Vikings prepare to plunder opponents

Marina High will launch its football season Friday in Rancho

Cucamonga against host Los Osos.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Marina is looking to better last year’s mark of 1-9, when the

Vikings didn’t post a win until the ninth week of the regular season.

As the record might suggest, they struggled offensively. In eight

games, they were held to a touchdown or less.

But with a new season, brings new hope.

They’ll start off by facing a Los Osos team that went 6-5 a year

ago and qualified for the Division II playoffs. That’s big news for

Los Osos, a school that begins its fourth year of existence next week

and will be playing just its third year of varsity football.

“They are a pretty good football team,” Marina coach Mike Dodd

said during summer camp. “They have some good players coming back.”

And Dodd thought the Vikings caught a break by replacing Orange

Lutheran, which won the 2004 Division VI championship, with Los Osos

on this year’s schedule.

The Grizzlies have several key returners from last year’s playoff

squad, including four on offense and eight on defense.

Mike Anderson is back for a third-straight year to direct the

Grizzlies offense. During an impressive junior year in 2004, he threw

for more than 1,500 yards and earned first-team all-Baseline League

honors.

He’ll be protected up front by big offensive tackle Ryan Griffith,

another first-team all-league player who Los Osos Coach Tom Martinez

said is being recruited heavily by Utah, San Diego State and Colorado

State.

Running back Mark Chase, a junior, rushed for 600 yards and was a

second-team all-league pick a year ago.

The Grizzlies defense is led by a pair of senior linebackers in

first-team all-leaguer Justin Anders and second-team all-league

player Donnie Lopiccolo. Second-team all-league pick Mike Nixon, a

senior, is back at defensive end, and senior John Davies returns at

cornerback.

“We’re a pretty quick and explosive team,” Martinez said. “We have

some very key players coming back this year, and we’re excited about

our prospects.”

For Marina, the Vikings return two all-league players in lineman

Kyle Willingham and cornerback Josh Jordan.