COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Community College Football : Four Years Later, Dons’ Hannemann Is Back

Salofi Hannemann didn’t figure he would be ready to play for Rancho Santiago College this season.

The nose guard earned all-Mission Conference honorable mention honors in his freshman year in 1981, but he injured his right knee in a preseason scrimmage in 1982, underwent surgery and redshirted.

Then, in 1983, Hannemann’s family moved to the island of Oahu. He worked as a canoe tour guide to pay for his Mormon mission to Samoa, where he lived from 1984 until July.

In July, Hannemann returned to Hawaii and planned to take another year off from football, with the intention of returning to action in 1987.

But he phoned Rancho Santiago and discovered that because of his extended leave of absence he would have only one more year of athletic eligibility left after the 1986 season.

Hannemann decided that it was time to return to Southern California and Rancho Santiago--even if he had not played organized football in four years.

“I planned to play football all along but I wanted to come back in 1987 after a year of working out,” Hannemann said. “But this has worked out really well also. I’ve lost some of my quickness, though, maybe a half step.

“But I’m also surprised about some of the things I can still do out there.”

Last Saturday night, the 6-foot 1-inch, 215-pound Hannemann made 11 tackles to help the Dons defeat Fullerton, 26-23, in the season opener.

The Dons open Mission Conference play tonight against Orange Coast College at 7:30 in Santa Ana Stadium.

The Rancho Santiago coaching staff had no hesitations about taking back Hannemann, 23.

“He’s a super player and really hustles out there,” said Dave Ogas, Rancho Santiago coach. “We like to have a few older, more mature guys around. It helps everybody out.”

In other Mission Conference action:

Grossmont (0-0, 1-0) vs. Saddleback (0-0, 1-0), Saddleback College Field, 7:30--The Gauchos’ 48-game home winning streak will be on the line against the Griffins. Saddleback defeated El Camino, 31-3, in its opener last week, even though the defending national co-champion Gauchos fumbled six times, losing two. Saddleback quarterback Pat Hegarty completed 19 of 27 attempts for 218 yards and Bret Mersola had 9 receptions. The Saddleback defense played well, allowing only 40 yards rushing.

In nonconference action:

Taft (0-0, 0-2) vs. Fullerton (0-0, 0-1), Fullerton District Stadium, 7:30--Hornet Coach Hal Sherbeck is seeking his 200th career victory after the Hornets were upset by Rancho Santiago last week, 26-23. Sherbeck, whose career record is 199-53-6, is trying to avoid his first 0-2 start since 1963. That Fullerton and Taft are a combined 0-3 is a shock considering that the teams have won the national championship three of the last four years. In Fullerton’s loss to Rancho Santiago, Hornet quarterback Richard Williams threw for 267 yards, but his fumble on a snap led to a key Don touchdown. Taft, which, like Fullerton, is inexperienced, has been defeated by Merced and Sacramento City, the two top-ranked teams in Northern California.

Golden West (0-0, 2-0) vs. Ventura (0-0, 2-0), Ventura High School, 7:30 p.m--The Rustler defense, which has been nearly flawless so far, will get another challenge. The Pirates are led by quarterback Russ Widerburg, who has completed 29 of 42 attempts for 395 yards. He completed 11 of 15 for 231 yards in the Pirates’ 45-25 victory over Los Angeles Valley College last week. The Rustlers are led on offense by quarterback Eric Lawton, who has completed 17 of 35 attempts for 226 yards.