashi said. “He has exceptional running ability,” the coach said.

He will continue to play offense and defense.

Stepping in at quarterback will be Trent’s former backup, 6-1, 170-pound senior Richard Weaver.

“I know coaches are going to be very surprised at that move,” Takahashi said, “but there is no doubt after what has developed over the summer that that is the right move.”

Weaver completed six of nine passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns last season.

The Aztecs have a huge hole to fill because of the absence of fullback/linebacker Adrian Ashby, who transferred to Fountain Valley.

The Aztecs’ biggest question mark will be on defense, where seven starters graduated. Defensive guards Todd Harvey and Doug Medley will move off the line to shore up the linebacker spots.

Takahashi is excited about Carson transfer Sanitoa Gagau, an offensive guard. “The kid is 6-3, 318, hits like a freight train and is very quick for his size,” Takahashi said.

LOS AMIGOS--Every coach has to replace his graduating players, but Art Michalik had five additional holes to fill.

“I have to replace five starters from last year who moved,” Michalik said. “They transferred for one reason or another. That hurts.”

Still, the Lobos have seven returning starters. The running game and defense will be team strengths, Michalik said.

The passing game will be a big question because of the inexperience at quarterback.

Three players are vying for the position: senior John Morgan, who started last season at quarterback before moving to wide receiver; senior Frank Kirby, and junior Eaton Siddale.

Starting tailback Jeff Rojek (5-11, 190) and junior tight end Matt McCready (6-3, 220) return.

RANCHO ALAMITOS--Mark Miller believes he has more talent this year than he had on the 1987 team that missed the playoffs by half a game.

That team--Miller’s first at Rancho Alamitos--was led by running back Sean Cheatham, who rushed for 1,927 yards his senior year.

Miller will start 19 underclassmen and has six players doubling on offense and defense. But he is optimistic the Vaqueros can contend for a playoff spot, although they finished seventh in the league last season and lack size.

The defense, led by senior safety Robert Stevens, is quicker. And the offensive line is stronger and bigger, up to about an average of 175 pounds from 160 last season. Junior Leonard Sims (6-0, 190), is projected as a two-way starter at tackle.

Sophomore Lia Togia (5-10, 190) will also man both lines in his first year of football.

But the big impact player will be junior Chris Singletary (6-1 1/2, 205), who moves from tight end to quarterback.

Dana Riddle, one of only three senior starters on the team, will be the tailback when he recovers from a separated shoulder. He’ll get 30 carries a game. Rick Primeaux leads a field of talented kickers.

SANTIAGO--Coach Mike Barron’s team will be young. Fourteen players, including nine starters, graduated and Santiago lost another 10 players through attrition, Barron said.

Junior Chad Carter (5-10, 175) and sophomore Mike Carrasco (6-1, 185) are contending for the quarterback spot, left open after the graduation of 1,500-yard passer Dana Ripley.

Carter was the quarterback for the junior varsity team that went 7-3 and won the league championship last season.

Junior Kevin Gilliam will be the top running back. He replaces Rudy Motly, who graduated. Key returners include tackles Gary Wright (6-1, 260) and Chad Robbins (6-2, 230), linebacker/guard David Cruz (6-0, 215), nose guard Diem Nguyen (5-9 185), running back/defensive back Sandro Calitto (5-8, 155) and wide receiver Clyde Perezcastaneda, who also will play defensive back.

Jason Hooper (6-1, 180) will handle the kicking.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE

1988 Overall, League Records in Parentheses

SCHOOL: COMMENT

Pacifica (10-2-1, 7-0): QB, RB and WR return from championship team

Kennedy (8-3-1, 6-1): Lost 29 players, including three all-Division picks

Los Amigos (4-6-1, 4-2-1): Running game and defense are strengths

La Quinta (6-4, 4-3): Shifting personnel in hopes of reaching playoffs

Santiago (5-4-1, 3-3-1): Lost 24 players through graduation and attrition

Bolsa Grande (3-7, 2-5): Seven defensive starters return

Rancho Alamitos (2-8, 1-6): More talent than the ’87 Sean Cheatham team

Garden Grove (0-10, 0-7): Backfield and entire offensive line has graduated