Times Names Westside’s Top Gridiron Performers

Fairfax High School may have had the best football team in its history this season. The Lions, champions of the 3-A Crosstown League, had an 11-0 record.

Venice High, which won the 2-A Pac 8 League title, was 9-2 and had its best year since its 1977 squad won the old Western League championship and finished at 8-0-1.

Santa Monica and Beverly Hills were each 6-4 and were the Westside’s strongest teams in CIF-Southern Section competition.

Each of those teams is well represented on The Times’ 1985 All-Westside high school first and second teams.

The 23-man teams, each with a kicker, were selected primarily on the basis of a poll of local prep coaches. The order in which a coach nominated his players was a strong factor for placing them on the first or second team. If a player was not nominated by his coach, he was not considered.

Offensive Line

The first team on offense includes receivers Travis Clark of Santa Monica and Gregg Silver of Beverly Hills and linemen Dale Evans of Santa Monica, Eduardo Vega of Hamilton, Alvin Thomas of Fairfax, David Ellis of Beverly Hills and Sean Robinson of Palisades.

The quarterback is Santa Monica’s Pat O’Hara, and the running backs are Rodney Dorsett (actually a quarterback) of Fairfax, William J. Harris of University and Michael Hale of Fairfax. The kicker is Beverly Hills punter Alan Glazer.

There was a host of nominations for linebackers, so several players are out of position on defense. The first team on defense has linemen Damian Penn of Culver City, Bob Tomaselli and Paul Nikcevic, both of Venice, and Derek Flot of Hamilton. At linebacker are David Buchbinder of Beverly Hills, Derek Mallard of Fairfax and Santa Monica’s Bernard Shockley. The defensive backs are Culver City’s Bob Beighey, LaTrelle Barnes of Fairfax, London Sattiewhite of Santa Monica and Haamid Wadood of Fairfax.

Members of the first team will be honored at the annual Times High School Football Brunch and Awards Presentation at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the Anaheim Hilton, 777 Convention Way.

Speakers From Academy

Featured speakers will be Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, and Bruce Johnson, defensive coordinator of the academy’s football team, which will play Texas in the Bluebonnet Bowl on Dec. 30.

Sponsored by the Los Angeles Times Fund, the invitational event will bring together players from the first teams on all-star squads in 10 Times circulation areas: Westside, Central Los Angeles, Orange County, San Gabriel Valley, Southeast, South Coast, Glendale, Centinela-South Bay, San Fernando Valley and San Diego County.

Parents and the head coach of each all-star has been invited. All high school head football coaches are welcome. Each player will receive a plaque and certificate. A lineman, back and coach of the year will be announced for each Times section, and they will receive trophies.

Repeaters from last year’s team are O’Hara and Barnes. Vega, Thomas, Hale and Harris were named to the 1984 second team.

11 TDs for Clark

Clark specialized in the acrobatic touchdown catch. He caught 48 passes for 746 yards, an average of more than 15.5 yards a reception, and he had 11 touchdown catches.

Silver specialized in nearly everything. He was credited with 40 receptions for 703 yards, a 17.6-yard average, and 7 touchdowns. He returned nine punts for 148 yards, a 16.4-yard average, and one touchdown. As a defensive back, he was in on a flock of tackles, had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, caused three fumbles and deflected a pass.

The offensive line, averaging 6-4 and 260 pounds, is probably the largest in Westside prep history.

Santa Monica Coach Tebb Kusserow said two-way tackle Evans (6-0, 240) was “an excellent blocker and strong on defense.”

Vega (6-6, 298) is the biggest all-star, and his coach, Dave Lertzman, said he felt his big man, who also played defensive end, was “the best lineman in the city.” He had 29 tackles and 27 assists, kicked 5 field goals (including a 53-yarder), and Hamilton’s Lertzman said he made 97% of his blocks.

High Praise for Thomas

Fairfax Coach Dennis Furlong said Thomas (6-1 1/2, 247) was simply his “best offensive lineman” on a team that had loads of offense. In 10 games, the Lions outscored opponents, 322-51, and defeated foes by an average of more than 27 points.

