Weekend Preview : Surprising Oceanside Seeks Sixth Straight Win

Roy Scaffidi, all bright-eyed and excited to be a head coach for the first time, predicted good things for Oceanside High School when practice started last August.

Never mind what people said about Oceanside’s team, and never mind there were only 24 players in uniform, most of whom had played on a 3-7 team in 1985.

What Scaffidi didn’t predict, however, was that things would be as good as they have been. Oceanside, after a season-opening loss to Vista, has won five straight and is ranked No. 7 in The Times’ Top 10.

What’s more, Oceanside is tied for first place in the Avocado League.

That tie with San Marcos--both are 3-0 in the league--will be broken tonight when Oceanside plays host to San Marcos at 7:30.

“It’s all been a lot better than even I could have imagined,” Scaffidi said. “When I first took over, people were telling me that Oceanside athletes were hard to coach. People said that all the kids were stubborn and all they wanted to do was talk and fight all the time. But it hasn’t been like that. The kids have been willing to learn and been willing to play football.”

Last week, Oceanside’s supposedly unstable character was tested in a game at San Pasqual.

“Their team tried to mix things up with us physically and they tried to taunt us verbally,” Scaffidi said.

It didn’t work. The Pirates maintained their poise and won, 20-6.

“One of the reasons I think we’ve been so successful is that we’ve been able to channel some of the kids’ negative energy into positive energy,” Scaffidi said. “We’re playing with a lot of aggressiveness on defense and our kids believe in what we’re doing.”

Oceanside also has a high-energy offense. It is led by quarterback Rocky Aukuso and the county’s tallest receiving tandem--6-foot-5 Junior Seau and 6-2 Morey Paul.

“Rocky has had an outstanding first half of the season,” Scaffidi said. “In fact, we’ve all had an outstanding first half of the season.”

San Marcos, meanwhile, has had an excellent last three weeks.

“Our team started to come together right when league play started,” said Ken Broach, San Marcos coach.

San Marcos fans are used to that. Last year, the Knights lost their first four games--all nonleague--but finished league play 4-1-1, good for second place. This season, San Marcos was 0-2-1 in nonleague play.

Last week, San Marcos defeated Carlsbad, 27-7, scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

But the game’s most spectacular play was Jim Jennings’ 80-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Jennings, a 6-4, 240-pound fullback, is not considered a breakaway runner.

“I can’t believe Jennings broke one from that far out,” Scaffidi said. “I hope if he gets loose against us, we’ll be able to catch up to him.”

Said Broach: “It (Jennings’ run) was something, but I guess Jimmy is just a little faster than we all thought. Actually, our line just got him a big hole and he broke through into the secondary. He picked up a block and made a nice cutback. Then, he started to outrun people.”

Broach said it was surprising to see a player so big run so far.

Just like Oceanside’s season has been so far--surprising.

Other Games to Watch

TODAY Orange Glen (1-1, 5-1) at Vista (3-0, 6-0)--Last year, Vista needed an interception on the goal line to preserve a 29-21 victory. This year’s game could be just as exciting. Two games ago, Orange Glen moved receiver Scott Carlovsky to tight end in an effort to help establish a running game. Terry LeBrun and Ricky Martinez have benefited from Carlovsky’s blocking, averaging 140 yards rushing. Quarterback Duffy Daugherty has thrown for 1,243 yards and has only 4 interceptions in 136 passes. Junior defensive lineman Ed Barber, a starter last year as a sophomore, returned to practice this week after missing the first six games with a foot injury. Tommy Booker, the county’s leading rusher with 1,039 yards and 16 touchdowns in 120 carries, leads Vista. Wingback Marc Jones, a threat on the counter and as a receiver on screen passes, has helped Vista average 35.5 points a game. The Panthers have allowed an average of 16 points per game.

Montgomery (1-0, 4-1-1) at Sweetwater (1-0, 6-0)--Sweetwater, which leads the county in defense, has shut out its last four opponents. The Red Devil offense is led by running back Pierre Jones, the county’s second-leading rusher. “We’re treating it like a CIF playoff game,” Coach Gene Alim said. Montgomery has averaged 26 points a game since a season-opening, 13-6 loss to Santana. Quarterback Troy Beale threw for 282 yards last week against Bonita Vista.

Monte Vista (0-0, 4-2) at Helix (1-0, 4-1-1)--Monte Vista, which had lost two of its last three, is a team that lives by the pass. Quarterback Richard Garmo has thrown for 1,028 yards. Helix has scored 13 points or fewer in four of its six games, but running back Kerry Barr is averaging 100 yards a game. The Highlander defense is ranked third in the county, allowing 5.0 points per game.

Mount Miguel (0-0, 4-2) at Granite Hills (1-0, 5-1)--Mount Miguel has the county’s sixth-ranked defense, and will need another outstanding defensive effort to stop Granite Hills. Led by the running of Tom Vardell and Robert Padillo and the passing of Donnie Carroll, Granite Hills has averaged 36.8 points per game since a season-opening, 13-7 loss to Poway. Mount Miguel has not scored more than 15 points in a game. Junior quarterback Anthony Rivera, a starter as a sophomore, played last week for the first time this year.

BIG GAME FACTS

Who: San Marcos vs. No. 7 Oceanside.

Where: Oceanside High School.

When: 7:30 p.m.

Records: San Marcos 3-0, 3-2-1; Oceanside 3-0, 5-1.

Last meeting: San Marcos 6, Oceanside 2 (1985).

Players to watch: San Marcos: Jim Jennings (6-4, 240), FB; Rick Evert (6-1, 180), QB; Mark Villalobos (5-11, 180), LB. Oceanside: Junior Seau (6-5, 215), WR-LB; Morey Paul (6-2, 195), WR-LB; Sai Nu (6-0, 180), RB-LB; Rocky Aukuso (6-0, 190), QB.