Shrine Game Stays the Course

The Shriners of Los Angeles are making another attempt at saving the high school all-star football game they have sponsored since 1952.

Despite dwindling attendance--only 6,500 attended last year--the Shriners are sticking with the format they started three years ago of all-stars from California against those from Texas. The game will be held at Cal State Fullerton tonight at 7. It will be televised locally on Fox Sports West 2.

California holds a 2-0 series lead, including a 27-12 victory last year.

The Shrine game traditionally matched the top seniors from Northern California against those from Southern California and was played at either the Coliseum or Rose Bowl. Alumni include Lynn Swann, John Elway and Ronnie Lott.

As costs soared and attendance dwindled, the Shriners moved the game to cheaper and smaller venues, including Citrus College in Glendora and Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. The game, a benefit for Los Angeles’ Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, was moved to Cal State Fullerton in 1995 when the new format started.

Despite the changes, the talent level hasn’t fallen off. The California roster includes five players headed to Colorado, four each to USC and UCLA and three to Stanford.

Included in the group is USC-bound Antoine Harris, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end/defensive end from Loyola who was selected The Times’ player of the year. Harris will be joined by future USC teammates including linebackers Zeke Moreno of Chula Vista Castle Park and Michael Pollard of Long Beach Poly and defensive end Ife Ohalete of Los Alamitos.

“This is going to be a high-risk game,” said Ohalete, who may also play baseball at USC. “A big game, under the lights, with a big crowd on Fox Sports. I love the adrenaline rush of a big game.”

The UCLA-bound contingency includes defensive linemen Kenyon Coleman of Alta Loma and Santi Hall of Valley View in Moreno Valley, kicker Zak Haselmo of Lompoc Cabrillo and offensive lineman Brian Polak of Bishop Amat.

The roster also includes running back Damion Barton of Corona Centennial, who rushed for 2,002 yards and 26 touchdowns and was selected Riverside County player of the year. He is bound for Colorado.

The quarterback position will be shared by Joe Borchard of Camarillo and Greg Cicero of Anaheim Servite. The Stanford-bound Borchard passed for 2,906 yards and 30 touchdowns in leading Camarillo to the Southern Section Division III title, and Cicero, who is headed to Texas, passed for 3,170 yards and 30 touchdowns.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

High School Football Game

* What: California-Texas Shrine Football Game to benefit Shriners Hospital for Children, Los Angeles.

* When: 7 tonight.

* Where: Cal State Fullerton.

* Television: Fox Sports West 2.

* Notable: California has won both previous games, 6-0 in 1995 and 27-12 in 1996. . . . Texas has yet to score a touchdown against a California defense. . . . The game, in its 45th year, was previously played between North and South teams from California.

* Texas: Top players include Duncanville HS/Miami OL Scott Puckett (6-4, 245). Among the standouts are Houston Yates/Baylor QB J.P. Jansen (6-4, 220), regarded as one of the nation’s top option quarterbacks; Killeen Ellison/Kansas RB David Winbush (5-7, 170), the team’s best pure running back and the state’s leading rusher (308 carries for 2,562 yards); Mesquite North Mesquite/Texas A & M LB Christian Rodriguez (6-3, 230), who had 147 tackles, one interception and four fumble recoveries for his team, which was ranked No. 1 nationally at one point last year.

* California: Top players include Los Alamitos/USC DB Ife Ohalete (6-2, 215), a first-team all-state selection who had 46 tackles and a fumble recovery; Sylmar/Washington LB Derrell Daniels (6-1, 210), a first-team all-state player who had 149 tackles the past two seasons; Long Beach Poly/Ohio State WR Ken-Yon Rambo (6-1, 180), a first-team all-state and All-American who caught 77 passes for 18 touchdowns; L.A. Loyola/USC TE/DL Antoine Harris (6-4, 240), The Times’ Glenn Davis Award winner for the top player in Southern California.

* Tickets: $15, $10 and $8. Available through Shrine football office at (213) 749-0166. Parking is $3.