Ellis (6-7, 265), a two-way tackle, was the best offensive lineman for Beverly Hills. Norman backs made much of their yardage running behind him.

Robinson (6-5, 262) transferred to Palisades High from Oregon and was a two-way lineman who excelled both ways. His presence was a big reason why the Dolphins bounced back from a 1-8 season last year to 4-6 this year.

In two years, O’Hara threw for 3,703 yards and accounted for 44 touchdowns. That should say enough about his ability as a quarterback.

Dorsett was Fairfax Coach Furlong’s top nominee and was invaluable to his team’s success. In 10 games, he completed 59% of his pass attempts (72 of 122) for 1,409 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also rushed 29 times for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Hale Was Top Rusher

Hale was the Westside’s top rusher, even though he was injured and played only sporadically in league games. In one game, he carried 11 times for 235 yards and four touchdowns and also had a 76-yard kickoff return. In 10 games, he rushed 113 times for 920 yards, more than eight yards a carry. He was also the area’s top touchdown scorer with 15.

University Coach Joe Sedia said Harris was a “a hard-slashing-type runner and our top team leader.” He carried 107 times for 648 yards, a 6.1-yard average, and 11 touchdowns.

Glazer, only a junior, was one of the Southern Section’s best punters. He averaged nearly 44 yards, and his longest was 60.

Luis Lichtl, who coaches the Culver City offensive and defensive lines, said Penn, a center and defensive tackle, was “very aggressive,” had “excellent speed and a great instinct for the ball” and blocked well. He had 68 tackles, 59 assist and 8 quarterback sacks.

Venice Rich in Ends

Venice Coach Al Dellinger said that Tomaselli, a defensive end and fullback, and Nikcevic were the best pair of defensive ends the school has had in 15 years. Tomaselli had 38 tackles and 28 assists, 3 fumble recoveries and 3 sacks. He carried 41 times for 154 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Flot, who played linebacker and tackle, had 70 tackles and 46 assists, 3 interceptions, a blocked punt and 2 fumble recoveries. He was also credited with making 95% of his blocks.

Dellinger said Nikcevic has “an innate ability to play defensive end.” As with Tomaselli, it was hard for anyone to turn his end, and Nikcevic was Venice’s top tackler with 59 solo tackles and 45 assists. He also had five sacks and forced a fumble.

Buchbinder had 38 tackles and 22 assists and 6 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He also had 10.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and deflected a pass.

Mallard, a linebacker and tight end, had 69 tackles and 40 assists, carried 11 times for 104 yards and 1 touchdown and caught 15 passes for 386 yards and 2 touchdowns.

‘Heart of Our Team’

Santa Monica Coach Kusserow called linebacker Shockley “the heart of our team.” The son of former St. Louis Cardinals star Walt Shockley had 82 tackles in eight games to top the Vikings.

Coach Lichtl said Beighey, a safety on defense, was so quick in getting to the ball that he got three sacks in one game. He made the defensive secondary calls and had 61 tackles and 51 assists as well as 2 interceptions. As a wingback, he had 32 carries for 191 yards and 21 receptions for 242 yards.

At linebacker, Barnes had 68 tackles and 40 assists. At fullback, he rushed 84 times for 460 yards and 11 touchdowns, including an 82-yard kickoff return. He is out of position at defensive back, but he is quick enough to play there.

Sattiewhite made some big plays as a defensive back, including four key interceptions. He was also an intimidating tackler, with 46 in eight games.

As a defensive back, Wadood had 22 tackles and 16 assists with 1 interception. As a flanker, he had 20 receptions for 332 yards and 2 touchdowns and also rushed 41 times for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns.

2nd-Team Offense

The second team on offense includes receivers Dominique Holland of Santa Monica and Paul Richardson of University and linemen Shane Cox of Culver City, Mark Lambert and Scott Cooper, both of Palisades; Bill Huntoon of St. Monica and Shawn Siah of Fairfax.

