Prep Review / Barbie Ludovise : Some Coaches Look at Big Picture

It happens every fall Sunday: High school football coaches apologize to their wives, their kids and their pets as they hurry off to school for another long, rigorous afternoon of . . .

Game films!

Analyzing films or videos of upcoming opponents is a coaching tradition, one most often conducted on Sunday afternoons. Coaches and their assistants spend hours breaking down game films to better analyze an upcoming opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.

An extra edge might be gained this way. But for coaches’ wives and families, it’s another day without dad.

Things are different, however, in the Olympic League, which is made up of private, Christian schools. When the Southern Section lifted a ban on filming opponents’ games two years ago, coaches in the Olympic League voted not to film each other’s games. Nor do they exchange films for analysis.

“As coaches, we want to be involved as much in our programs and be the best we can be like anyone else,” Orange Lutheran Coach Bob Dowding said. “But because Christianity is also one of our beliefs, we feel Sunday is time to spend at home. Doing that (analyzing game films) takes away most of your Sunday.”

Said Whittier Christian Coach Phil Bravo: “We pencil-chalk, go to games and scout, but on Sundays, no one works. We stay home with our families. My defensive coordinator teaches Sunday school. All my coaches are involved with their churches.”

So Olympic League coaches never even think about their upcoming opponents on Sunday?

“I’m sure the temptation’s there,” Bravo said. “I’m sure the thought crosses your mind, but at same time I think the league has great integrity. I respect all the coaches, and I’m not even threatened by the thought.”

Upset dept.: Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes reflected on his team’s 24-21 loss to Villa Park Thursday. Los Alamitos had been ranked No. 1 in the county.

“They played harder and they wanted to win more then we did,” Barnes said. “They deserved to win and we didn’t.”

Said Villa Park Coach Pat Mahoney: “The kids were real excited, real excited (after the victory), but we have a smart, intelligent group here. What we try to stress now is the peaks and valleys, so they understand this game doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot if we go out and play poor football for the weeks to come.”

And, for Villa Park (3-0), the weeks to come will feature the return of Ryan Smith, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound fullback who has been out since August with a broken clavicle. Smith is expected to be back at full strength in about two weeks.

Speaking of upsets: Here’s Trabuco Hills Coach Tim Manning on his team’s 14-7 loss to Dana Hills a week ago Saturday, one that ended the Mustangs’ seven-game winning streak: “I think we got our annual screw-up over with last week. Last year, it was Laguna Beach; this year it was Dana Hills.”

Before the Dana Hills loss, Trabuco Hills hadn’t been beaten since its 9-7 loss to Laguna Beach last season. Trabuco Hills went on to win the Division VIII title.

On course: Dan Niednagel of Dana Hills and Shelley Taylor of Edison had the best times of the day at the Laguna Hills Invitational Saturday.

Niednagel, a junior, ran the three-mile course in 15 minutes 19 seconds, and Taylor, a sophomore, ran 17:16.

In the team showdown, the Laguna Beach boys, one of the county’s upstarts this season, won the small-schools race with 78 points. Calvin Christian was second with 92 and Woodbridge was third with 97. For the girls, Woodbridge (62 points) held off two-time defending state champion Newport Harbor (69) for the small schools victory.

At the Sonora Invitational, Richie Lockwood won the 5,000 meter race in the day’s best time, 15:48, to lead Fountain Valley to the team title. Katella’s Martha Pinto ran the fastest time for girls in 18:44.

To the victor . . . goes the termites: Orange County has many cross-town rivalries, and many feature distinctive trophies going to the winner of the annual contests.

Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor, for example, have the “Harbor Bell.” Foothill and Tustin have the “Golden Gauntlet.”

And Woodbridge, Irvine and University have the Fence Post.

Yes, the Fence Post Trophy, presented each year by the Irvine Sports Club, goes to one of the three Irvine high schools that comes out on top in head-to-head football competition.

According to Irvine Sports Club president Bill Ackman, the trophy originated in 1978 when the club decided to honor the city’s best team with something reflecting Irvine’s ranching heritage. Thus, the Fence Post, which actually came from Irvine Ranch property.

Woodbridge opened in 1981, so the contest originally was between University and Irvine.

The trophy’s most distinctive feature?

Termites. Hungry termites--which have slowly eaten away some of the Fence Post.

“It’s true,” Ackman said, laughing. “It’s complete with termites. It’s the ugliest trophy. Really! Oh yeah, we’re talking very ugly.”

Of course, that hasn’t deterred the teams from fighting for it.

This year’s battle for the Fence Post will be decided Friday night, when Irvine meets Woodbridge, which has owned the Fence Post for the last four years.

If Irvine wins, it will receive the trophy because it beat University last Friday. But if Woodbridge, which lost to University Friday, wins, a three-way tie will result, the first since 1983. And the trophy will remain on display at a local theater.

Pool boys: What does the Edison football team do to get that extra edge?

Three or four times a year, the whole team dives into the Edison swimming pool for a workout. For individual players who are injured or sore, pool workouts have become a common alternative to on-field conditioning.

According to Charger Coach Dave White, these workouts are no splash in the tub.

“They like (the idea) until they’re finished,” White said. “Then they realize it really wasn’t that much fun.”