El Toro Looking for Return to Glory : Division V: Victory over Servite tonight would give Chargers’ their first championship game berth since 1989.

LAKE FOREST —  The resurrection of El Toro High football did not begin three weeks ago with the coin flip with Irvine that put the Chargers into the Southern Section playoffs, ending a three-year absence from postseason play.

No, the coin flip was the luck. The sweat began in the summer for the seniors who had listened for three years about El Toro’s storied past, which includes three Southern Section championships and five league titles in the 1980s. How names like Bret and Rob Johnson, Steve Stenstrom, David Willes, Scott Miller, Shane Brisbin, Mike Gonzales, Steve and Dan Trickett had filled stadiums and provided more thrills than a free year at Disneyland.

It’s some legacy to live up to.

But the 7-4-1 Chargers have a chance do some image dusting. They may have been a third-place team in the Sea View League, but victories against Loara and Savanna leave El Toro one game shy of a berth in the Division V championship. It would be the Chargers’ first title game since losing a 1989 Division III matchup to Paramount.

Blocking their view is 10-2 Servite, which plays El Toro tonight at Trabuco Hills High.

“Until this year I had been frustrated because growing up I had come to El Toro games and they were always in the playoffs,” said James Lee, a senior All-South Coast League cornerback. “And for a while it looked like our class would not go.”

Quarterback Brian Wilson had similar feelings. “We were one game from the playoffs last year and felt we should have been there. This feels like the end of a drought.”

But what led to El Toro’s descent?

Some contend the building of Trabuco Hills High, which opened in 1985, siphoned off a big chunk of talent from El Toro, which opened in 1973. If so, the drain was not felt until 1991. In that season and the next two, the Chargers were a combined 9-18-1, and in 1992 suffered through an 0-5 league season.

Offensive coordinator and assistant coach Mark Flippin cites the cyclic nature of high school sports and the loss of two key players who might have gotten El Toro into the playoffs last year.

“Before the season stated we lost linebacker Taylor Swallow because of a degenerative neck injury,” Flippin said, “and then receiver Jeff Juliano blew out a knee in the first game. You just don’t go out and immediately replace their caliber of player.”

Still, Coach Mike Milner, in his fourth year at El Toro, says the current group of seniors might have needed four years of growing to reach this point.

“Any school goes up and down,” Milner said. “You can look at El Toro’s tradition, the three teams who won championships; you can look at how it started, like any school having to learn to make the playoffs before they can win a championship.

“After Rob Johnson and the boys graduated in 1990, El Toro went through a new coach--me-- and transition, not playing with the same people. Now, fortunately thanks to a bunch of hard working kids, we’re back.”

These seniors hold a special place in Milner’s heart.

“I feel very strongly about our senior class because emotionally I’m very attached to them,” Milner said. “They’re the ones I started with, and they’ve gotten through some hard times by their work ethic. We got a little better each year, and now we’re at the point where we’re in the playoffs. We’ve experienced some success and now they feel good about themselves.”

They weren’t the only ones working out. Junior running back Jamie Hanaway, after an intense weightlifting program, became El Toro’s big-play guy, pounding out 1,040 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. “He’s a physical runner,” Milner said. “Not a breakaway back in terms of description, although he does have some long runs, but a slasher with good vision. And he’s the type of guy you count on in a crucial yardage situation.”

Hanaway took some of the load off Wilson, a 17-year-old senior, and he responded with 1,713 yards passing and 14 touchdowns (with 13 interceptions). Merle Sango has caught 48 of those passes for 586 yards.

They are part of the attack El Toro will use to challenge Servite, which has shut out three consecutive opponents.

But whatever happens tonight, the Chargers are rejuvenated. And the future looks bright; this season’s junior varsity team was unbeaten in 10 games.

“No matter what happens I can leave here satisfied,” Wilson said. “At least we got things started back. Maybe we’ve given the younger guys reasons to be believers.”

“It feels good,” said Lee, “to be the class who started the cycle over again.”

EL TORO VS. SERVITE

Featured Game

When: 7:30 tonight.

Where: Trabuco Hills High.

Records: El Toro (7-4-1); Servite (10-2).

Rankings: El Toro is unseeded, Servite is third-seeded in Division V.

Noteworthy: Should the Friars prevail, Servite will play for its first Southern Section title since 1983, and fourth in school history.