There was a dearth of top running backs on the Westside this season, but there were many good passers. Seven quarterbacks, including O’Hara, Dorsett and Renato Velasquez of Daniel Murphy, threw for more than 1,000 yards, and the second-team backfield has four of them: Eric Mueller of Beverly Hills, Ernie Soto of Venice, Jonn Moomaw of University and Frank Dolce of Culver City. The second-team kicker is Venice place-kicker Nito Messina.

Linemen on the second-team defense are J. C. Farrow of Hollywood, Mike Saltzman of University, Stephen Maafala of Hollywood and Rob Ramsdell of Palisades. The linebackers on the second unit are Ken Sackett of Daniel Murphy, Eric Davis of Santa Monica and David Gonzalez of Venice.

Second team defensive backs are Willie Crawford of Beverly Hills, Eric Crawford of Venice, Darrin Jackson of St. Monica and Lavelle Parker of Hamilton.

First Team Offense

Pos Name,School Ht Wt Yr WR Travis Clark, Santa Monica 6-3 183 12 WR Gregg Silver, Beverly Hills 5-8 155 12 OL Dale Evans, Santa Monica 6-0 240 12 OL Eduardo Vega, Hamilton 6-6 298 12 OL Alvin Thomas, Fairfax 6-1 1/2 247 12 OL David Ellis, Beverly Hills 6-7 265 12 OL Sean Robinson, Palisades 6-5 252 12 QB Pat O’Hara, Santa Monica 6-3 1/2 185 12 RB Rodney Dorsett, Fairfax 6-0 165 12 RB William J. Harris, University 5-11 180 12 RB Michael Hale, Fairfax 5-9 170 12 K Alan Glazer, Beverly Hills 5-10 185 11

First Team Defense

Pos Name,School Ht Wt Yr DL Damian Penn, Culver City 6-1 220 12 DL Bob Tomaselli, Venice 6-1 180 12 DL Derek Flot, Hamilton 6-0 180 12 DL Paul Nikcevic, Venice 6-3 185 12 LB David Buchbinder, Beverly Hills 6-2 180 12 LB Derek Mallard, Fairfax 6-1 180 12 LB Bernard Shockley, Santa Monica 6-0 190 12 DB Bob Beighey, Culver City 5-9 160 12 DB LaTrelle Barnes, Fairfax 5-11 185 12 DB London Sattiewhite, Santa Monica 5-11 170 12 DB Haamid Wadood, Fairfax 5-7 165 12

Second Team Offense

Pos Name, School Ht Wt Yr WR Dominique Holland, S.M. 6-0 175 12 WR Paul Richardson, University 6-3 175 12 OL Shane Cox, Culver City 6-1 205 12 OL Mark Lambert, Palisades 6-3 220 12 OL Scott Cooper, Palisades 6-3 225 12 OL Bill Huntoon, St. Monica 6-1 200 12 OL Shawn Siah, Fairfax 6-0 222 12 QB Eric Mueller, Beverly Hills 6-4 200 12 RB Ernie Soto, Venice 5-9 160 11 RB Jonn Moomaw, University 5-11 165 12 RB Frank Dolce, Culver City 6-1 190 11 K Nito Messina, Venice 5-8 145 12

Second Team Defense

Pos Name, School Ht Wt Yr DL J.C. Farrow, Hollywood 6-3 175 12 DL Mike Saltzman, University 6-0 185 12 DL Stephen Maafala, Hollywood 6-3 300 12 DL Rob Ramsdell, Palisades 5-10 180 12 LB Ken Sackett, Daniel Murphy 5-8 145 12 LB Eric Davis, Santa Monica 6-1 205 11 LB David Gonzalez, Venice 5-11 180 12 DB Willie Crawford, Beverly Hills 6-0 185 10 DB Eric Crawford, Venice 5-11 155 11 DB Darrin Jackson, St. Monica 6-1 160 12 DB Lavelle Parker, Hamilton 6-1 160 12