Prep Grid Preview : Bishop Amat and Claremont Lead the Way, With Los Altos Just a Step Ahead of Seven Others in Powerful Valley Field

Is it Bishop Amat and Claremont or Claremont and Bishop Amat?

While coaches in the San Gabriel Valley may disagree over which of those high schools has the top football team in the area, most agree that they are the best entering the 1985 season, which starts tonight.

Both have outstanding traditions, posted excellent seasons last year and have many key players returning.

They appear to be the best of a strong crop of teams from the valley, with perennial powerhouse Los Altos just a whisker below them.

By any standards, 1984 was an outstanding year for valley football. Claremont, Diamond Bar, Temple City and Baldwin Park reached the finals in their CIF divisions, and Claremont and Diamond Bar won championships.

Claremont defeated Temple City for the Eastern Conference title and Diamond Bar beat Baldwin Park for the Southeastern Conference crown.

Do not be surprised if at least as many valley teams make the finals this season.

Although Bishop Amat, Claremont and Los Altos seem to be slightly ahead of the rest, Muir, Diamond Bar, Rowland, Damien, West Covina, Temple City and Duarte are not far behind.

The Top 10

1--Bishop Amat (Angelus League; Big Five Conference)--Don Markham, first-year coach of the Lancers, has always been an optimist.

Markham, 120-39-1 in 14 years at L.A. Baptist and Colton high schools, expects his teams to win consistently, and usually they do.

With a dozen starters returning from an 8-3-1 team, it is understandable why Markham has a good feeling about the Lancers.

“I can see us having a very good year, but I’m always that way. I think we can win seven or eight games even in a weak year.”

This does not look like a weak year.

Bishop Amat, which reached the Big Five quarterfinals last year, should be especially strong on offense with its starting backfield returning. The quarterback is highly regarded senior Rick Carter (6-0, 175), who passed for 1,557 yards and 15 touchdowns last year, and the running backs are junior Eric Bieniemy (5-9, 175) and senior Lee Barrett (5-8, 175).

Bieniemy, who has outstanding speed, rushed for 1,114 yards and 8 touchdowns to become the first sophomore in the school’s history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Two other key players in Bishop Amat’s run-oriented power I attack are tight end Pat Patterson (6-4, 250) and tackle Jack Montes (6-2, 240). The defense is strong in the secondary with the return of Paul Marquez (5-10, 170) and James Pierre (5-10, 170). Another leader is linebacker Ramon Diaz (5-11, 195).

2--Claremont (Baseline League; Eastern Conference)--This may sound difficult to believe but Wolfpack Coach Bob Baiz thinks his team has the potential to be better than last year.

How can the Wolfpack be better than last season when they went 14-0 and easily won the Eastern Conference championship?

“Don’t forget that when we won last year it was with mostly juniors,” Baiz said. “We have 11 starters returning and that’s the most starters we’ve ever had coming back.”

Two are 6-8, 220-pound all-everything quarterback Dan McGwire and wide receiver Travis Watkins (6-2, 175), possibly the best passing combination in the state.

McGwire, a heavily recruited senior who was named to the USA Today and Street & Smith preseason All-America teams, completed 132 of 230 passes for 2,246 yards and 24 touchdowns last year, and Watkins, an honorable mention All-America receiver, caught 51 passes for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Other top players in a powerful offense are linemen Pete Pruitt (6-2, 230), Pete Thum (6-1, 195) and Louis Baiz (5-9, 185), fullback Dean Lambo (6-1, 235) and wide receivers Mike Dotson (6-2, 175) and Brad Kaylor (5-11, 165).

The defense should not be bad with the return of standouts Bobby Warren (6-0, 195) at defensive end, Sean Telish (5-11, 195) at linebacker and Brian Kelley (6-0, 170) and Steve Bayer (6-1, 170) at defensive back.

Bayer, who made five interceptions last season, also is one of the top place-kickers in Southern California, booting 13 of 14 field goal attempts and 49 extra points to lead Claremont in scoring last year. Telish and Warren were among the team’s leading tacklers as juniors.

