Prep football: Border War

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - Having already played (1974) and coached (1990) in the

Orange County All-Star Football Game, Edison High Coach Dave White, who

will guide South against the North tonight at 7:30 at Orange Coast

College, knows how it feels to be on either side of the final score.

So, when some sloppy practices this week threatened a prospective

“rubber-game” victory, White wasn’t above interrupting his squad’s

feel-good camaraderie with a little pointed commentary.

“I yelled a little at practice Tuesday,” White said. “With the game

just three days away, I thought we were making too many mistakes. I told

them if the mistakes continued, (the players) would be embarrassed. And I

also told them they wouldn’t play as much as they might want to, because

we wouldn’t allow those mistakes to continue on the field.”

Whether White’s high-decibel diatribe will serve as inspiration, or

merely a harbinger of a subpar performance, remains to be seen.

It would, however, be difficult to project anything but a high level

of play from a South roster which includes two dozen players headed for

four-year college programs.

Included in that mix are Newport-Mesa products Chris Manderino

(Newport Harbor), Alan Saenz (Newport Harbor) and Charlie Alshuler

(Corona del Mar).

Newport Harbor offensive tackle Scott Lopez, who replaced the only

original selection to forego his roster spot last week, elected not to

compete after all.

Manderino, the Newport-Mesa District MVP and the CIF Southern Section

Division VI Co-Offensive Player of the Year, will see action on both

sides of the ball. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder, who rushed for 2,141 yards

and scored a district single-season record 31 touchdowns, will be part of

a tailback rotation that includes USC-bound Darryl Poston (Edison),

USC-bound Tyler Thompson (Santa Margarita) and Colorado State-bound

Frostee Rucker (Tustin).

Manderino, who will walk on at UC Berkeley, will also be utilized at

outside linebacker, a position from which he was the Sailors

second-leading tackler last fall.

Saenz, the two-time Newport-Mesa District Defensive Player of the Year

who was twice an All-CIF performer, will start at middle linebacker. A

6-foot-1, 275-pounder, who was recruited to play defensive line at the

University of Montana, will also see spot duty as a blocking fullback,

when the South goes away from its typical one-back set.

Alshuler, who shared the Orange County interception lead with nine

last fall, will see significant time at cornerback. A three-sport

standout at CdM, Alshuler will conclude his football career tonight. He

plans to compete for the club volleyball team at the University of

Michigan.

White said Saenz and Manderino figure into what he perceives as the

South’s biggest strengths.

“I really like our linebackers and running backs,” said White, who

quarterbacked OCC to a national championship in 1975.

Flanking Saenz on defense will be starting outside linebackers Matt

McCoy (Tustin bound for San Diego State) and Inoke Tukia (Marina bound

for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo).

Poston is the biggest breakaway threat in the backfield, but White is

enthused about the power running capabilities of Manderino, Thompson and

Rucker.

Edison product Richard Schwartz will start at quarterback, where he

figures to make former Charger and future Cal teammate Christian Prelle

his primary receiver. Billy Hart (Mission Viejo bound for USC) will play

the second quarter at quarterback, according to White. The two

quarterbacks are scheduled to share time in the third quarter and the one

playing the best will trigger the offense down the stretch.

White said Ocean View product Phillip Smith (Fresno State) would start

at the other receiver spot and that 6-7 Tim Burnette (San Clemente bound

for Washington State) would be the starter at tight end.

Chris Chester (Tustin bound for Oklahoma) and Brandon Alconcel (Aliso

Niguel bound for Colorado State) are additional tight South tight ends.

“We’d like to mix it up and be half-run, half-pass,” White said. “But

the hardest part of any all-star game, is putting together an offense in

10 days.”

In addition to the aforementioned linebackers, White believes the

presence of 6-3, 255-pound Bernard Fano (Fountain Valley bound for Utah),

as well as hard-hitting safeties Ryan King (San Clemente) and Brown Faave

(Mater Dei), will help construct a formidable run defense.

White, however, has less confidence in his secondary’s coverage

capabilities, so the plan is to attack in passing situations with

frequent blitzes.

White’s primary concern on the other sideline is a collection of huge

offensive lineman, trying to create running room for Orange County Player

of the Year Temitope Sonuyi (Esperanza).

White also said North running backs David Gober (Western) and Darren

Shorter (Cypress) have big-play capabilities.

John Henry Jackson (Villa Park), Mike Keeling (La Habra) and Justin

Rice (Cypress) are available at quarterback for North Coach Julien

Smilowitz from Fullerton High.

Defenses have dominated in recent years, including last year when the

North ended a three-game South winning streak with a 13-7 triumph in the

41st edition of the summer showcase, organized by the Brea Lions Club,

which distributes proceeds to several charities.

Since 1990, the two teams have averaged 21.5 combined points per game,

nearly 13 points fewer than the first 30 contests. And, since 1992, no

game has produced more than 31 combined points.

The North leads the series, 21-17-3.