El Camino Coach John Featherstone Says Quarterback Frank Dolce May Be the Best in the School’s History, Which Includes Two All-Americans : A Warrior Tradition

El Camino’s quarterback tradition is very much alive.

The top-ranked Warriors have another all-American candidate running their pass-happy offense and he may be the best one yet.

His task is not an easy one considering that two all-Americans, Ron Barber (1985) and Dan Spletz (1987), have played at El Camino College in the last five years under Coach John Featherstone.

That, however, is history.

Now Frank Dolce, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore, runs the show for the Warriors. He’s the reason why El Camino is ranked No. 1 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau and No. 4 in the nation by the JC Grid-Wire.

And he should be a key factor on Saturday when the Warriors try to improve their winning streak to 11 against Golden West, a team they tied last year.

Featherstone says Dolce may be the best quarterback in the school’s history. He’s better built and he’s quicker, the coach believes.

“Frank has all the best qualities of both those guys (Barber and Spletz),” Featherstone said. “He does just about everything right. He’s a very well-rounded quarterback. He has great feet and he flushes out and makes things happen.”

This season Dolce has led El Camino to a 3-0 mark. So far he’s completed 53 of 88 passes for 765 yards and six touchdowns. He started the year by passing for 180 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-17 win over Antelope Valley.

In the Warriors’ second game against Orange Coast, he made 20 of 28 passes for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns. And in last week’s 31-24 win over Fullerton in Orange County, he completed 20 passes for 305 yards and one touchdown. It was an extra-special victory for the 20-year old for several reasons:

Last year, Fullerton handed the Warriors (9-1-1) their only loss by defeating them 38-36 at home. That ended a 13-game winning streak and marked El Camino’s last loss.

In that game, on Oct. 1, 1988, Dolce suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter which kept him out of two games and allowed him to play only minimally in three others.

Fullerton was ranked No. 1 in the state until two weeks ago, when the Hornets lost to Cerritos, and El Camino beat Orange Coast to take over the top spot.

“I’ve never felt anything like that in a football game,” Dolce said of last week’s victory. “What a great feeling of accomplishment. It was really terrible to lose to them at home last year and, on top of it, to get hurt. I was trying to prove something to myself and this time I did.”

Although Dolce acknowledges his good performance, he’s also quick to compliment his supporting cast, which includes three talented wide receivers--David Blakes, Shannon Thompson and Khevin Pratt--and an offensive line that always gives him plenty of time to do his thing.

“I couldn’t do it without them,” he said while kicking back in a black Batman T-shirt and white shorts. “I think I have more confidence with the offense this year. I’m more confident with myself because I know it better and the people we’ve lost, we’ve replaced well.”

Hal Sherbeck, Fullerton’s coach for 28 years, says El Camino’s offense is the best it has been in years. He says Dolce had an incredible performance against his club, which finished on top of the Mission Conference central division last year with a 10-1 record.

“We couldn’t get to him,” Sherbeck said. “He has that presence of mind and experience to throw the ball and not take the sack. He can pull the trigger any time and he’s very smart.”

Dolce proved that last year, although he competed against sophomore Scott Yessner, an equally talented quarterback.

As a freshman Dolce passed for 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns despite being hampered by the injury that stretched ligaments in his right ankle. He completed 63% of his passes, broke Spletz’ Pony Bowl record for most pass completions (23) and was an all-Mission Conference selection.

In high school things were much the same for Dolce, who red-shirted his first year at El Camino. He was an all-league and Times all-star quarterback at Culver City High. He was also an all-league sweeper on the Centaurs’ soccer team and he played baseball.

“Our offense did nothing to compliment his talent,” said Culver City Coach Lou Lichtl, who was an assistant when Dolce played there. “He has an excellent arm and great touch. He could really throw deep and he’s very mobile. I’ve seen him play (at El Camino) and he’s phenomenal. He’s really developed very well.”

Ironically it was Dolce’s foot and not his arm that won a game for the Culver City freshman football team during his first year there. The Centaurs had a fourth-down situation against Redondo High with the score tied 6-6 and less than a minute left to play.

Culver City’s kicker had broken his collar bone earlier in the game and Dolce stepped in and made a 52-yard field goal that gave the Centaurs a 9-3 victory.

“I went over there and said, ‘Coach let me try. I play soccer,’ ” Dolce said. “And I made it! It was great!”

He hasn’t attempted a field goal in a game since. His feet are strictly for scrambling and rolling out of the pocket before throwing a bomb. In the event of another injury, freshmen quarterbacks Scott Peters (Mira Costa High) and Roderick Harvey (Morningside High) are ready to roll.

But Dolce plans to give the newcomers a permanent spot on the sideline, an all-season rest. He believes grueling summer workouts and rehabilitative exercises have made him stronger than ever. Now he wants to be on top.

“I want to win that national championship,” he said with a quick smirk. “I want to be the best.”

So the tradition continues at El Camino.