3--Los Altos (Sierra League; Southern Conference)--The Conqueror fortunes suffered a setback when star linebacker and running back Jim Jastrab broke an ankle in an intrasquad game last week; he will miss the season.

Coach Dwayne DeSpain said the loss of Jastrab (6-0, 215), considered one of the top seniors in the valley, may place a damper on the season.

Still, with nine starters returning from a team that finished 8-4 and reached the conference quarterfinals, Los Altos is expected to have one of its best teams in recent years.

“The kids are hungry and they’re ready to go,” DeSpain said. “They’ve been a hard-working group through spring ball and the summer and we’ve very excited about the season.”

With quarterback Mark Smith (6-1, 175), tight end Will Harris (6-3, 200) and offensive tackle and defensive end Scott Rice (6-3, 215), the Conquerors have plenty of talent.

Smith, whose brother Mike was quarterback of the last Los Altos team to win a CIF title in 1982, passed for 1,818 yards and 16 touchdowns last year, and Harris is considered one of the top tight ends in the valley.

With the loss of Jastrab, junior Garo Sirinian (6-2, 210) is expected to inherit the No. 1 running back position. Other top players on offense are guard Tom Stepanski (5-11, 190) and wide receivers Joey Escoboza (5-11, 170) and Steve Peters (6-5, 190).

The defense figures to be led by Rice at defensive end and also features linemen Derek Oie and Mike O’Neill and back Adrian Alcazar.

4--Muir (Pacific League); Coastal Conference)--It was moments before a recent practice and Mustang Coach Jim Brownfield was bemoaning his team’s problems.

“We’ve got serious problems,” Brownfield said. “We’re going both ways with eight people, we have a small number of starters back and it’s our smallest number of lettermen.”

Brownfield made similar comments last year and the Mustangs finished 10-2. After a strong summer passing league season in which the Mustangs went 20-0, including wins over Banning and Loyola, Brownfield is having a difficult time finding people who believe him.

While the Mustangs may not be as deep as last year, they still have plenty of front-line talent.

As usual, they will be strong at the skill positions, especially in the defensive secondary with seniors John Hardy (6-0, 170), Don Lundy (6-0, 170) and Cary Grant (5-8, 155) and at linebacker with Ken Taylor (6-0, 180) and Marcus Robertson (6-1, 170).

Muir has explosive players in Grant at wide receiver and junior Ricky Ervins (5-8, 170) at tailback and outstanding linemen in center Matt Gallegos (5-8, 180) and Charlie Brown (6-2, 205).

The quarterback is senior James Dunn (5-8, 160), who will take over for graduated All-CIF signal-caller Richard Bell, now a freshman at the University of Nebraska.

“Our problems are not in the skill positions,” Brownfield said. “They’re up front.”

5--Diamond Bar (Hacienda League; Southeastern Conference)--With only four starters returning, it may be difficult for the Brahmas to duplicate their success of last year when they went 14-0, scored a state CIF record 639 points and waltzed to the conference title.

But there is no need to feel sorry for the Brahmas.

“It’s a rebuilding year but the coaches and everybody are excited,” Coach Terry Roche said. “We think we have the tools to work with.”

It is easier to rebuild when you have running back Kraig Washington (5-9, 185), a three-year starter who has 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash and has rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns over the last two years.

Other standouts on offense should be guard Todd Zimmerman (6-1, 220), wide receivers Larry Vladic (6-3, 185) and David Jones (5-10, 170), tight end Rich Ortiz (6-3, 215) and quarterback Curtis Ledesma (6-3, 195), who replaces graduated All-CIF quarterback Rich Gonzales.

“He has good size and a good arm and we’re expecting big things from him,” Roche said. “He’s not as quick as Gonzales but he is bigger and stronger.”

The Brahmas are less experienced on defense but have outstanding defensive backs in Troy Porter (5-9, 185), who intercepted a CIF high of 12 passes last year, and Vladic. Other key defenders are tackle Richard Gomeztrejo (5-11, 200) and Zimmerman at middle guard.

6--Rowland (Sierra League; Southern Conference)--Since Harry Robinson arrived as coach at Rowland four seasons ago, the fortunes of the football team have risen progressively.

