COLLEGE FOOTBALL : South Coast Conference Football Preview : Fullerton, Golden West Still Looking Up

The standard rule for those who had to compete with Fullerton College’s football team has been--for the most part--to be content with second place.

Fullerton, under Coach Hal Sherbeck, tends to dominate its conference. Sherbeck’s teams have won 14 conference championships and 3 national championships in his 26 years as coach.

But last season, Cerritos won the South Coast Conference, and Golden West gathered much more interest than Fullerton. Golden West opened with seven consecutive victories and Fullerton struggled, losing three of its first four games, and four of its first seven. Fullerton had to win its last three games to finish 6-4.

This season, Cerritos is picked to win the conference again, with Golden West and Fullerton right behind.

Cerritos is led by a solid defense, which returns seven starters, and Andre Wooten, who rushed for 1,184 yards last season.

“Cerritos has to be the favorite,” said Ray Shackleford, Golden West coach. “Wooten is an excellent back and can do so many things well. But we should be there along with Fullerton. You never want to bet too much against a Sherbeck-coached team.”

FULLERTON

6-4, 5-2 (Tied for Second)

The tailback position will get the most attention at Fullerton this season for a couple of reasons. Andrew Greer returns after gaining 917 yards as a freshman. He will be joined by Ray Pallares, making his college debut.

Pallares set a state high school career rushing record at Valencia in 1985 with 5,398 yards and accepted a scholarship to Cal State Long Beach, only to become just another redshirt freshman. Pallares decided last spring to attend Fullerton. He will back up the faster Greer, but he is expected to play often.

Like many teams this time of year, Fullerton is still looking for a quarterback. The Hornets have been using four--Frank Ricco, Kerry Severson, Victor Williams and Paul Rodriguez--in practice, and Sherbeck said he won’t make his announcement until tonight, when Fullerton opens the season against Rancho Santiago at 7:30 in Santa Ana Stadium.

“It was like I told them (the quarterbacks) in practice,” Sherbeck said. “I don’t want a quarterback controversy here. Everybody wants to talk about it, but I’m going to wait till the game. They are still very close for the job even after the scrimmage.”

Fullerton returns five sophomores on the offensive line. Brian Foot and Todd Gold are the guards, Charles Thomas and Bob Sokol the tackles, and Kirk Steenburgen the center.

Fullerton returns three starters on defense--end Scott Fairfield, back Steve Skrabak and tackle Art Temple.

Scott Britt will play defensive end, with Rob Page and Kendrick Young at inside linebacker. David Martinson and Reggie Meredith join Skrabak in the secondary.

GOLDEN WEST

8-3, 5-2 (Tied for Second)

Coach Ray Shackleford isn’t making any effort to downplay his team’s talent or potential.

“I have much more optimism with this team than I did with last year’s team (which was 8-3, finished second in conference and won a berth in the Southern California Bowl),” Shackleford said. “But that feeling comes only from their potential. I’m not sure how well we’ll do.”

The main reason for Shackleford’s outlook is the additional team speed, mostly in the backfield. Tony Garrett, a redshirt last season, will start at tailback. Blaise Bryant, who was a Times all-county selection at Cypress High School, and Westminster High’s Corey Dickson, who injured his ankle and played two games as a senior, are the two fastest backs Golden West has had.

Kurt Zuba (Ocean View) and John Fischbeck (Foothill) can also play tailback, and Brian Booker is the starting fullback.

Sophomore Bill Marler is the starting quarterback, but is being pressed by Joe Napoli. John Carlson will play tight end, and Mike Crowley and Andy Shourds will be the wide receivers.

Golden West continues to have some of the county’s biggest offensive linemen. This season’s group is led by retuning all-conference center Vince Bonham, who weighs 290. Randy Goens (260) and Kevin Fairman (270) will be the guards, and Rob Foley (295) and Mike Hopper (255) the tackles. Glenn Parker (290), a part-time starter last season recovering from a knee injury, is expected to return at tackle by the third or fourth week of the season.

Defense, the strong point of last season’s team, will be solid as the Rustlers return nine players with game experience.

All-conference linebacker Tent Brummett (66 tackles) returns as one of four sophomores at linebacker, along with Rob Lendino, Odell Harrington and Brad Weaver.

There are also four sophomores in the secondary: Dan Ramsey (three interceptions), Jeff Darling, Ralph Morrison and Mike Babb.

The line is the only position where lacks experience. Herman Baine (57 tackles and 4 sacks last season) is back, but freshmen Davan Wright and Larry Stuppy will also have to perform well.

Conference Notes

As good as Andre Wooten is, Cerritos is expected to be led by its defense, which returns seven starters, including all-conference lineman Dionicio Morovick and safety Mark Birch. . . . El Camino (3-4, 4-6) returns eight starters, including quarterback Dan Speltz, and could contend. . . . Long Beach City (3-4, 6-4) is expected to rely mostly on its defense, which returns four all-conference players: Brian Williams (line), Lafayette Harper (linebacker), William Amelong (end) and Bruce Young (cornerback). Long Beach City, which started 4-0 last season before losing to Golden West, will have to find more offense to contend. . . . Dennis Gossard (Pasadena City) and Bill Fisk (Mount San Antonio) are the conference’s new coaches. Pasadena (4-3, 5-5) could contend, as the Lancers return 13 starters (7 on offense), including first-team all-conference tight end Mike Misch. . . . Mount San Antonio (1-6, 3-6-1) returns five starters each on offense and defense, but much of the team’s success will depend on quarterback Rick Carter. . . . Compton (1-6, 1-9) returns second-team all-conference wide receiver Richard Berry, but defense will be the problem as the Tartars return only one starter, linebacker Brian Tubbs.