Cerceo Vows Not to Swing in Tonight’s Battle of Might vs. Light vs. Sight : ALL-STAR FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

All eyes will be on Desmond Cerceo tonight when he drops back to pass in the Daily News All-Star football game at Pierce College (7:30 kickoff).

The 6-5 quarterback of the West team may have only one eye on his receivers, however.

Cerceo’s left eye is nearly swollen shut from a scuffle last weekend.

“I had a dispute,” Cerceo said, fingering the bandage covering his brow. “It had nothing to do with football.

“Some guy gave me a cheap shot.”

Will a blow to the eye from an East lineman sideline the Granada Hills graduate?

“No, I’ll hang in there,” he said. “And I won’t come up swinging, either.”

Cerceo said he won’t be attending San Diego State this fall, although he has received a full scholarship to the school.

“I’m going to take a few classes at Pierce,” Cerceo said. “I’ll enroll at SDSU in January and get ready for football in 1986.”

SDSU Coach Doug Scovel said holding back a recruit for a year is becoming a common practice.

“Our starting quarterback (Rick Santos) is beginning his sophomore year,” Scovel said. “By waiting a year to enroll, and redshirting in 1986, Desmond will have the opportunity to start for three years.

“He’ll build up some college credits and gain maturity. He’ll have learned our system and should be able to step right in two years from now.”

Cerceo said he understands Scovel’s reasoning.

“It’s better than playing behind Santos for two years and wasting eligibility. I’ll be ready when the time comes.”

Curtis Schmidtberger may have been disappointed at not attracting attention from major colleges despite having a stellar senior season at Agoura, but he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing for Pierce College.

“Coach (Jim) Fenwick has a great program at Pierce,” Schmidtberger said. “I’m sure I’ll see him after the All-Star game.

“Maybe I’ll say, ‘See you in a couple of weeks.’ ”

During his years at Canyon, Brent Parkinson often looked like a man among boys.

The 6-6, 235-pound lineman was a major factor in Canyon’s two straight Southern Section championships, anchoring an offensive line that led the Cowboys to 24 consecutive wins.

Parkinson, who will attend USC in the fall, was named The Times’ Valley Lineman of the Year last season.

As Canyon teammate David Sipes pointed out, however, Parkinson is “just another one of the guys” on the East’s starting offensive line.

The line averages 6-3 1/2 and 236 pounds.

“Awesome, just awesome,” East co-Coach Dave Carson said about the line. “On some occasions, they’ve blocked out the sun.”

Said Burbank’s Gary Lotka, who will start at quarterback: “It’s a quarterback’s dream come true to have such a line. Every quarterback dreams of being like (Doug) Flutie. Well, the first day of practice I felt like him. Everybody was so much bigger than me.”

Lotka is 5-10, 170.

“I’d rather be quick than big,” West co-Coach Myron Gibford said. “And that’s what we are: quick.

“We’ve got All-City tailbacks in Michael Pringle (Kennedy) and Myron Jones (Chatsworth). Believe me, they’re going to carry the ball. We may run more than we pass.”

Gibford believes the East will test his pass defense.

“From what I gather, they’re going to pass,” he said. “We’re quick at linebacker and defensive back. I have no concerns there.

“We’ve got to pressure the passer.”

Parkinson was also selected to play July 27 in the Shrine Game, considered the most prestigious all-star game in Southern California. He originally decided he would play in that game, then reconsidered.

“I have to make money,” he said. “With the Shrine Game you have to take a week to two weeks off. I couldn’t afford that.”

Parkinson has a construction job in Palmdale. He was able to play in this game because the practices were in the late afternoon.

“We’re good friends,” Parkinson said of St. Francis’ Dave Hallstrom, a fellow member of the East line.

“That’s until the fall,” said Hallstrom, who is heading to UCLA in the fall.

Special rules for the game will make it more difficult to rush East quarterbacks Lotka and Tom Schaefer, according to Gibford.

“Defensive linemen have to line head-up and inside linebackers can’t blitz,” he said. “We won’t be able to utilize our quickness by shooting gaps between those big East offensive linemen.”

According to Gibford, defensive backs must line up four yards from the line of scrimmage and may not “bump and run” with offensive receivers.

These rule changes will not be in effect when the ball is inside the 10-yard line, Gibford said.

Because the teams have been practicing only 10 days--restricting the amount of time devoted to special teams--punts may not be blocked. The rule is waived if the punter does not handle the snap on the fly.

Paul Kim, a lineman from Monroe, will assume long snapper duties for the West in addition to seeing action on offense and defense.

Kim is used to a busy schedule.

He earned a 3.7 grade-point average at Monroe while competing in football and track and field. Kim finished third in the City shotput finals this year.

The 6-0, 240-pounder will attend UC Santa Barbara this fall, majoring in computer engineering. Kim said he may try out for the Gaucho football team and will definitely compete in track.

San Fernando quarterback John Brazil was scratched from the East team because of a knee injury. Robert Wellner, a wide receiver from Oak Park scheduled to play for the West, will miss the game because of a shoulder injury.

Different players participate in all-star games for different reasons.

Said John Kong of Sylmar, a 5-8, 175-pound running back and linebacker who will attend UCLA: “This being my last game, I want to get as much out of it as possible. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Said Dan Moore of Agoura, a 6-3, 200-pound center who will play at Moorpark College: “I’ve attended this game for years and dreamed of playing. When I was invited, I jumped at the chance.”

Said Dave Rovetti of Calabasas, a 6-2, 215-pound tight end who will play at Pierce: “I missed half my senior year with an injury, so this is a chance to redeem myself.”