The Raiders finished 4-7 in 1982, 7-3-1 in 1983 and 9-2 in 1984, making the playoffs each year.

If Rowland improves much more this season, watch out.

On the surface, this might look like a rebuilding year because the Raiders return only four starters from a team that won the Sierra League title.

But the Raiders have talented lettermen plus many players from a 10-0 sophomore team.

Among the top veterans are offensive tackle Ryan McReynolds (6-7, 245), a heavily recruited senior, and tight end Mike Villagran (6-1, 212). Other leaders are quarterback Dave Hansen (6-0, 185), running backs Lloyd Curtis (6-0, 175) and Tom Choi (6-0, 190) and tackle Kirk Larson (6-2, 215).

On defense, Rowland is led by linebackers Villagran, McReynolds and Greg Higuera (6-1, 180) and tackle Tim Geary (6-0, 210). And the Raiders are solid at defensive back with Tony Ceron (6-0, 175) and Juan Castro (5-10, 160).

“The last two years we had good success,” Robinson said. “This is a key year for the program. We feel pretty good about things. We think we’ll get better as we go along. We think the program is heading in the right direction.”

7--Damien (Baseline League; Eastern Conference)--It is not every year that the Spartans finish with a 3-7 record and miss the playoffs.

That’s what happened to the usually strong Spartans last year and Coach Dick Larson did not like the feeling. So during the off-season, Larson and his staff changed some players’ positions and placed the team on an intensive conditioning program.

Larson thinks the difference between that team and his latest edition will be very noticeable, especially in speed. It doesn’t hurt to have 16 starters returning, either.

“I’m usually optimistic about our teams, but this year I’m a little cautious,” Larson said. “If you see me walking around smiling in a few weeks, you’ll know we’re doing pretty well.”

The Spartans are loaded with talent in skill positions with speedy flanker Kenny Korn (5-9, 155), quarterbacks Bob Fresques (6-2, 185) and Matt Burroughs (6-1, 170), wide receivers Matt McPhetridge (6-1, 175) and Junior Pro (5-9, 155) and swift tailbacks Art Petit (5-9, 160) and Eric Henley (5-10, 160).

Henley, a touted junior who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds, is the last of three talented brothers at Damien. Darryl is a starting defensive back at UCLA and Tom starts at running back for Stanford.

Damien has outstanding size on its offensive line, led by guards A.J. Chuha (6-4, 250) and Mark Bonafede (6-0, 235) and tackles Larry Bryan (6-4, 240) and Danny Ruiz (6-2, 235).

The defense, with 10 starters returning, is topped by linebackers Rene Racio (6-0, 190) and Brian Dodds (6-2, 190), tackles Phil Caustrida (6-0, 215) and Ken Stephens (5-10, 210) and end Chris Ferraro (6-2, 210).

8--West Covina (Sierra League; Southern Conference)--After a few years in the doldrums, the Spartans were one of the surprise teams last year with a 6-4 record and a playoff berth.

With 12 starters back, including most top players in the skill positions, the Spartans may be ready to challenge for the Sierra title, which has eluded them since the 1970s.

“It’s the most experienced team we’ve had in a long tme,” Coach Tim Brancheau said.

The Spartans have speed in the skill positions with tailbacks Leland Adams (5-9, 170) and Anthony Johnson (5-10, 185) and wide receiver Mike Culwell (6-3, 170) and experience with quarterback Vince Aguilar (6-3, 215) and fullback Sean Bentsen (5-8, 185).

West Covina also has as much size as any team in the valley on its interior line, including two-way players Hoss Hayes (6-0, 235), Brian Edwards (6-3, 215) and heavily recruited Joe Chadbourne (6-9, 260). “He’s the biggest kid I’ve ever coached,” Brancheau said. “When I say big, I mean big.”

Culwell at safety and back Tim Horner (6-5, 190) are defensive standouts.

“It will all come down to attitude,” Brancheau said. “If they really want it, they can have it. They definitely have the talent.”

9--Temple City (Rio Hondo League; Eastern Conference)--The Rams do not have a surplus of starters from last year’s team that reached the conference final and finished 11-2, but that is not unusual.

Temple City never has many returning starters because the Rams always play a lot of seniors.

