Depth Perception Is Cause for Concern on Moorpark’s Line

Concern over depth in the defensive line already has been expressed by Moorpark College football Coach Jim Bittner.

The Raiders are talented in the trenches but short on numbers. The lineup may well be even thinner after the season opener at home against Harbor College on Saturday.

If the size of Harbor’s offensive line is any indication, Moorpark’s defensive personnel could be in for a long day.

Chris Ferragamo, who led Banning High to 10 City championships in 18 years, makes his debut as Harbor’s coach. His impact on recruiting already has been realized.

Harbor’s offensive line features Jeff Manzo (6-7, 275), Hawaii transfer Josh Taotoi (6-7, 295), Mike Su’a (6-4, 255) and Sam Siufanua (6-5, 270).

The defensive line is nearly as big.

“We’re trying to run a major college program at the junior college level,” Ferragamo said.

With customary enthusiasm he added, “We have 90 players in uniform, all great players, all hand-picked.”

Harbor’s apparent resurgence is not good news for Bittner, who couldn’t be playing such a physical team at a worse time. Moorpark is already banged up.

Safety Bob Siegel injured his right knee in a three-way scrimmage against Valley and Pasadena City last week. He joins Paul Mesa, Gordon Snow, Jeff Hurd and Matt Dalsing, all centers, on the injured list.

Valley came away unscathed from the same scrimmage.

“We have some bumps and bruises but nothing really serious,” Coach Chuck Ferrero said. “We thought it was productive. You go in with a set concept of what you want to do and see and what you want opponents to see.”

Eric Litmanovich, Valley’s all-conference offensive lineman who is nursing a sprained ankle, probably won’t see any action when the Monarchs open their season Saturday night at Ventura College.

Cal Lutheran defensive end Sean Demmon underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his knee. CLU’s team physician, Dr. John Tomec, performed the surgery on the medial collateral ligament that Demmon injured a week earlier during practice.

The 6-0, 220-pound senior will miss the season. He plans to redshirt and will attempt to rehabilitate the knee for next season.

George McKenzie, a 6-2, 250-pound defensive tackle who transferred to CLU from Moorpark College, will miss Saturday’s game at San Francisco State because he lacks credit hours.

McKenzie, a projected starter, fell one credit hour short of the 24 required by the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics because he failed to complete a class at Moorpark.

David Bean, a 6-4, 255-pound sophomore from Calabasas, replaces McKenzie as the probable starter at defensive tackle. McKenzie may be reinstated if he completes the class.

Bill Hawk, a freshman placekicker at CLU, will start in place of returning starter Kurt Lohse. Lohse twisted his knee and will miss two or three games. Hawk may have been the starter, anyway. “He’s been hitting from 50 yards out,” said Jim Buchheim, CLU sports information director.

Bob Burt, Cal State Northridge football coach, is fully aware of the competition his team will be up against in the season opener Saturday night at Boise State.

Last week, Boise State, a Division I-AA school, opened its season by trouncing Delaware State, 34-14.

Northridge will be playing before a crowd of about 20,000 and on an artificial surface--blue Astroturf--against a team with almost twice as many scholarship players.

“I just don’t want our guys to lose their focus, their purpose or their concentration and let something like a stadium or crowd affect them,” Burt said. “It’s hard to win on the road no matter where you play.”

Rob Huffman, a junior who was a JC All-American last season at Glendale, will start at quarterback for the Matadors. Senior Richard Brown will start at tailback, but freshmen Albert Fann and sophomore Lance Harper also will play.

Brown fell behind Fann on CSUN’s depth chart a week ago after being slowed by an ankle injury, but Burt said Wednesday, “Richard Brown has earned the right to carry the ball first.”

Burt said the Boise game is important, but not as important as the 1986 opener at Sonoma State.

“Last year, we were all new and we didn’t have clue one about what we were all about,” Burt said. “A lot of people internally--coaches and players--were asking questions. ‘What are we like? What do we have? How are we going to be?’ ”

With CSUN a favorite to win the Western Football Conference this season, a lot of people--externally--are asking the same questions again this year.

Juggling act: Coach Walt Ker still is juggling various lineups as his CSUN women’s volleyball team travels to the UC Davis tournament this weekend.

“I’m in no hurry to find the lineup that I think will be playing for us at the end of the season,” Ker said. “The next three weeks are really going to be experimental time and development time.”

Ker is especially pleased with the play of All-American setter Angela Brinton and the middle blocking trio of Kathleen Dixon, Marianne Dixon and Alissa Evans.

“Angela Brinton is already playing 25% to 50% better then she was playing at the end of last year,” Ker said. “She’s running the offense with a real high level of sophistication.

“All of the middle blockers, who are all very green to the position, have been making some very nice strides. It’s one of the areas we have the most room for improvement.”

Chris Tedeschi had been expected to play middle blocker for CSUN this season, but she is ineligible for the second time in two years. She played on the Lady Matadors’ 1983 national championship team as a freshman.

The Davis tournament field includes San Jose State, the 15th-ranked Division I team in the nation. The Lady Matadors (1-1) will have senior Anna Garcia back in the lineup for the tournament.

Garcia missed the Lady Matadors’ first two matches because she failed to complete a sociology class last spring. She turned in the final assignment for the class Tuesday.

Cross-country: Chris Pressman is the only returning runner on Moorpark College’s 14-member cross-country squad.

The Raiders will play host to 15 teams in the 19th annual Moorpark Invitational meet Friday.

Basketball: J. T. Thompson, formerly of Manual Arts High, has enrolled at Master’s College. The 5-10 guard transferred from Grossmont College in San Diego.

Mark Felix, former assistant basketball coach at Cal State Northridge and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, has accepted a similar position at New Mexico State.