HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW : No. 1-Ranked Bishop Amat Isn’t All Talk Radio

Talk may be cheap, but the Bishop Amat High football team might be worth the heap of hype that’s going around. And not just around the league, around the country.

One national poll ranked Bishop Amat as the top high school football team in the nation. Another ranked the Lancers best in the state. “Amat,” as the parochial power is known, is even the topic of conversation on the radio dial.

“I was driving home one night, listening to XTRA Sports, and they were talking about Bishop Amat,” Alemany Coach Pat Degnan said. “I’m thinking: ‘This (broadcast) is going nationwide and they’re talking about a high school team. And we’re in this league.’ ”

On paper, anyway. Truth is, Bishop Amat, a perennial Division I power, is in a league of its own.

The Lancers, who reached the quarterfinals last season, have 14 returning starters--nine of them on defense--and 50 returning letterman suited up for summer practice. Several players remain from the 1992 team that was 14-0 and crushed Sylmar, 31-10, in the first-ever postseason matchup between City and Southern section champions.

No doubt about it: Bishop Amat is a hands-down choice to win the Del Rey League, if not the division championship.

It’s almost enough to make an opposing coach throw up his hands and surrender.

“We just hope we’ll be able to make a first down,” St. Paul Coach Marijon Ancich cracked. “We got a press guide from them and I thought we were playing LSU.”

So, how do you prepare for prep football’s pinnacle team? By pooh-poohing all the lofty preseason prognostication. At least, you try.

“Everyone says that preseason rankings don’t mean a whole lot and that’s the same thing we say,” said Crespi Coach Tim Lins, whose team likely will have a tough time finishing third. “Our kids are not intimidated.”

Added Loyola Coach Steve Grady: “We know that they have great players. But we’ll play them tooth and nail.”

It will be difficult. This season’s team is among Bishop Amat’s best ever, featuring “a mature and seasoned senior class,” first-year Coach Tom Salter said. Senior tailback Daylon McCutcheon, son of former Ram running back Lawrence McCutcheon, is a preseason All-American. So is fullback Kory Minor. Both are returning starters, although McCutcheon moves from wide receiver, where he caught 35 passes last season.

“We’re in pretty good shape, no question,” said Salter, a varsity assistant and lower-level coach at Bishop Amat since 1985. “The kids here are not bothered by all the publicity.”

Grady recalls highly regarded Loyola teams from the past that were good, but fell short of exceedingly high preseason expectations. Del Rey League coaches can only hope a similar fate is in store for Bishop Amat.

“Our team keeps it in perspective,” Grady said. “Really, how can anybody be the No. 1 team in the nation?”

Well, that’s what they say.

RELATED STORY: Golden League preview, C14.

Del Rey League at a Glance

1993 STANDINGS OVERALL LEAGUE PROJECTED FINISH Bishop Amat 11-1 5-0 Bishop Amat Loyola 9-3 3-2 Loyola Crespi 8-5 3-2 St. Paul St. Paul 7-3 3-2 Crespi St. John Bosco 5-5 1-4 St. John Bosco Alemany 3-7 0-5 Alemany

*

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. David Berrio Crespi DT 6-0 206 Sr. Dan Camarillo Alemany DT 6-3 210 Sr. Joe Cesta Loyola TE/LB 6-1 230 Sr. John Dyer St. Paul DT 6-3 235 Sr. Kane Cullum Crespi OT 6-5 260 Sr. Alex Garcia St. John Bosco OT 6-4 275 Sr. Ramogi Huma Bishop Amat LB 6-2 220 Sr. Daylon McCutcheon Bishop Amat TB/DB 5-11 185 Sr. Kory Minor Bishop Amat FB/DE 6-3 240 Sr. Mark McDonald Loyola K 6-2 180 Sr.