“Every year it’s something,” Coach Don Swanson said. “It has been a long time since we’ve had a lot of kids coming back. We always seem to be rebuilding someplace.”

The emphasis on seniors has never seemed to hurt the Rams, perennial playoff participants. Don’t expect that to change this season.

Swanson has five starters returning and three are offensive linemen: all-leaguer Steve Gilmour (6-7, 215), John Anter (6-2, 210) and Mike Anderson (6-0, 185). The others are tailback Dave Rodoracio (5-10, 165) and safety Mike Pierce (6-1, 170).

“I think our strength will be on the offensive line,” Swanson said. “We have some good kids up from our sophomore team and we’ve converted some kids.”

Besides Pierce, the defense is headed by linemen Nabil Al-Sabih (6-1, 175) and John Fenton (5-10, 175), both part-time starters last year.

Two underclassmen who do figure to start are running backs Kevin Moore (5-10, 180), a junior, and Mike Mooney (6-1, 190), a sophomore whose brother Mark started at quarterback the last two years.

10--Duarte (Mission Valley League; Southeastern Conference)--Here’s a quick trivia question: Name the team that came closest to beating conference champion Diamond Bar last year.

The answer is Duarte, which led in the second quarter of its conference quarterfinal game before suffering a 28-14 loss.

Considering that the 8-3 Falcons started six sophomores and several juniors, it is not surprising that Duarte has high expectations.

“We don’t have the size that we had last year but we may have better talent,” Coach Paul Cummins said.

Duarte has most of its top players returning in the skill positions, including all-leaguers Geoff Cook (6-4, 205) at tight end and running backs Gary Jake (5-11, 180) and Joe Smith (5-6, 150). And the Falcons may have the fastest wide receiver in the valley in junior Martin Cannady (5-11, 175), who won CIF 2-A titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes last year.

Cummins said the key on offense could be at quarterback, where Henry Milton (5-10, 170) is replacing graduated standout Lopey Williams. “If he comes along, it’s gonna make all the difference in the world for us,” he said.

Duarte is young but talented in its interior line, which has two-way players in juniors Jose Delao (5-11, 205), Ernie Lofton (5-9, 175), Garret Gruber (5-10, 175) and Eric Helm (5-9, 225). Another junior is offensive tackle Abel Cano (6-2, 205).

Best of the Rest

Charter Oak (Montview League; Southeastern Conference)--It’s a new era for football in the Charter Oak Unified School District.

With the merger of Charter Oak and Royal Oak high schools, this team should bear little resemblence to last year’s Charter Oak squad that went 3-7.

There is a new coach, Lou Farrar, who guided the Royal Oak Romans to an 11-2 record last year, and the school nickname has been changed from the Lancers to the Chargers.

More important is the fact that most of the team played for Farrar’s Royal Oak, leaving the fledgling Chargers with an ample pool of talent.

Leading the way is a strong backfield that includes former Royal Oak standout Jeff Obert (6-2, 220), who rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 19 touchdowns last year, and twin brothers Mike and Mark Smith (both 6-1, 195) from Charter Oak. “I guess you could call it our S.O.S. backfield,” Farrar joked.

The Chargers also will have a big offensive line in tackles Craig (Moose) Evans (6-2, 250) and Jim Zimmerman (6-3, 225), guard Bill McCoy (6-2, 225) and tight end Joe Szczapanski (6-3, 220). The defensive front is not small, either, with tackles Joe Fender (6-1, 205) and Mike Fournier (6-1, 190) and nose guard Jim Lopez (6-1, 250).

“We’re real big,” Farrar said. “This is probably the biggest linemen this district has ever had.”

Other standouts on defense are backs Pat Cotter (6-1, 175), who also is an outstanding receiver, and Rich Olivas (5-9, 165) and linebacker Hazem Abdellatif (6-0, 190), one of three Egyptians on the team.

Ganesha (Hacienda League; Southeastern Conference)--Even in what are supposed to be off years, the Giants usually do pretty well. Take last season when Ganesha was young but finished 6-5 and make the conference playoffs.

