SEA VIEW LEAGUE : New-Look Olympic League Still Tough to Pick

A trend toward parity in the Olympic League may open opportunities for the two Orange County football teams untouched by releaguing, Lutheran High School in Orange and Southern California Christian.

Neither team is a traditional favorite, but each has reason to believe its program is on the upswing. Southern California Christian will field some of its largest players ever, and Lutheran has never had so many players out for the team, including three promising transfer students.

The league has been reduced to six teams from eight, but it still shows the potential to evolve into a prognosticator’s nightmare, if last year’s standings are any evidence. It used to be that a school such as Whittier Christian, with solid coaching and nearly twice the enrollment of some its opponents, was an obvious pick for a playoff berth, if not the championship.

But the bizarre log jam in the final 1985 standings strongly suggests that the days of predictable finishes in this league are temporarily over. If you wanted to illustrate the word gridlock , a diagram of the 1985 standings in the Olympic League would suffice.

Valley Christian emerged atop the pile, standing on the shoulders of second-place Ontario Christian. Beyond that point, it was competitive chaos with four teams tying for third.

The only surgically sound method of untangling the mess and determining what team should advance to the Inland Conference playoffs was the fatalistic flip of a coin, won by Lutheran over Maranatha, Brethren and Whittier Christian.

So it’s understandable if the coaches seem unusually wary of venturing any sort of predictions this season--nobody enjoys eating his words. Valley Christian has many returning players and appears to have a decent chance of defending its title, but some coaches, such as Lutheran’s Dave DeWoody and Whittier Christian’s new head coach, Phil Bravo, also believe that Brethren could turn out to be a sleeper.

The only certainty is that Maranatha and Capistrano Valley Christian will not be in the race.

Maranatha joined the Alpha League, and Capistrano Valley Christian dropped its league membership in favor of an independent schedule.

Capistrano Valley Christian, who have played 11-man football just three seasons, finished last both years in the Olympic League and won only one game in 1985. Several of their old Olympic League opponents are included on the freelance schedule, but the school hopes to give its enrollment a chance to grow before possibly stepping back into the fray.

For the remaining Olympic League teams, one drawback to the juggling of leagues is that only the top two finishers, rather than the top three, will be automatically granted a playoff berth. The third team will have to vie for one of four wildcard berths among six leagues in the conference.

Here’s a closer look at the smaller schools that play 11-man football in Orange County:

CAPISTRANO VALLEY CHRISTIAN: Key Personnel--Miles Van Pelt (6-0, 195), OG/LB; Jon Niednagel (5-8, 175), TB; Brent Ward (5-10, 170), OG/LB, and Doug Lindstrom (5-10, 160), QB.

Top Newcomers--Tye Carney (5-10, 155), QB; Brian Siemon (5-9, 175), TB; Dwight Mansfield (5-9, 200), LB/OG, and Chris Phillips (6-0, 175), RB/CB.

Outlook--The Eagles, with six returning starters, are looking forward to regrouping under the guidance of new Coach Mickey Bodnar, whose junior varsity was a bright spot in the young program at 5-4-1 last season. Bodnar expects the Eagle offense to be balanced, although the quarterback position has not been won outright by senior Doug Lindstrom or junior Tye Carney. Lindstrom, a good athlete who mainly played safety last season, has the edge, but his only varsity experience at quarterback came under less-than-ideal situations as the backup in the 1-6 season in 1985. Carney led the junior varsity with 1,000 yards passing. The other skill positions also have a mix of experience and new talent. Jon Niednagel, a powerful ballcarrier, returns at running back, where he will be joined by Brian Siemon, who gained 1,000 yards on the junior varsity. “Our overall attitude is outstanding,” Bodnar said. “The players are well-disciplined and hard-working. Last year’s varsity had a very respectable year on defense and we’re working to strengthen the offense.”

LUTHERAN: Key Personnel--Jeff Simmons (6-1, 185), OT; Brad Busse (6-1, 195), TE/LB; Brian Johnson (5-9, 165), WR/QB/DB; Robby Gibbs (5-10, 165), QB, and Chris Brown (6-0, 180), DE.

Top Newcomers--Ward Lookabaugh (5-11, 205), OG/DG; Jason Neben (6-0, 175), RB; Paul Helbock (6-0, 190), LB; Kelly Burch (6-4, 195), TE/DE, and Tony Lopez (5-11, 180), FB.

Outlook--Coach Bob Dowding remembers starting out with 13 players in 1975, quite a contrast to this year’s total of 92, including 48 on varsity and 11 returning starters. Furthermore, he will have three transfers in his lineup--linebacker Paul Helbock, a senior from Ojai; fullback Tony Lopez, a senior who moved back to Lutheran after his father finished training in the ministry in St. Louis, and end Kelly Burch, a 6-4 basketball player from Connecticut. The only place Dowding is faced with a dilemma is at quarterback. Matt Lofink, a talented junior varsity quarterback who had been groomed to take over the varsity position this year, was in a car accident, suffering injuries that prevent him from playing football. Consequently, two seniors--defensive back Brian Johnson and linebacker Robby Gibbs--will play quarterback. The Lancers, 7-5 last season, face a challenging preleague schedule of teams from considerably larger programs, such as Notre Dame of Riverside and Bloomington Christian. How the Lancers handle that string of early games--and whether they stay healthy--could be the key to their final position in the league race.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRISTIAN: Key Personnel--Shawn Crawford (6-0, 180), QB; Edmond DeAvila (6-4, 250), OT/DT; Chris Lunney (6-3, 230), OT/DT; Chad Lambie (6-2, 175), E/DB; Todd Ludeman (6-3, 180), E/LB, and Don Holtz (6-0, 165), TB/LB.

Top Newcomers--Eric Norwood (5-10, 160), TB; Tom Breen (5-9, 180), FB/LB, and Jason Park (6-4, 225).

Outlook--The Flames are coming off a 5-5 season and seventh-place finish, which was not as bad as it sounds--they were just behind the four teams who tied for third. This year’s SCC team has 12 returning starters and is hefty enough to make any football team in the county proud. How often do you hear a coach say, “Our strength is our line”? Flame Coach Dave DeWoody has the pleasure of making that assessment, and because many of his linemen started as sophomores, the team will have the services of strong and seasoned junior linemen such as Edmond DeAvila and Chris Lunney. Quarterback Shawn Crawford, another junior, gained experience running the wishbone last season, but the only returning running back is power-type Don Holtz. Tom Breen will be paving the way at fullback and speedy Eric Norwood, a junior transfer, will be the outside threat. “Our main weakness is getting the backs to run the option properly and trying to shore up a couple linebacker positions,” DeWoody said.