THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Taking the Field From Wrong End Was Kennedy’s 1st Mistake

Enrique Lopez watched with increasing pleasure as the Kennedy High football team marched onto the field for Friday night’s game against his Alemany team. The Kennedy players paraded across the Alemany field like conquering soldiers, walking hand in hand in flanks of five across, provoking wild cheers from the many Kennedy fans who came to see the first meeting between the neighboring schools.

Kennedy was the favored team and acted the part, according to the Alemany players, who looked on in silence at the flamboyant Kennedy entrance.

Lopez, the Alemany coach, couldn’t have asked for more inspiration.

“All week we talked about intensity, and when Kennedy walked in like that, our players reacted,” he said Saturday. “The way they walked onto the field, holding hands, looking right at us, I thought, ‘Oh, they’re cocky.’ You’re supposed to come out and play football, not give us a parade.”

Lopez wasn’t complaining. “It wasn’t hard to get intense for Kennedy. It gave us more ammunition, more flame for the fire.”

It also resulted in Alemany’s first win of the season. The Indians embarked on their own parade the first time they touched the ball, marching 63 yards in 10 plays for the game’s first score.

Quarterback Nick Napolitan threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to tailback Ray Campuzano, and after Grant Runnerstrum kicked the extra point, Alemany had all the points it would need to surprise Kennedy.

The 10-6 win gave new life to Alemany, which faces the roughest schedule in the Valley area. The Indians previously lost to Harvard, Granada Hills and Hart, and play Canyon, Loyola and Crespi in the next three weeks.

For now they have a win behind them, and they owe it to Kennedy.

“They walked onto the field like they were better than us,” said Jason Wagner, a 6-0, 182-pound senior who plays center and linebacker. “All their fans were singing, and the players were talking a lot. I thought they were showing us up and I got mad. I was shaking before the game.”

Campuzano had a similar reaction, saying, “They were favored and had a right to do that stuff, but not to that extent. I didn’t like it at all.”

Kennedy Coach Bob Francola, who has his own problems with two losses in the first three games for a team many thought was one of the Valley’s best, said his players intended no disrespect to Alemany.

“It looked like a parade because we came in from the wrong end of the field,” he said. “We usually get behind our goal post and walk five yards with our hands together as a show of unity. But we had to walk 100 yards to get to our end of the field.

“There was nothing planned and we weren’t trying to steal their thunder on their own field. I can imagine them feeling that way, but we weren’t trying to hot-dog or show them up. I apologize to Enrique.”

Francola displayed laudable compassion, considering his predicament. Kennedy brings a losing record into its most difficult preleague game. The Golden Cougars play Banning at Gardena High next Friday and may lose quarterback Jeff Newman for the second straight week.

Newman, a 6-0, 180-pound senior, watched Friday’s loss to Alemany in his street clothes. He was hospitalized Tuesday after suffering an asthma attack and remains saddled with an athlete’s nightmare--he’s allergic to grass.

“Certain times of the year are real tough for him,” Francola said. “During hell week, his throat would swell up. He practiced real well Monday and Tuesday and then had the asthma attack. He also had a chest cold and we were afraid it would get worse. The kid looks like he’s lost 15 pounds, and I’m concerned about his strength. We’ll take a look at him at Monday’s practice.”

Francola insisted Kennedy’s problems against Alemany were not at quarterback. He praised the play of senior LaTrell Edgar and also found little fault with his defense. Kennedy limited Alemany to 104 yards and has allowed only 238 total yards in three games, an average of only 78.7 yards a game.

Francola’s complaint lies with his players’ mental approach.

“We have to do something immediately about our frame of mind on the field,” he said. “We can’t have guys coming off the field, getting a drink of water and then saying, ‘Oops, I’m back out there for the kickoff team.’ Our kids are naturally aggressive, but we’re not playing smart football.”

Perhaps Alemany’s only lack of smarts this year came when Lopez devised the schedule. Most coaches line up a breather or two between the behemoths, but not Lopez, who said he’s just trying to prepare his team for the Del Rey League schedule.

“We’re going to see good, classy teams with speed, size and great athletes and great coaching staffs, and that’s what we’ve been seeing now,” he said. “We also scheduled the games for location. We got tired of the long bus rides. There are good teams in the area, and we loved to play them. Plus, every kid I coached wanted to play Granada Hills and Kennedy.”

The Indians also want to play Canyon, but they don’t see themselves as streak-busters. Canyon brings a 42-game winning streak, the state’s longest current streak, into Friday’s game in Canyon Country.

Alemany wants to savor its first win of 1986 first, though.

“I feel like a burden’s been lifted from my shoulders,” Napolitan said. “Kennedy is a fantastic team, so this win meant the world to me and the team.”