“We struggled through the season and we made our share of mistakes,” Coach David Huey said. “But we made the playoffs and the kids learned quite a bit and hopefully we won’t make the same mistakes this year.”

With 14 starters and 28 lettermen returning, it would be a mistake to discount the Giants as a contender in the Hacienda League.

The Giants may be stronger on defense with junior tackle Jody Crawford (6-3, 225) and All-Pomona Valley nose guard David Foster (6-1, 205), who has outstanding upper-body strength and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.

Other returning players on defense are linemen Mike Villalba (5-10, 150) and Anthony Grant (6-3, 180) and defensive backs Steve Washington (6-2, 165) and Dean Samuels (5-9, 150).

The offense will feature an experienced backfield led by quarterback Craig Norvell (6-4, 185), halfback Donald English (6-3, 180) and fullback Terrell Thompson (5-9, 190). Other standouts on offense are linemen Peter Radovic (6-2, 185), Victor Cronkite (6-0, 220) and Antonio Johnson (6-4, 255) and slotback Bruce Johnson (6-1, 170).

Pasadena (Pacific League; Coastal Conference)--This may look like a rebuilding year for the Bulldogs, who return only two starters from a team that went 11-2 and reached the conference semifinals.

Just don’t say that to Coach Gary Griffiths.

“I’m shooting for a (league) championship,” Griffiths said. “I’m that kind of a coach. No one expects us to go as far as we did last year. But the coaches are optimistic and so are the players.”

The reason for optimism could be that the Bulldogs have their usual supply of talent and speed, ingredients that have bolstered Pasadena in the past.

Most of the speed on offense should come from tailback W.C. Morrison (6-0, 160), a junior track standout who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. The quarterback will be senior Ray Murphy (6-0, 165), who figures to pass more than usual for the run-oriented Bulldogs.

Other offensive standouts are guard David Brandley (6-1, 195), a starter last year, and fullback Anthony Hall (6-0, 170), who started at tight end.

The defense, with outstanding quickness, is led by senior linebacker Kenny James (5-11, 199). Other starters should include senior linemen Andre Hunter (6-0, 190) and Todd Prunty (5-10, 190), junior nose guard Lamar Watkins (6-1, 247), sophomore linebacker John Lee (5-11, 192) and senior defensive back Joe Love (5-6, 150).

Pomona (Baseline League; Eastern Conference)--With perennial powers Claremont and Damien competing in the Baseline League, the Red Devils have had reason to feel like second-class citizens in recent years.

However, with the arrival of former St. Paul Coach Jim Walker, who coached the Swordsmen for the last three years, Pomona may finally be ready to contend with the traditional league powers.

Pomona, which finished 6-5 last year and reached the conference playoffs, has its usual complement of talent led by explosive running back J. J. Flannigan (6-1, 185), considered among the best in the nation. As a junior, Flannigan rushed for 1,965 yards and 18 touchdowns in only 188 carries, an exceptional 10.2 average.

“He has great vision (of the playing field) and his acceleration is something else,” Walker said of Flannigan, who runs the 100-yard dash in 9.6. “His blocking has really improved the most.”

Flannigan should benefit from the big offensive line of guard Lamar Gray (6-2, 218) and tackles Michael Griffith (6-2, 240) and Henry Cruz (6-2, 250). Other offensive leaders are quarterback Kevin Osborn (5-9, 155) and wide receiver Jimmy Brown (6-0, 165).

“I like to run the football,” Walker said. “I believe you have to run the football and play super football to win.”

Walker said his defense, which includes Joe Cianciola (6-0, 200) and Gray at linebacker, Dan Osborn (6-3, 195) at defensive end and Kevin Drayton (5-8, 150) and Brown at defensive back, has outstanding speed.

“I’ve had some quick teams at St. Paul, but these are some of the quickest guys I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Others to Watch

Arroyo (Mission Valley League; Southeastern Conference)--Only a handful of players remain from last year’s team, which posted the best record in the school’s history (11-2) and reached the conference semifinals.

Coach Don MacKinnon figures that experience will be at a premium with only seven seniors scheduled to start.

He is hoping that the victories come a little easier.

