Champion Franklin Looks Tough Again, but Watch Out for Eagle Rock

Defending City 3-A champion Franklin High School figures to be the cream of Glendale area teams in 1987, but resurgent Eagle Rock may not be far behind.

In the CIF Southern Section, all Glendale-area teams except Flintridge Prep will try to rebound from losing records.

The passing game should be prominent as quarterback Steve Lightbourne returns at Crescenta Valley, Chuck Long at Eagle Rock, Mark Hansen at La Canada and Darren Fitzgerald at Verdugo Hills. All passed for more than 1,000 yards in 1986.

New coaches are at La Canada, Verdugo Hills and Pater Noster: Nic Laraez, Bill Novikoss and Andy Herrera.

Here is a capsule look at the area teams in alphabetical order:

Crescenta Valley--(CIF, Pacific League)--Falcon Coach Jim Beckenhauer has only six returning starters but having Lightbourne and his primary receiver of a year ago, Cotie McMahon, is a big plus.

They make up a feared battery. Lightbourne (6-2, 180), a left-handed senior, passed for 1,200 yards and 11 TDs last year. A good portion of that yardage, 550, went to McMahon, a 5-9, 160-pound senior who caught 27 Lightbourne passes.

Former La Canada Coach Steve Gillette praised Lightbourne’s skills. “I’d drool if I had a kid like him,” he said. “If he gets going, Crescenta Valley could pass traditional Pacific League powers Muir and Pasadena. He’s the best quarterback in the western valley, a left-handed Joe Montana.”

The Falcons finished 3-6-1 in 1986 and the few players back will have to go both ways because of lack of depth. Scott Ackerly (6-2, 205) will be at offensive guard and inside linebacker; James Moran (6-2, 250) will play tackle on offense and defense; Victor Ramirez (5-4, 140) will be at running back and safety; Eric Anderson (6-2, 185) will double as a wide receiver and safety, and Leon Tanduro (5-8, 215) will go both ways at guard.

The squad will feature a host of juniors from last year’s 10-0 sophomore team, a reason Beckenhauer believes his team will be improved.

Crescenta Valley will open against La Canada on Friday at Glendale High School.

Eagle Rock (L.A. City, Northern League)--Call them midgets or munchkins, but don’t underestimate them.

“Our average height and size?” says Coach Dennis Shaw, laughing. “Don’t ask.” Most of the Eagles’ best players are under six feet, but that didn’t stop them from becoming Northern League champs last year for the first time since 1974. Even after a winless preseason.

“These guys sparked the town of Eagle Rock,” Assistant Coach Larry Rader said. “Fan attendance went from spasmodic to packing the bleachers.”

Quarterback Chuck Engel (5-9, 170) was recognized as league MVP and All-City after passing for 1,200 yards and seven TDs as a junior. Senior inside linebacker John Gregory (5-5, 135), cornerback Fernando Ruiz (5-6, 150) and defensive end Billy Fults (5-11, 180) received first-team all-league honors.

There’s more help too. Seniors Carlos Vargas (5-8, 170), center; tackle Russ Shiraishi (5-11, 250) and nose guard Danny Acosta (5-10, 185) and junior nose guard Lex Pike (5-10, 175) consistently outplayed bigger players.

Six-foot, two-inch Mike Nelson has been moved from fullback to tailback to improve the running. Emanuel Washington (6-0, 170), an all-league basketball player, is out for football for the first time as a receiver.

Eagle Rock will open against California High on Sept. 25 at Poly High School.

Flintridge Prep (CIF, Prep League)--Injuries and flu have diminished the third-ranked Eagles squad to 12 players. Luckily, they play eight-man football.

With quarterback Gerrick Aschenbrenner returning, Coach Glenn Baettie said he will throw about three times more than last season. Aschenbrenner threw only 69 times in 1986, completing 31 for 455 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Baettie is projecting senior middle linebacker Gil Fareau and tackle Tom Fakourf for All-CIF honors. Fareau led the team in tackles a year ago and has added 20 pounds. He’s 5-10, 190.

Flintridge Prep will open at La Hoya on Friday.

Franklin (L.A. City, 3-A Freeway League)--Co-coach Armando Gonzales is feeling the pressure: “Everybody’s pointing the finger at Franklin. We must repond.”

Life as the City returning 3-A champ is hectic. But with inside linebacker Jose Aguilar (6-0, 212) wreaking havoc on defense, and with Ronnie Lopez (6-4, 190), the little brother of Ricky Lopez, the Panthers’ 1986 All-City quarterback, connecting with streaking receivers, the possibility of another championship is there.

Gonzales has a solid chance to win his third consecutive championship. He won the 2-A championship in 1983, then took a two-year sabbatical and won the 3-A title with co-Coach Robin Cardona.

Four returning starters join Aguilar, who had 19 tackles in the championship game, on defense. “He’s our quiet leader,” says Gonzales. “He’s humble. All he wants to do is just be part of the team. When I was coaching in the Shrine game, he asked to be a ball boy.” The secondary is solid with Adrian DeNava and Ernie Barraza back.

Lopez might have trouble matching his brother’s 2,071 yards passing and 19 TDs, especially with Eric Yolk, the City’s leading receiver last year, having graduated. Lopez led Franklin to a 22-4 record in summer league, and setting up behind a hard-nosed line of senior--center Armando Gallo (5-10, 240), guard Juan Cardona (6-2, 265) and tackle Alex Carbajal (6-3, 265)--he will have time to find his new corps of receivers. Balancing the attack is junior running back Lamont Lovett, who is talented but inexperienced.

