Dial-a-Play Gives Fans Chance to Offer More Than Just Their 2 Cents

At the tone, please leave your name, number and the play you want Oak Park to run this week.

Oak Park Coach Ron Veres wants to utilize the helpful suggestions he receives from parents by holding a phone-in service for prospective play-callers.

He calls it Dial-a-Play.

It sounds crazy and Veres is too nervous to institute his idea three days before the start of the Southern Section playoffs, but the telephones at Oak Park might be ringing with new plays by the start of next season.

“I’m sure we have several fans who would donate $5 or more just to have their play run in a football game,” he said. “Or just have the opportunity to make an anonymous phone call.”

Oak Park fans will be able to call the school’s football office and suggest a play--along with a promise to donate money. They don’t even have to leave their name.

Veres and his coaches will listen to the messages and select one play to be used during that week’s game. The person’s name would be announced on the public-address system immediately before the play is run.

“I can just hear it now,” Veres said, laughing. “ ‘This play was conceived by Dr. Smith.’ The play goes for minus-2 yards. ‘Better luck next time, Doc.’ ”

Veres and his staff conceived Dial-a-Play two weeks ago and thought it was too ridiculous. Veres stopped laughing when it was pointed out that Dial-a-Play could raise money.

“A lot of parents have coached football at some level while other people have dreamed about putting on headphones and shouting plays from the sidelines,” he said. “Now they may get a chance to do it.

Double loss: Village Christian’s 3-0 loss to Western Christian on Saturday night cost the Crusaders not only their first Alpha League championship, but a berth in the Southern Section Inland Conference playoffs.

Coach Mike Plaisance could not decide which hurt more, the loss to Western Christian or being left out of the playoffs.

Montclair Prep (6-4, 4-1) and Western Christian (6-4, 4-1) shared the league championship and advanced to the playoffs. Village Christian (5-5, 3-2) finished third and was passed over as one of the conference’s four at-large entries in the playoffs.

“I was really, really disappointed,” Plaisance said. “I was very confident we’d get an at-large berth. I told the kids to come to school ready to practice.”

Can’t keep a good man down: Newbury Park junior Mike Esparza ran a scintillating race at Saturday’s Southern Section cross-country championships, yet he failed to qualify for the state meet Nov. 28 in Fresno.

Esparza, who placed third in last year’s 4-A finals, fell after being tripped 300 yards into Saturday’s race. He was 50 yards behind the leaders and in 60th place when he got up.

“I was really worried,” Esparza said. “But I just told myself to work the hills and not give up.”

He moved up to 30th place at the one-mile mark and 15th at two miles before passing 11 runners in the last mile to place fourth. His time of 15 minutes, 34 seconds tied his personal best on the Mt. San Antonio College course.

“I’m more frustrated than disappointed,” Esparza said. “All week I felt like I had a chance to win. I felt like I was ready to run in the low teens on that course.”

Newbury Park Coach Mike Stewart lauded Esparza’s courage.

“I’ve never seen a kid fall in a big race like that and finish that well,” he said. “It wasn’t like he was passing mediocre runners. He passed some of the best runners in the Southern Section.”

One down, two to go: So far, so good for Hart Coach Rick Scott. When Scott attended the playoff-pairing meeting at the Southern Section office in Cerritos on Saturday, he attained the first of three goals that “all coaches have.”

“You want to go to that meeting because it means you made the playoffs,” Scott said. Hart, the Foothill League champion, is 9-1 and ranked No. 1 in the Northwestern Conference entering its first-round playoff game against Redondo Union on Friday at College of the Canyons.

“The No. 2 goal is when you practice on Thanksgiving Day,” Scott said. “That means you made the second round. And third, the players you have on the basketball team miss the first couple games because you’re in the championship.”

Bad break: Reseda is undefeated this season primarily because of opportunistic special teams and a strong defense. In the past two games, Reseda has scored 65 points despite an offense that has only scored four touchdowns.

Reseda’s defensive dominance could wane. The Regents will play their last game of the regular season--and possibly the entire City 2-A playoffs--without one of their top players. Linebacker Shawn Peet is sidelined because of a broken left ankle.

“He’s the kind of guy who’s the keystone to a defense,” Reseda Coach Joel Schaeffer said.

Peet, a three-year varsity letterman, broke his ankle when he tripped down the stairs of his home last week. He practiced, but the ankle swelled and is now in a cast.

Peet had two fumble recoveries, an interception that he returned for a touchdown, three sacks and three best-hit-of-the-game awards this season.

Peet, who also is Reseda’s starting center, will be out until at least the first week of December.

Staff Writers Vince Kowalick, John Ortega and Chris Parker contributed to this notebook.