“Everybody is talking like this is gonna be a rebuilding year,” MacKinnon said. “But anything can happen. We’ve got some good young kids and we’re just hoping they grow up in a hurry and help us make the playoffs.”

Arroyo’s strength may be at linebacker where seniors Mike Holguin (6-3, 185), Jeff Nolte (5-11, 180), Bill Torres (5-11, 200) and junior Armando Davila (6-2, 180) are back. Another standout on defense should be tackle Ivan Rivera (5-10, 185).

The offense, hurt most by graduation, has only one starter returning in Nolte at fullback. Other two-way players include Holguin at tight end and Davila at guard. The tailback is sophomore Jason MacLellan (5-9, 155). Sophomores Marc Chavarria and Paco Chavez will quarterback.

Baldwin Park (Montview League; Southeastern Conference)--Braves Coach Trifone Pagone says he doesn’t like the sound of “rebuilding year,” and with a steady stream of outstanding quarterbacks and receivers in recent years he hasn’t had much use for the phrase.

Until this year.

“I don’t like that term but that’s what it is,” Pagone says.

Baldwin Park returns only two starters from a team that finished second to Diamond Bar in the Southeastern Conference (11-2), and Pagone will also have to work with an inexperienced quarterback, junior Rico Salcido (5-11, 175), who replaces the graduated Michael Johnson who passed for 3,000 yards last year. Not an easy task.

The returning starters are defensive end and offensive lineman Chris Silvas (5-10, 185) and running back Chris Torres (5-7, 160), who rushed for 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. “He’s a pretty good little running back and we’re gonna have to build what we have around him,” Pagone said.

Pagone also will rely on linebackers Amador Sanchez (5-9, 180) and Randy Knorr (6-3, 185) on defense and lineman James Valenzuela (6-0, 200) on offense.

Blair (Rio Hondo League; Eastern Conference)--On the surface, things may not look promising for the Vikings.

They return only a handful of starters and figure to have only 30 players on the roster.

On the bright side, Blair is one of the few teams in the valley that can say it has reached the CIF playoffs six straight years, including last season when the Vikings finished 7-3-1 and won the Rio Hondo League title.

With swift running back Brian Gipson (5-6, 130) and tight end Vernon Bennett (6-2, 205), both all-leaguers, and quarterback Kenny Williams (5-10, 170), Blair is strong at the skill positions. The offensive line, however, returns only center Joe Conway (5-11, 235).

The defense is led by nose guard Anthony Beatty (5-10, 170), a standout hurdler who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, Gipson at defensive back and Bennett at linebacker.

“We’re really shooting for the league season,” Coach Herb Robinson said. “We’re taking our non-league games like the pros. We may not do that well, but we want to get competitive enough so we can do well when league starts.”

Covina (Valle Vista League; Eastern Conference)--The Colts were one of the surprise teams in the valley last year, finishing with a 6-4 record and reaching the CIF playoffs for the first time in recent years.

With nine starters returning, a similar showing this season will not be a surprise.

Covina’s defense, the strength last year, figures to be tough again with the return of defensive end Bob Maybury (6-3, 185), middle guard Julio Reyes (5-10, 175), linebacker Jim Moss (5-11, 165) and defensive back Ken Garcia (6-0, 175).

Coach Rick Brown is hoping for improvement from his offense, which scored only 107 points.

The offense will be led by tight end Paul Riddle (6-3, 200), fullback Dan Bess (5-10, 175), guard Pat Walter (5-11, 180), tackle Randy Hewitt (6-1, 175), Garcia at wide receiver and Moss at center. But Brown is unsettled about quarterback. It’s among newcomers: juniors Zach Zaherek and Mike Impastato and senior Jason Wolak.

Monrovia (Rio Hondo League; Eastern Conference)--For Al Clegg, his first season as coach of the Wildcats was nothing short of a nightmare. Monrovia, expected to have a strong team, finished with a dismal 1-9 record.

With better team attitude, not to mention outstanding size and speed, Clegg thinks this season will be considerably different.

“We feel good about the kids we have,” Clegg said. “We have good senior leadership and these kids want to win. Their enthusiam makes for a winning attitude.”

The presence of all-league center Mike Bender (6-4, 240), John Miller (6-2, 200) and Denny Noonan (6-2, 260) is encouraging for the offensive line.