Franklin will open against Marshall on Friday.

Glendale (CIF, Pacific League)--Co-Coaches Tim Butler and Don Shumaker believe their team is more physical and faster then past Glendale teams because of off-season weight training.

The question is whether the strength will improve on last season’s 5-5 record.

All-league linebacker Mark Reeve put on 25 pounds (6-2, 210) while junior offensive tackle John Garrett added 40 (6-4, 235).

Reeve and Garrett are fine players and should pose problems for opponents along with offensive guard/defensive tackle Jose Suncin (5-10, 215) and offensive guard/defensive end Vic Jolas (6-2, 245).

Seniors cornerbacks Tony Polino (6-0, 175) and Hector Guerrero (6-0, 190) make the secondary strong. Guerrero, also a kick and punt returner, ran four kicks back more than 70 yards for touchdowns a year ago.

Many players need experience, namely quarterback Rick Callister. He threw for more than 1,200 yards on the sophomore team last season.

Senior Rod Cassidy (6-5, 210), a strong leaper from the basketball court, got his first taste of the gridiron in summer league and caught many balls as a tight end.

Glendale will open at home against Alhambra today.

Hoover (CIF, Pacific League)--Coach Dennis Hughes will scrap the veer he used in his first season for a wishbone, hoping to better the Tornadoes’ 2-8 record.

The defense, however, is the team strength with all-league players in middle linebacker Steve Nazarian and safety Kyle Bell and five other starters.

Hughes said his players will be in better shape after 7 a.m. and mid-day practices. “I try to mess up their schedule and find out who wants to play,” Hughes said.

Hoover will open against Saugus Friday at College of the Canyons.

La Canada (CIF, Rio Hondo League)--Be prepared, the Boy Scout motto, is what first-time high school Coach Nic Laraez plans to use to land the Spartans in the playoffs.

“We don’t talk to our kids about winning or losing,” says Laraez, who has coached at Occidental, Pasadena Community College and was an assistant at La Canada in the late ‘70s. “We just tell them to make the most of the opportunities.”

The offense is strong with quarterback Mark Hansen, tailback David Paladino, fullback Richard Lee and tight end Greg Thompson returning.

Hansen passed for 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Paladino was the leading rusher with 400 yards.

Paladino and Lee also anchor the defense. La Canada will open Friday against Crescenta Valley at Glendale High School.

Marshall (L.A. City, Northern League)--One might think that every coach is telling his players how good they are and that they have championship potential. But Barrister Coach Ken Gerard says he is honest and such is not the case with his team.

Then what does he tell them?

“I tell them that we have no experience, size or talent and that the only way we are going to beat anyone is to have a strong team attitude and to hustle,” Gerard says,

At 3-6 last year, Gerard predicts a 1-8 finish this year, because he has only one returning starter, senior defensive tackle Zachery Knutson (6-1, 240). Gerard gets excited when talking about Knutson, a three-year starter, calling him a college Division I prospect.

But then he laments: “How can you build around one kid--a linemen?” So he he might convert his best player to a fullback/linebacker to get him in the middle of the field. Another convert being relied on is Darrin Hubert, from a baseball catcher/outfielder to football quarterback.

Marshall will open against defending 3-A City champion Franklin Friday at Wilson High School.

Pater Noster (CIF, Santa Fe League)--A new face and a new pace will debut at Pater Noster.

Andy Herrera inherits a program that hasn’t won a league game in three years. But he says the players tell him, “We’re tired of losing.”

The student body president, Javier Aguilar, leads the Eagles on both sides of the ball. He gained 365 yards as a tailback and coralled 55 runners as an inside linebacker. Other top returners are tailback/safety Rudy Aguilar, wide receiver/safety David Ramaya, two-way tackle Otto Moncon, tailback Havier Vargas and center Carlos Vargas.

The Eagles open Friday at Big Bear.

St. Francis (CIF, Del Rey League)--After a deep sigh, Coach Terry Terrazone says his 2-7-1 record last year was the result of playing against strong teams: seven playoff teams, three league champions and two CIF champs.

The same schedule returns, except Burbank Burroughs (10-2-1) replaces San Gorgonia as the opening foe Friday. Five of the next six games are also on the road. More sighs?

But Terrazone likes something he has coming back: four of five on the offensive line. Seniors Rich Wheeler (6-1, 225) and Roman Rodriquez (6-0, 225) line up at tackle, fellow seniors Paul Beran (6-1, 230) and Tony Snow (5-11, 210) are at guard and tight end, respectively.

Running back Bill Stavropoulos, who gained 190 yards against St. John Bosco in 1986, is healthy after a 1986 injury. The defense probably will determine if St. Francis can improve.

Verdugo Hills (L.A. City, 2-A Northern League)--The last time Bill Novikoss coached a game for Verdugo Hills was against Jordan in 1980 for the City championship.

Now, after a long sabbatical, he’s back with a team that only won only one game last season.

Novikoss acknowledges quarterback Darren Fitzgerald, running back Matt Fryer and wide receiver John Bojanec as a formidable cast at the skill positions, but he says “no matter how good we’re at the skill positions, the bottom line is we need a line for us to win.”

Verdugo Hills will open against Sylmar on Sept. 25.