‘94 Football Preview : Offers or No, Last Year’s Players Are Heading Off to College

Akili Roberson of Locke High was offered a football scholarship from Nebraska. Armando Figueroa of Garfield High did not receive any offers. But both All-City Section 4-A Division players will be attending community colleges instead of Division I universities this fall.

A two-way starter at quarterback and defensive back, Roberson passed for 1,189 yards and four touchdowns but did not meet the NCAA-mandated SAT score of 700 to play as a freshman. Roberson, instead, opted for L.A. Southwest.

At Southwest, the 5-11, 177-pound Roberson will play only on defense at safety this season, but might return to his preferred position of quarterback as a sophomore.

Roberson turned down opportunities to play quarterback at West Los Angeles and Pasadena City College, choosing Southwest to keep his talents close to home.

“A lot of inner-city athletes go to the (San Fernando) Valley and out of the area,” said Roberson, who was bused to the San Fernando Valley in grade school. “It’s only making their teams better. Why not use our abilities to help improve our teams?”

Figueroa also chose to stay close to home at East Los Angeles College, which does not have a football program.

The 5-9, 175-pound tailback rushed for a City-record 4,548 yards and 38 touchdowns in three seasons, including 1,669 yards and 16 touchdowns last fall to help Garfield reach the 4-A semifinals.

Figueroa was recruited by USC, Brigham Young and San Diego State. He was accepted at San Jose State but was not offered a scholarship. He plans to attend East Los Angeles and hope for an offer next season.

Scholarship offers are few and far between for players from Bell Gardens. The Lancers have qualified for the playoffs 15 of the last 17 years under Coach Dave Newell, but only one of his players has received a scholarship from a Division I school. This year was no different.

“We don’t have any bullets or stars,” Newell said. “We just have average players who are an unbelievably tough group of kids.”

Running back Junior Samano and lineman Gus Soto, who helped Bell Gardens reach the 1992 Southern Section Division III final and last year’s semifinals, were named to the All-Division III team but attracted little scholarship interest. Ricky Oropeza, the quarterback the past two years, is no longer playing.

Samano and Soto, along with offensive guard Jose Urias, will continue their careers at Chaffey College in Ontario. The three will be reunited with Jose Bernal, an All-Southern Section lineman at Bell Gardens in 1992, and former Lancer assistant coach Ed Rifilito, now coaching at the Alta Loma community college.

Samano, one of Bell Gardens’ best tailbacks, rushed for 1,731 yards and 30 touchdowns. The 5-8, 180-pounder gained 237 yards in 18 carries and four touchdowns against Downey last season, but is being converted to strong safety at Chaffey. Soto, 6-5 and 270 pounds, will be used at offensive tackle.

A lack of offers was not a problem for Jim McElroy of Washington High, who will attend UCLA. The 5-10, 165-pound receiver also attracted interest from Cal, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada Reno and Washington.

McElroy gained equal acclaim as a sprinter and a football player. He caught 18 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns. In May, he won the 100 and 200 meters in the City track finals. He is expected to be used primarily for kickoff returns at UCLA.

Other Central City athletes will continue their careers out of the area.

Defensive lineman Eric Scanlan, running back Kadar Hamilton and punter Anthony Scotti, who helped Loyola reach the Southern Section Division I semifinals, are headed for Duke, Stanford and Southern Methodist University.

Southeastern Conference Most Valuable Player William Yates, who passed for 1,474 yards and 17 touchdowns to lead Fremont to the City 3-A championship, is at Nevada Las Vegas. Crenshaw linebacker Dennis Fomond will play for California. Jefferson defensive end John Johnson will attend Kansas.