JC NOTES : El Camino’s Featherstone Mentioned for Coaching Jobs

When it comes to local coaching vacancies, John Featherstone is a household name.

El Camino’s successful football coach has been mentioned in three cases.

One is the Cal State Long Beach coaching job that became available when Larry Reisbig, who compiled an 11-24 record in three years, resigned.

Featherstone was one of four candidates--along with New Orleans Saints assistant John Peace, University of Pittsburgh assistant Bill Myers and Seattle Seahawk assistant Chick Harris--interviewed for the position, which is expected to be filled Monday when Athletic Director Corey Johnson names his man at a press conference.

Featherstone has also been mentioned for the UCLA offensive coordinator position vacated when Greg Robinson, who ran the offense, was named the assistant head coach.

And Featherstone’s name will probably be in the hopper if the Cal State Fullerton coaching job opens. Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy is a strong candidate for coach at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and possibly the University of Utah.

Featherstone has a good tie with Fullerton since he sent the school two JC All-American quarterbacks, Ron Barber in 1986 and Dan Speltz in 1988. He can also offer the Titans an impressive record.

In five years at El Camino he’s racked up a 39-13-1 mark, including a mythical national championship in 1987. In the last three years the Warriors have gone 30-2-1 and this season they finished at 10-1 after losing to Riverside in the Orange County Bowl.

Featherstone will, however, have tough competition if he pursues Fullerton. Cal State Northridge Coach Bob Burt has showed interest in going back to Fullerton where he was a defensive coordinator for six years. Burt is the winningest coach in Northridge history with a 27-17 record in four years.

Featherstone said of his job at El Camino: “I’m very happy here. I’m just testing the waters right now.”

Ron McClurkin, El Camino’s laid-back and mellow basketball coach, finally has a good reason to worry.

Larry Lockley, his top scorer, is out for at least one week with torn knee cartilage. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard averaged 18.5 points a game going into the Santa Barbara tournament, where the fifth-ranked Warriors (10-1) lost to eventual champion Allan Hancock College of Santa Maria.

Lockley, a graduate of Banning High, was an all-league selection for El Camino in 1986. The 22-year-old served in the Army for two years and now he’s the Warriors’ biggest defensive threat.

“He’s our top scorer,” McClurkin said, “but it’s going to hurt us more defensively. He always shut down the other team’s guard.”

Frank Beatty, a 6-4, 195-pound sophomore, is the off-guard for Lockley in this week’s Pasadena Tournament. The eight-team field includes Rio Hondo, Columbia Basin (Washington), Ventura, Rancho Santiago, L.A. Trade Tech, Pasadena City and Moorpark. The final is scheduled for 9 tonight.

Kristy Loesener must be doing something right. Since taking over the El Camino women’s basketball program last year, the Warriors haven’t lost a game in the school’s North gym. They also beat Fullerton for the first time in 15 years.

This season El Camino is ranked No. 1 in the state by California Basketball magazine. The Warriors are 7-2 after Wednesday’s 86-82 victory over visiting Santa Monica. “We didn’t start out playing very well early in the season,” Loesener said. “It was more of an individual game. Now we’re playing together. We also have balanced scoring from our starting five.”

Center Cheri Bullet and guards Lynn Sherman, Tammy Booker and Kim Bly are averaging in double figures. Bly, an all-conference selection last year, leads with 29 points a game. The 5-foot-7 sophomore from Hawthorne High scored 34 against Santa Monica.

El Camino travels to Cypress for today’s game and to Fullerton on Dec.27 for the Fullerton Tournament, which will feature some of the state’s top-ranked teams such as College of the Canyons, L.A. Valley, Golden West and Fullerton.

Conference coaches met in Fresno last week to pick the JC all-state football team, and El Camino came out with five first team selections: quarterback Frank Dolce, offensive tackle Derrick Deese, defensive tackle Gregory Franklin, defensive back Niu Sale and lineman Jeff Cummins, the Defensive Player of the Year.

Offensive lineman Ishmal Peralta, defensive back Tony Church, defensive lineman Eric Marrero and place-kicker Louis Perez were named to the second team.

Wide receiver Khevin Pratt and defensive end Tracy Gentry were honorable mention.

L.A. Southwest had seven first-team selections, four second-team picks and seven honorable mentions.

Wide receiver Ansel Littlejohn, offensive guard Tim McDaniels, defensive end Chris Mims, defensive back Lorenzo Dickson, defensive end Bernard Dafney, linebacker Joe Kearney and place-kicker Jason Thompson made the first team.

Wide receiver Damon Beckom, linebacker Alex Collins, tight end David Crowfield and wide receiver Barry Thomas made the second team.

Southwest’s honorable mentions are quarterback Craig Manigo, tackle Anthony Arley, running back William Jarrett, linebacker Ray Boulden, defensive end Clidell Gipson, linebacker Mike Brown and wide receiver David Mack.

El Camino sophomore linebacker Marc DeRossett was named a scholar/athlete All-American by JC Grid-Wire. The 5-11, 215-pound business major from South Torrance High has the state’s highest possible grade-point average, 4.0.