31 Orange County Football Teams Prepare for Their Second Seasons, Which Begin Friday : CONFERENCE CALLS : BIG FIVE CONFERENCE : County Teams’ Grip Isn’t as Firm

Elimination was the name of the game for the five Orange County teams that qualified for the Big Five Conference football playoffs last season.

Three Sunset League entries--Marina, Westminster and defending champion Edison--and two entries from the Angelus League--Servite and Mater Dei--all lost in the first round of the 16-team conference playoffs.

The five losses brought to an end a successful run by county teams in the Big Five Conference playoffs during the 1980s. Before last season, county schools had won four of the six conference titles since 1980. In 1985, Marina, Westminster and Edison all advanced to the conference semifinals.

This year, the county will be represented by Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Westminster of the Sunset League and Mater Dei and Servite of the Angelus League. Most coaches are predicting better results this year in the first round, but the chances of a county team advancing beyond the quarterfinals are unlikely.

“I think Mater Dei will beat Long Beach Poly, Servite will beat Huntington Beach and I hope we’ll beat Rubidoux,” said Mike Milner, Fountain Valley coach. “After that, it’s going to be tough. Servite is probably the best bet to go the farthest.”

Servite (7-2-1) is the county’s strongest team in the conference and plays Huntington Beach (6-4) in the first round. Servite defeated Sunset League members Marina (6-0), Edison (34-0) and Fountain Valley (17-10) in nonleague games early this season.

Huntington Beach has a big, physical offensive line and the county’s second-leading rusher in Jason McGehee, who has gained 1,308 yards so far, but the Oilers’ passing game is suspect. The Oilers can match up physically with Servite, but it’s doubtful they will be able to take advantage of a weak Friar secondary.

Servite, riding a three-game winning streak, should beat Huntington Beach and meet defending champion Crespi and its highly publicized tailback, Russell White, in the second round. The game will be a tossup.

“Servite got a great draw and should do well in the playoffs,” said Chuck Gallo, Mater Dei coach. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they made it to the semifinals.”

Mater Dei (7-3) is a good bet to win its first-round game against Long Beach Poly, though the Monarchs’ fastest player, tailback Robert Clifford, is listed as questionable. Clifford, quarterback Mark Ramstack and receivers Keith Labus and Kevin Rembert didn’t practice last week before the Servite game because of injuries.

“If we’re healthy, we can play with anybody,” Gallo said. “Nagging injuries kept us from reaching our goal of winning the league championship, and it might hurt us in the playoffs.”

Fountain Valley (6-4) opened the season with four consecutive losses but rebounded to win the Sunset League title. The Barons play Rubidoux, an at-large entry, in the first round. A victory would set up a likely meeting with second-seeded Bishop Amat in the next round.

Bishop Amat has won 30 consecutive regular-season games over the past three years, but the Lancers have had their problems in the playoffs. Two years ago, the Lancers were 10-0 and seeded No. 1 but lost to Marina, 33-12, in the quarterfinals.

Last year, Bishop Amat was again seeded No. 1 with a 10-0 record but lost to Eisenhower, 14-7, in the quarterfinals.

Will history repeat a third time?

“Bishop Amat is guaranteed of making the semifinals,” Gallo said. “I know about their playoff jinx, but I can’t see them losing to Fountain Valley.”

Westminster (6-4) never seems to get a break in the draw for the playoffs.

Two years ago, Westminster drew second-seeded Riverside Poly but upset the Bears, 14-2, in the first round. Last year, the Lions played top-seeded Bishop Amat in the first round and lost, 35-7. This year, the Lions meet third-seeded Loyola in the opening round, and the prospects of a victory are unlikely.

“Maybe they (the playoff committee) think we’re just real weak,” said Stan Clark, the Lions’ co-coach. “I would have thought someone like Lakewood (3-6) or Riverside Poly (4-5-1) would go against a 10-0 team.”

If the games follow form, top-seeded Fontana will play fourth-seeded Crespi in one semifinal game and second-seeded Bishop Amat will play third-seeded Loyola in the other semifinal game on Dec. 4.

But the Big Five Conference playoffs rarely follow form. Edison was the last top-seeded team to advance to the championship game in 1980, when the Chargers beat Redlands, 55-0, for the title.

The top-seeded team has yet to play the No. 2-seeded team in the title game since the conference alignment was adopted in 1977. It has been 12 years since top-seeded St. Paul lost to second-seeded Loyola, 14-13, in the 4-A division title game.