San Diego Football Playoff Preview : Vista, Granite Hills Done Talkin’ : Both Sides Say They Know What They Have to Do Tonight

Vista High running back Tommy Booker has been doing a lot of talking this week to his offensive line. The main topic: the Granite Hills defense and its penchant for crushing ball carriers.

Meanwhile, Granite Hills linebacker Scott Weber has also done a fair amount of talking to his teammates this week. His topic: All-County running back Tommy Booker.

“(Booker’s) very quick,” Weber said. “He can do anything Vista wants him to do. We’ll be keying on him. . . . When I’m out there, I really like to hit people.”

Said Booker: “I’ll be depending a great deal on the line this time. (Granite Hills is) pretty tough on their defensive line, so I’ll be depending on my line more (this game) than the other games.”

Vista (11-0) meets Granite Hills (9-3) at 7:30 tonight in the San Diego Section 3-A semifinal round of the playoffs at Mira Mesa High. The winner will advance to next Saturday’s final in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Last year, in the opening round of the playoffs, Vista scored three touchdowns in its first five plays en route to a 43-9 victory over the Eagles. Booker, who primarily played defensive back that game, says that repeating a quick start seems unlikely.

“We’re hoping to do that again,” Booker said, “but I don’t believe it will be just that quick.”

“I’m glad we’re playing (Granite Hills) again,” said Weber, a three-year starter. “I want to beat them the same way they beat us last year.”

Granite Hills Coach Paul Wargo says his team has “gone crazy” this week during practice, trying to outdo each other in making hard-hitting tackles.

“When somebody makes a good hit, someone else will say, ‘If you can do that, I’ll hit harder,’ ” Wargo said. “This whole team’s gone crazy about hitting people.”

Wargo says that if he had to choose this week between his offense, dominated by All-County running back Tom Vardell, and his defense, the choice would be easy.

“Our defense has to play well,” Wargo said. “We have to slow him (Booker) down.”

The Granite Hills defensive line averages 200 pounds. The Vista offensive line averages 260 pounds. And, as Vista Coach Dick Haines said, “They’re fine football players, not just big hogs.”

2-A SEMIFINALS

La Jolla (9-2-0) vs. Oceanside (9-2-0) at Vista High, 7:30 p.m.--Based on these teams’ performances in 1985, few would have predicted this matchup.

But Gene Edwards, in his 29th season at La Jolla, and Roy Scaffidi, in his first season at Oceanside, have both put together excellent teams.

La Jolla, led by the City Western League’s Defensive Player of the Year, Jon Beck, earned a share of the league title, thanks mostly to its defense. The Vikings allowed only 29 points in five league games and finished 4-1 to tie University City and University of San Diego High School.

The defensive effort was a marked improvement over last season, when La Jolla was 2-3 in the City West (2-6-1 overall) and allowed 80 points in five league games.

“Our defense kept us in a lot of game this season,” Edwards said.

It has needed to. The La Jolla offense struggled at times this season but managed to score when needed. The Vikings are paced by running backs Brent Woodall and Brad Matthews, ball-control-type runners who many times this season moved the ball just far enough to allow La Jolla to keep the field-position edge.

Senior Doug Powell, a better passer, and junior John Tribolet, a better runner, have alternated at quarterback. Jeff and Brad Raulston are La Jolla’s top receivers.

Still, the emphasis is on defense. Last week, in its first-round playoff game against Crawford, the La Jolla defense allowed just one touchdown in a 14-12 victory. Crawford had a chance to tie the game with three minutes remaining but the Vikings stopped a Crawford two-point conversion attempt inches short of the goal line.

Oceanside, meanwhile, won the Avocado League championship, thanks mostly to its high-flying offense. Led by quarterback Rocky Aukuso, wide receivers Junior Seau and Morey Paul, and running backs Shane Wiggins and Sai Niu, the Pirates scored more than 20 points in all but two games this season.

Last season, when Oceanside finished 3-7 (3-3 in league), the Pirates were held under 10 points five times. Observers said that Oceanside had the players but lacked direction.

Scaffidi has changed all that.

The Pirates are playing with a new enthusiasm this season.

“We’re having a lot fun this year,” said Seau, a Times’ All-County player. “It used to be that during football season all I looked forward to was when basketball season was going to start. It’s not like that anymore.”

Oceanside played perhaps its best game of the season in the first round of the playoffs last Saturday, routing Hoover, 43-0.

“I hope we have a couple of more games like that one left in us,” Scaffidi said. “If we play like that, it’s going to be difficult to beat us.”

BIG GAME FACTS

Who: Vista vs. Granite Hills.

Where: Mira Mesa High School.

When: 7:30 p.m.

Records: Vista 11-0, Granite Hills 9-3.

Last meeting: Vista 43, Granite Hills 9 (first round of Section 1985 Section 3-A playoffs).

Radio--KOWN (1450 AM) pregame broadcast at 7:10 p.m.

Players to watch: Vista: Tom Booker (6-1, 201), RB; Clarence Loa (6-1, 235) OG; Bill Faraimo (6-2, 185), QB; and Tiny Mitchell (6-7, 345), OT. Granite Hills: Tom Vardell (6-2, 205), RB; Robert Padillo (6-0, 187), RB; Donnie Carroll (5-11, 175), QB; and Scott Weber (6-1, 185), LB.