Head and Shoulder Pads Above the Rest : T-Shirts Say It All as El Toro Again Heads Top 10 List
Funny how in the trendy world of football, something as simple as a T-shirt has a way of getting a message across.
Some of the players at El Toro High School are wearing shirts that detail the success of the Chargers’ football program under Coach Bob Johnson. El Toro has won six league championships, a Central Conference title and a Southern Conference title in seven years.
Others are wearing T-shirts that chronicle the Chargers’ undefeated 1986 season in which they ranked No. 1 in Orange County and in the state. The message is pretty clear at El Toro: The football team is a winner.
Granted, El Toro featured five of the top players in the county last year, and only quarterback Bret Johnson returns. But the returning seniors have lost only once in 34 games from the freshman to varsity level.
Bret Johnson’s leadership, five returning defensive starters and the momentum of a 14-game winning streak is enough to rate El Toro as the preseason No. 1-ranked team in the county by The Times.
The new season presents two new challenges for the Chargers. First, El Toro will vie for its fourth straight South Coast League title.
Second, El Toro will try to become only the third county school since 1979 to repeat as conference champions. Edison won consecutive Big Five Conference titles in 1979-80, Servite won Big Five titles in 1982-83 and El Modena won Southern Conference titles in 1983-84.
South Coast League rival Capistrano Valley and record-setting quarterback Todd Marinovich figure to challenge El Toro. The Cougars are ranked second and another South Coast League member, Mission Viejo, is among the other teams to watch.
Here’s a closer look at the county’s best football teams:
1. EL TORO
“We’re going to be good,” Bob Johnson said. “The trigger man (Bret) is back, and we have four big-time players. The kicking game is solid, and the defense is ahead of last year. We have better team speed than last year and more experience defensively.”
Johnson’s son, Bret, is one of four major-college prospects on the Chargers. He passed for 2,458 yards, 27 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions as a junior. Wide receiver Chris McCarthy, who caught 31 passes for 509 yards last year, will be Johnson’s favorite target.
Defensive tackle Cory Wayland could make many forget Scott Spalding, now at UCLA. Adam Brass, who intercepted six passes last year, starts his third season in the secondary. Another defensive tackle, Adam DeMalignon, has appeared on some college recruiting lists.
The talent is evident, but Johnson said the support players will dictate whether the Chargers repeat.
“The unsung heroes are going to have to come through,” he said. “We lost (wide receiver Scott) Miller and Spalding for a couple of games last year and others came through. Whether we win or not will depend on the unsung heroes.”
2. CAPISTRANO VALLEY
Todd Marinovich’s assault on the passing record books has earned plenty of headlines, but he would probably trade the marks for a league title, something that has eluded him in three seasons.
Orange County’s career passing leader will likely become the state and national record-holder before the season ends.
But the key to Capistrano Valley’s season may lie in the offensive line, where the team’s only returning starter, guard Wes Roberts, was lost for the season after his leg was broken in a motorcycle accident.
If the line is sound, running back Matt Spence and flanker Tommy Adams should have banner seasons. Tight end Randy Stark, whose older brother, Scott, set some passing records of his own two years ago at Capistrano Valley, will be one of the top players at his position in the county.
3. SERVITE
When we last left Leo Hand, Servite’s enigmatic coach, he refused to talk to reporters after the Friars’ 23-9 loss to Fontana in the opening round of the Big Five Conference playoffs.
Later, Hand opened up to recruiters, telling them that his star wide receiver, Nick-John Haiduc, was too small and too slow to play big-time college football. Haiduc later went on to finish second in the 800 meters in the state track meet.
There won’t be any bad-mouthing the Friars this year. Hand has two of the county’s best linebackers--Mike Petko and Garrett Greedy--along with the county’s best junior running back, Derek Brown. Brown gained 1,134 yards last season.
Quarterback Jason Frank (formerly Jason Messersmith) can reportedly throw a football from one end zone to another, but he also showed a flair for the erratic last year with 12 interceptions.
4. SANTA ANA
Academic problems will sideline two of the Saints’ starters--quarterback Richard Fanti and free safety Bobby Joyce--for at least six weeks.
With Fanti in the lineup, the Saints would be the top-ranked team in the county. Fanti passed for a little more than 1,000 yards last season and is considered one of the top option quarterbacks in the county.
