HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEWS : Talent Under Center Distinguishes League : Tri-Valley: Rosters of mostly small schools are peppered with big-name quarterbacks.

Richie Donati of Bishop Diego High might be the most talked-about high school quarterback on the West Coast this season, but he won’t be the only seasoned signal caller in the Tri-Valley League.

Donati, a SuperPrep magazine All-American, Son Ngo of Carpinteria, Ryan Huisenga of Moorpark and Pete Houston of St. Bonaventure are all returning starters.

Defensive back Damian Delfino, the interception leader among regional Southern Section players last year, will take over the quarterback job at Oak Park for the graduated Mike Stern.

Stern threw for 1,416 yards and nine touchdowns last season as the Eagles tied traditional power Carpinteria for the league title, but Oak Park Coach Dick Billingsley does not expect a drop in production with Delfino at the controls.

“I hope to run the ball and throw the ball equally well,” Billingsley said. “It’s not like Damian has never played quarterback before. He was the backup last year.”

Donati (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) was an offensive lineman and tight end at Bishop Diego until Coach Norris Fletcher converted him to quarterback last year.

After throwing for 1,684 yards and 20 touchdowns in 10 games as a junior, Donati starts this season as the top-ranked quarterback on the West Coast by SuperPrep magazine. Fletcher said he is being recruited by every major university from Miami to USC.

“He can throw passes that you don’t see too often in high school football,” Fletcher said. “He’s big and he’s strong. He stands tall in the pocket and he throws tall. The biggest problem we’re having with him is our receivers are having a hard time catching his passes.

“He throws the ball so hard and puts it there so quick that our receivers are sometimes caught off guard. He throws those 20-yard down-and-out patterns like a pro.”

Billingsley, whose team lost to Bishop Diego, 18-3, last year after beating Carpinteria, 29-28, agrees that Donati is something special.

“He’s a pure passer,” said Billingsley, a receiver at Cal State Northridge in the 1960s. “He throws the ball real well. He reads defenses real well. He’s exceptional in that he’s a premier passer. He can really stick the ball in there when there’s tight coverage. Most high school kids can’t do that.”

Ngo does not possess a howitzer like Donati, but he was very effective in running Carpinteria’s veer offense as a sophomore last season.

Ngo (5-10, 165) threw for 743 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 363 yards and four scores. He is one of the reasons the Warriors are favored to win their sixth consecutive league title.

“He’s a tough kid and does a great job reading the opposing defenses,” Carpinteria Coach Ben Hallock said. “That’s so essential in our offense.”

Moorpark’s offense has been ground-oriented in recent years--producing a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the past two seasons--but the Musketeers could take to the sky more often with Huisenga at the controls.

The 5-11, 165-pound senior threw for 992 yards and 11 touchdowns last year and he will be operating behind an offensive line that has three returning starters.

“Ryan has improved and he’s more comfortable with our offense,” Moorpark Coach Rob Dearborn said. “We don’t plan on throwing the ball a lot more this season, but if the ground game struggles we won’t be afraid to open up.”

If St. Bonaventure is going to improve on last year’s 2-7 record, the Seraphs will need a solid season from Houston, one of nine returning offensive starters.

“We’re not going to have any big stars on this team,” Coach Jon Mack said. “We want to spread it around on offense, and part of Pete’s job is to do that.”

Standout quarterbacks will not be the only theme in the league this season.

This year will mark the end of two eras for Moorpark. The Musketeers will move to the Frontier League next season--switching with Fillmore--and they no longer will play longtime rival Carpinteria, which has defeated Moorpark in 50 consecutive games.

TRI-VALLEY LEAGUE

FINAL 1990 STANDINGS PROJECTED FINISH Carpinteria 6-4-1, 3-1 Carpinteria Oak Park 7-5, 3-1 Moorpark Moorpark 5-6, 2-2 Oak Park Bishop Diego 4-6, 2-2 Bishop Diego St. Bonaventure 2-7, 0-4 St. Bonaventure

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht Wt Class Damon Bird St. Bonaventure OL 6-1 215 Sr. Damian Delfino Oak Park QB/DB 6-2 184 Jr. Richie Donati Bishop Diego QB 6-3 185 Sr. Jeff Gibbons Oak Park WR/DB 5-10 170 Sr. Ryan Huisenga Moorpark QB 5-11 165 Sr. Sean Lohse Carpinteria TB/LB 5-11 185 Sr. Allen Monroe Carpinteria WR/DB 6-2 205 Sr. Son Ngo Carpinteria QB/DB 5-10 165 Jr. Chris Peltonen Moorpark FB/LB 6-1 195 Sr. Mark Yee Bishop Diego LB 6-1 230 Sr.