SHRINE NOTEBOOK : Redell Finds Plenty of Fast Company in South Backfield

Bill Redell is fast becoming an expert on high school running backs.

As Crespi High’s coach, he tutors Russell White, perhaps the most talented running back in the state. And as one of the coaches for the South team in the 36th annual Shrine football game, Redell has worked with the three top graduating high school rushers in Southern California.

South running backs Eric Bieniemy (Bishop Amat), Leonard Russell (Long Beach Poly) and George Hemingway (Colton) combined for 5,497 yards and 66 touchdowns last fall. Bieniemy (5-8, 185) and Hemingway (6-3, 225) have accepted scholarships to Colorado. Russell (6-2, 210) is bound for Arizona State.

“It’s a lot of fun coaching super-talented people like these guys,” Redell said between practices for Saturday night’s game at the Rose Bowl.

Asked whether White, who will be a junior this fall, compared favorably with that group, Redell nodded his head vigorously. “I wouldn’t say a bad thing about any of those kids. They’re all major college kids,” Redell said. “But they’re just not in the same class as Russell White. He’s in a class by himself. They’re fine backs, but they compare more with J. J. Lasley.”

Lasley will be a senior at Crespi. Last season he rushed for 496 yards and 5 touchdowns on 72 carries as a sideshow to White, who had 2,354 yards and 30 touchdowns on 196 carries.

Back on track: Redell said he is completely healthy after undergoing a series of tests to determine the cause of chest pains he sustained for six weeks.

An angiogram--a procedure in which a radioactive dye is injected into an artery to determine whether there is any blockage in the cardiovascular system--showed that an artery on one side of Redell’s heart had a small bend in it.

“When I get worked up it apparently puts some stress on the artery,” said Redell, who is coaching the South with Bob Johnson of El Toro High and Armando Gonzales of Franklin. “It may have been a case of being a little bit of a hypochondriac,” he said. “My dad died of a heart attack on Jan. 1, so maybe that was part of it. He was 79, though. I figure if I can make it until then I’ll be fine.”

Redell, 46, has been given medication to ease the chest pains and has not had a problem since. “People have been calling me up thinking I had a heart attack,” he said. “Really, I’m fine. I was scared, no question. The pains were not excruciating, but it was the type of thing that when it hits you stop and go, ‘Boy, what’s that?’ If it goes on for three or four days you figure it’s gas. But six weeks? We had to check it out.”

One and only: Redell is the only former Shrine participant to return as a coach.

He was an All-American for San Marino High and played defensive back for the South team in the 1959 Shrine game. The South lost, 26-6, before a crowd of 57,989 in the Coliseum, but Redell still has fond memories. “It was a big thrill playing with all those people in the stands and with such a great group of players,” he said.

Among his playing contemporaries were Marv Fleming, who played in five Super Bowls for Green Bay and Miami; former UCLA All-American Kermit Alexander; former Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica and former Rams and Detroit quarterback Bill Munson.

Proving ground: Ken Sollom and Jim Bonds, the quarterbacks for the South team, are out to prove their lackluster performances in the Daily News all-star game July 16 was a fluke.

Sollom, who will attend Michigan, completed 10 of 24 passes for 85 yards and Bonds was 8 of 17 for 83 yards. Sollom, from Canyon High, and Bonds, from Hart High, shared quarterback duties for the East, which lost, 21-6.

Afterward Bonds, who will attend UCLA, was approached by a reporter and responded with an incredulous look. “You want to talk to me after that ?” he said.

Both quarterbacks were outplayed by Kennedy’s Jeff Newman of the West, who completed 8 of 13 for 203 yards.

“Midway through the game Ken and I looked at each other and said, ‘This guy is showing us up,’ ” Bonds said. “Probably after seeing that first game some people might be wondering if it was creditable for us to receive the scholarships we did.”

Said Sollom: “I think we have to prove ourselves after last game.”

Sollom and Bonds, who combined for 6,037 yards and 68 touchdowns last season, said they are approaching the Shrine game with greater intensity.

“The coaches have us ready to go,” Sollom said. “They have us practicing twice a day, which makes it easier to get used to the offense.”

Bonds, one of three South captains, said an adjustment to the level of competition is also taking place. “It’s surprising at first,” he said. “You get a look at what it’s going to be like in college. Everyone is on the same level. It makes it tough. Before there were always guys who could catch the ball, but there weren’t Division I defensive backs. That makes a big difference. I don’t think either one of us saw a Division I defensive back all year before this.”

Johnson, who will be calling offensive plays for the South, said he hasn’t decided which quarterback will start.

“There really shouldn’t be a starter,” he said. “They’re both starters. Maybe I’ll have one under center and the other under a guard on the first play. They’re both quality kids going to quality institutions. I can’t go wrong with either of them.”

Johnson said he will rotate the quarterbacks but not by quarters or by series. “We’re going to let both quarterbacks get into the flow of the game,” he said.

On the receiving end: Figuring to benefit from the passing talents of Bonds and Sollom is tight end John Carpenter of Crespi. Carpenter (6-5, 230) didn’t get many chances to be a receiver last fall because of the effectiveness of Crespi’s high-powered rushing attack. Carpenter, who caught five passes for 95 yards in the Daily News game, is bound for Stanford.

Great expectations: Sean Howard of Crespi will start at outside linebacker for the South.

Redell said he expects Howard to develop into one of the top college linebackers in the nation by the time his career at UCLA is over. “He’s still developing his coordination and athletic ability,” Redell said. “He’s just going to get better and better. And he’s already an outstanding player now.”

Confident cornerback: Dion Lambert, Kennedy High’s All-City cornerback, isn’t exactly quaking in his cleats over the prospect of defending against receivers Rod Moore and Chris Walsh of the North, who combined for 91 catches and 1,775 yards last season.

“There are a lot of good receivers,” said Lambert, who is one of 14 players in the game headed for UCLA. “The only difference in an all-star game is that they’re a little bit faster. I played against good receivers all year long and did well, so this should be pretty much the same.”

Beating the rap: “My number’s 51 and I’m here to have some fun. My name is Dr. ‘Dre and I’m going to UCLA.” That was the introduction Andre Farr, a defensive lineman for the North team, gave himself at a Shrine game press conference.

If that also sounds like a couple of lines out of a personalized rap song, there is a good reason. Farr, 6-3 1/2, 240 pounds and the nephew of former NFL player Mel Farr, is a body guard for the rap group Run-DMC. He also works as a ‘Conflict Management Facilitator,” touring schools in the Richmond, Calif. area, and giving talks on how to avoid violence and drugs.

Taking a risk: Injuries are always a concern for college teams that have signed recruits playing in an all-star game, but Redell said he didn’t know of any schools that had prohibited a player from participating.

“I think there are coaches who do indicate that they would prefer that their players play in only one game instead of the two the NCAA allows,” Redell said. “They do run a risk.”

Fontana’s Steve Lee, a 6-3, 215-pound linebacker headed for Oklahoma, is the only South player to be injured during practice. He suffered a dislocated shoulder diving after a fumble but is expected to play Saturday.

He is headed for Oklahoma.

Pitch man: Said Johnson, who led El Toro to the Southern Conference championship last season, of the Shrine game: “It is still the game. Some people feel all these other all-star games have taken some of the significance away from this game, but I don’t. These are the top 60 players in the state. It’s the best against the best.”