Neither will speedy players in the skill positions: halfback Richard Currie (5-10, 180), wide receiver Ervie Barnes (5-11, 160) and quarterback Anthony Craft (5-9, 170), who spearhead the team’s veer option offense. Barnes has 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash and Currie does 4.6.

The defense, which should be bolstered by the return of Clegg as coordinator, is led by all-league linemen Lance Jergensen (6-2, 190) and Bender, nose guard Earl Tucker (5-8, 210) and defensive backs Chris Bourne (6-2, 180), Terrell Johnson (6-2, 180) and Brian Petersen (5-9, 160).

Rosemead (Mission Valley League; Southeastern Conference)--After struggling through a 3-7 season with many sophomores and juniors, Panther Coach John Dunaway is looking forward to this season.

“If we don’t have a good year it’ll probably be because of coaching,” he joked. “If that happens I guess I won’t get the coach-of-the-year award.”

Don’t expect that to happen.

With nine starters returning, several playing both ways, the Panthers have the talent to make Dunaway forget about last year.

Rosemead, one of the top teams in the league in the 1980s, is led by a strong backfield of senior quarterback Frank Martinez (5-9, 160), junior tailback Jesus Sepulveda (5-7, 160) and senior fullback John Bush (5-9, 160).

The Panthers also figure to run a lot because they have a strong offensive line led by seniors Henry Chavez (6-0, 215) and Robbie Gochicoa (6-1, 190).

Defensively, Rosemead is led by Sandy Medina (6-0, 175) and Bush at linebacker, Jason Kerr (6-2, 175) at defensive end, tackles Paul Lacas (5-11, 190) and Juan Burriola (5-9, 200) and defensive back Sebastian Reyes (5-11, 170).

San Dimas (Montview League; Southeastern Conference)--There have been many changes in the San Dimas football program since last year. There is a new coach, a new offense and a lot of new players.

One thing should be the same: The Saints figure to be as strong as last year when they posted a 7-3 record.

The coach is Richard Shelbourne, who coached Redlands High the last two years, and he has brought with him a new offense, the rarely used Delaware Wing T. The offense utilizes two running backs, a wingback and a quarterback.

“Mike Churchill (coach of Riverside Poly) has been using it for years and he has been very successful,” Shelbourne said. “We like it a lot. It’s kind of fun and it’s wide open, but at the same time it’s not a high-risk offense.”

Shelbourne has an outstanding player to run the offense in quarterback Tim James (6-3, 190), a standout receiver and the CIF 1-A 110-meter high hurdles champion last year.

The running backs are Tony Ash (5-9, 170), Robert Alo (6-1, 195), Tushan Franklin (5-11, 190) and Brian Winkler (5-10, 165). The line is led by center Keith Gissel (6-2, 180) and tackle John Moore (6-2, 220), and San Dimas has a good wide receiver in Tim Metcalfe (6-3, 190).

The defense, which will feature many of the same faces, is led by Alo and Metcalfe at linebacker and James and Jon Troyano (6-0, 185) in the secondary.

South Hills (Valle Vista League; Eastern Conference)--Since the Valle Vista League was formed six years ago, the Huskies have had a stranglehold on the championship.

Besides winning the title every year, the Huskies have lost only one league game, to Edgewood in the final league game last season when South Hills finished 5-7.

Coach Jack Nemzek thinks his team can make it seven in a row, but it will not be easy.

“Everybody (in the league) is after us every week and everyone is rooting for us to lose,” Nemzek said. “But it’s a good situation for us and we’re looking forward to No. 7.”

For that to happen, the Huskies may have to rely on the defense, which returns starting linebackers Bill Bechtold (6-1, 175), Chris Stueve (5-10, 165) and Fred Freking (6-0, 180), an all-league player, and back Dana Toland (5-8, 145).

With only one starter returning on offense, junior tight end Kevin Anastasi (6-0, 180), Nemzek says his inexperienced attack will probably need a few games to get on track. Other leaders include junior quarterback Matt Kranz and running backs Jim Mire and Mark Yoon, both juniors, and Bobby Owens, a senior.