Mater Dei Opens With Fountain Valley

The second chapter of the career of Mater Dei High School’s heralded quarterback, Todd Marinovich, opens at 7:30 tonight when the Monarchs play Fountain Valley in a nonleague game in Santa Ana Stadium.

If it reads anything like the first one, the left-handed sophomore should continue the quest that could see him rewrite the Southern Section record books before he graduates.

Marinovich passed for 2,019 yards in his freshman season to lead Mater Dei to a 6-4 record. One of those losses was a season-opening 17-13 setback to the Barons in which he made his first varsity start as a 15-year-old with 125 yards passing.

It was quite a debut for a kid who started his first day of classes three days later. He showed poise and leadership beyond his years on the field, but he also showed he was a vulnerable teen-ager off the field when he wept following the defeat.

“Last season was a learning process for myself, my coaches, the players and, above all, Todd Marinovich,” Coach Chuck Gallo, Monarch coach, said. “By the sixth game of the season, we started clicking. I’m hoping we get a better start this year.”

There were wholesale changes in Gallo’s first season at Mater Dei. The former Servite and Laguna Hills coach changed everything in the Monarch’s football program from the color of the uniforms to the offense.

Last year, Gallo was fearful that his team would lose by 20 points to the Barons, the top-ranked team in Orange County for the first three weeks of the season. Instead, Mater Dei was competitive and went on to battle Servite for the Angelus League title. He thinks tonight’s game will a measuring stick for the 1985 season.

“After this game, we’ll know what we have to do to get ready for the Angelus League,” Gallo said. “We feel we can beat them this year.”

Mater Dei has three excellent defensive players to complement Marinovich--inside linebackers Mike O’Connor (6-2, 215) and Mike Kelly (6-1, 200) and cornerback Tim Haider (5-9, 185).

“It will be a physical game up front,” Mike Milner, Fountain Valley coach, said. “I think the ball’s going to be in the air a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if they throw 30 to 35 times.”

Fountain Valley, known for its own sophisticated passing game, may be going to the air even more than usual tonight. Starting tailback Tom Vrab suffered a knee injury and will miss the game, so the pressure will be on Baron quarterback John Peart to turn in a solid performance.

“The prospect of Todd Marinovich going against John Peart should make this an entertaining game,” Milner said. “If you like defense, (Baron All-American tackle) Lance Zeno should also be fun to watch. He’s a great football player.”

In other games tonight:

Pacifica vs. Villa Park in Fred Kelly Stadium: This is another attractive matchup. Pacifica is one of the favorites in the Empire League with 13 returning starters. But Bill Craven, Pacifica coach, is concerned with his receivers after his only experienced player, Willie Taylor, suffered a cut hand in practice and required stitches. Taylor is doubtful. Villa Park centers its offense on tailback David Rose, who gained 900 yards and scored 8 touchdowns as a junior.

Valencia vs. Westminster in Westminster Stadium: The focus will be on Valencia running back Ray Pallares, who enters his third season with 3,312 yards rushing needs 852 yards to surpass former Santa Ana Valley star Myron White (4,164 yards) as the county’s career rushing leader. Westminster’s defense, led by tackle Herman Baine (6-2, 221) and linebacker Todd Weaver (6-1, 225), should give Pallares a test. Converted tailback Steve Gulley will start at quarterback for the Lions.

Kennedy vs. Ocean View in Sheue Field: Both teams hope to rebound from 2-8 records last year, but don’t figure to be much better this season. Tailbacks Marc Ohm and Jeff Darling will carry the bulk of the offensive load in Ocean View’s run-oriented attack. Kennedy counters with quarterback Todd Bristow and tailback John Christensen. Karl Gaytan, Ocean View coach, has been in and out of the hospital all week for stomach tests.

Warren vs. La Habra in La Habra Stadium: Tailback Chuck Weatherspoon, who gained 1,164 yards and scored 12 touchdowns last year, has added 20 pounds and should be more productive in his senior season. Junior John Robertson, who played in three games last year, will start at quarterback. Steve Hill, former assistant coach at Cerritos college, is the new coach at Warren and will start an all-underclass backfield of junior quarterback Scott Biehn and sophomore running backs Darius Turner and Anthony Simmons.

San Clemente vs. Savanna in Glover Stadium: These teams had only one victory between them last year. San Clemente’s Alex Baker was one of the top quarterbacks in the county last season until he broke his wrist midway through the season. Allie Schaff, San Clemente coach, has switched from the run-and-shoot offense to the wishbone in an effort to keep Baker healthy this season. Savanna starts sophomore Tony Osendorf at quarterback and Matt Stephenson at running back.

Laguna Hills vs. Woodbridge in Irvine Stadium: Paul Weinberger, Laguna Hills coach, was hired only two weeks ago, so the Hawks have a lot of catching up to do. Wayne Helm, one of the top pitchers in the county, will start at quarterback for the Hawks. Woodbridge has the biggest team in the school’s brief history, and quarterback John Yurkovich make the passing game more successful this season.