Ocean View looking to remain perfect

Their recent road travels have been kind to the Ocean View High

football team, but it’s been a long, long journey for the Seahawk

program.

Enjoying their best ever start to a season, long-suffering Ocean

View can cap a perfect nonleague season tonight with a win over host Troy

at Fullerton Stadium.

The Seahawks, winners of just 21 games this decade, are flying

high right now. They enter tonight’s contest with a 42 points per game

scoring average, and a No. 8 ranking in the latest Division VI poll.

It’s Ocean View’s highest ranking in 11 years.

‘We’re just taking this one game at a time,’ said second-year

Ocean View Coach Harold Eggers, whose team is playing the third game of a

five-game road swing. ‘We have to concentrate on each opponent, and

that’s how we’ll be successful.’

Ocean View’s success has come from talented starting line-up -

albeit on which lacks depth.

It starts at the top with senior quarterback Deshai Houston,

spreads sideways to a talented trio of receivers in Luka Levu, Patrick

Campbell, and Brett Crevda, and carries over to the defensive side of the

ball with captain Chris Hill and linebacker Erick Falessi.

‘Like coach says, this team is just taking it one day at a time,’

Houston said. ‘We’re striving to make the playoffs, and a good preleague

showing is important. But I’m confident in this team, and I think we’re

very talented.’

Houston is having a banner senior season. In four games, he’s

thrown for a county-best 1,025 yards (a 14.6 average per completion) and

17 touchdowns - another top mark among county quarterbacks.

Equally impressive is the fact that Houston has thrown just three

interceptions in 116 attempts.

Campbell, who has made some spectacular receptions this season,

has been the main beneficiary of Houston’s routes. The sophomore, who

also serves as Ocean View’s back-up quarterback, has 363 yards - a 14.5

per catch average.

Levu, meanwhile, has a 12.7 yards per catch average with 293

yards.

Troy (3-1) will need to counter with an explosive offense if it

hopes to get past Ocean View.

The Warriors, who beat Ocean View 19-14 last year, return eight

starters on offense from last year and are led by quarterback Jordan

Oliver.

Oliver, a 5-10, 165 junior, has thrown for 469 yards, but only

three touchdowns. All-Freeway League running back Brett Murray (6-0, 185)

is the Warriors’ top ground threat.

‘This would be a great win and get us ready for league,’ Houston

said. ‘Our team was pumped up after beating Laguna Beach last week (Ocean

View routed the previously-unbeaten Artists, 46-12), and practice this

week has been intense. It’s been a great feeling so far this season.’

In other games involving local teams tonight:

TRABUCO HILLS (2-2) vs. FOUNTAIN VALLEY (3-1)

(at Westminster High, 7 p.m.)

It’s been an up-and-down season so far for Trabuco Hills, which

whipped Fountain Valley a year ago, 24-7. But the Mustangs have posted

their 2-2 record despite starting the season with an inexperienced

offense.

‘They’re still a good football team,’ said Fountain Valley Coach

Eric Johnson, whose Barons are coming off a resounding 41-0 thrashing of Servite. ‘We’re playing pretty well right now, and we hope to continue to

improve with each week. This game is important, because league play is up

next.’

This game could come down to a defensive struggle: in four games,

Trabuco Hills has average a mere 11 points, and Fountain had scored just

40 total points in its first three games before exploding for 41 against

Servite.

Sophomore Dan Tellez, who has started at running back the past two

weeks, has been impressive in the Mustang backfield, having rushed for

337 yards and a 5.3 average - which is tops on the team.

Fountain Valley, however, will be without its leading rusher Nedal

Abdelmuti (527 yards, 8.2 average), who is serving a one-game suspension

by the Southern Section.

Abdelmuti rushed for 185 yards on scored on four long touchdown

runs during last week’s win over Servite, but he was ejected in the third

quarter after receiving his second taunting infraction of the game.

‘We’ll just have to find a way to work around the loss of Nedal,’

Johnson said. ‘The important thing is that Nedal, who is a very talented

back, has learned his lesson.’

MARINA (2-1-1) vs. MISSION VIEJO (0-4)

(at Mission Viejo High, 7 p.m.)

Marina’s football fortunes rose with the return of leading rusher

Ray Mietkiewicz (broken left wrist) last week. All the senior fullback

did in his return was respond with a 252-yard, four-touchdown effort in a

42-26 spanking of rival Westminster.

Both the yardage and touchdown count are the best in Mietkiewicz’s

career.

‘It’s wonderful having Ray back,’ an elated Marina Coach Mark

Rehling said ‘He’s our workhorse, and he gave a tremendous performance

against Westminster. We’re looking for continued big things from him.’

Mietkiewicz again will be in the line-up tonight at Mission Viejo,

where he’ll bring an 8.7 yards per rush average (506 yards on 58

attempts). Marina runs out of the option, which is a good thing for

junior quarterback Beau Brown, whose passing game will be severely tested

against a good Diablos defensive backfield which features Justin Shultz.

The 6-1, 180, senior back/wide receiver has three interceptions on

the season.

Mission Viejo is a deceptive 0-4: three points have decided three

of those four losses.

‘They’re the best 0-4 team in the county...maybe even the CIF,’

Rehling said.

The Diablos suffered a close loss to the Vikings last year,

dropping a scintillating 35-34 decision in a game Rehling termed, ‘one of

the most exciting high school games I’ve been involved in in a long

time.’

HUNTINGTON BEACH (3-1) vs. DANA HILLS (1-3)

(at Dana Hills High, 7:30 p.m.)

Dana Hills, with its Sybil-like personality, poses a problem to

Huntington Beach.

‘We don’t know which team will show up, but we do know to expect a

really tough game,’ Huntington Beach Coach Tony Ciarelli said of the

Dolphins. ‘Dana Hills is a good football team. They’re usually very

physical and like to blitz on defense. We hope to come away with a win so

we can take some momentum into next week’s league opener with Fountain

Valley.’

Dana Hills has struggled on offense in three of its first four

games, scoring 6, 7 and 5 points during that stretch - all loses. But the

Dolphins broke out big time in the third week of the season, scoring 37

points in a stunning 37-14 victory over highly regarded Santa Margarita.

Running back Kyle Kelly leads the Dana Hills offense with a 5.4

rushing average.

Huntington Beach’s ground-oriented attack is led by senior back

Shaun Shuck, who comes into the game with 434 yards and a 4.6 average per

rush.

Shuck, however, was held to his lowest output of the season (91

yards) in last week’s loss to Paramount.