Sophomore Danny Tuoiti will start at quarterback, meaning he’ll be handing off a lot to Robert Lee, a three-year starting tailback. Lee, who ballooned to 250 pounds last year, has slimmed to 190 and could emerge as the best back in the county.
The Saints have 11 returning starters, including all-county guard Jose Avalos and tight end Albert Ruiz on the offensive line. Running back Garner Hicks and tight end Oscar Wilson will be among the best sophomores in the county.
5. SUNNY HILLS
Start with an offensive line that includes all-county candidates Steve Shin (center) and Marc Jewell (guard), mix in a hard-running fullback in Bryan Edmunds and add strong-armed quarterback David Chisum, and one has the ingredients for a championship team.
The Lancers have advanced to the playoffs in five of seven years under Coach Tim Devaney, winning the Central Conference title in 1983 and reaching the semifinals three times. Devaney isn’t hiding the fact that this year’s team is his best in eight years.
The defense is a question mark with only four returning starters, but the Lancers shouldn’t get much of a test in nonleague competition, playing at home against all five nonleague opponents who were a combined 18-33 last season.
6. TUSTIN
It didn’t take long for Coach Marijon Ancich to turn around the Tillers. Tustin won its first league title in 31 years last fall, finishing Ancich’s rebuilding project that was three years in the making.
The Tillers, with 11 returning starters, will be out to show they can play with anyone when they play host to No. 1-ranked El Toro on Saturday night in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.
Quarterback George Menges and tailback Lani Machado start their third season. Linebackers Jim Russell and Jeff Dart head a defensive unit that allowed an average of only 10.2 points a games last season.
7. VALENCIA
Quick quiz: Which are the only schools in the county to win four straight league titles in the past four years? Answer: Valencia in the Orange League and La Habra in the Freeway League.
Valencia is a good bet to win another title with 11 returning starters and another nifty running back. Junior Keef Leasure is the heir apparent to state rushing leader Ray Pallares and Dorian Estes, who each gained more than 1,000 yards on the Tigers’ championship teams.
The key to Coach Mike Marrujo’s success has been his offensive lines and this year should be no different with center Fred Jenkins and tackle Mark Walejko returning. Defensively, second-team all-county defensive back Mike Edwards and Nacho Garcia combined for 11 interceptions.
8. ESPERANZA
Mention Esperanza to any coach in the county, and the response will likely be, “Huge linemen.” This season, the Aztecs have an offensive line that averages 241 pounds.
Jason Moler and Joey Sugar will alternate at quarterback. Bill Cunerty, Saddleback College assistant coach, said they were two of the best prospects who attended his West Coast Passing School last summer.
Safety Doug Saunders is one of the top defensive backs in the county, and linebackers Kevin Webb and Rick Pressel return. The Aztecs also have beefed up their nonleague schedule, adding Big Five Conference powers Bishop Amat and Westminster.
9. FOUNTAIN VALLEY
On paper, there was very little encouraging about Fountain Valley’s 2-8 season last year, but, said Coach Mike Milner, “We were never physically beaten by anybody.”
Now, it’s pay-back time. The Barons have 16 returning starters, including seven running backs that Milner says are “the best group, collectively, physically and athletically, that we’ve ever had here.”
Junior quarterback David Henigan and receivers Mike Osborne and Mike Maga should launch the Barons’ Air Force again after two consecutive seasons in which they’ve failed to reach the playoffs.
10. EDISON
Edison appears to be a year away, but it’s difficult to omit the Chargers from any top 10 after they’ve compiled a 148-44-8 record since the school opened in 1969.
Kaleaph Carter starts his third year at running back and will double at linebacker. Coach Dave White predicts this will be a “fun year” for Carter, which could spell misery for opponents.
“I told Kaleaph to relax, that he’s already got a scholarship,” White said. “There have been so many expectations and so much publicity about him, it’s time for him to have some fun.”
Returning strong safety Mike Markovsky and running back Gus Miranda are quality players, but White predicts that Carter will be his only scholarship player this year. The current juniors had a combined record of 19-1 as freshmen and sophomores.
Others to Watch: Bolsa Grande, La Habra, Mater Dei, Mission Viejo, Saddleback, Troy and Woodbridge.