No Surprise: El Toro and Capistrano Valley Are Favorites Again

For those who thought the rivalry between Capistrano Valley and El Toro high schools ended on the football field, consider this::

--The schools are the favorites to successfully defend their South Coast League basketball co-championship and will be ranked among the county’s top 10 teams.

--The top returning players for each squad are two All-American quarterbacks--Bret Johnson of El Toro and Todd Marinovich of Capistrano Valley.

--The teams won’t waste any time heating up the rivalry, meeting in the featured game in the South Coast League’s tip-off on Jan. 13 in UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

“I don’t know what the carry-over is going to be from the football season,” said Tim Travers, El Toro coach. “But it’s a great way to start the league.”

El Toro is a quick, fast-breaking team triggered by Johnson’s play at point guard. Johnson was an all-county selection as a junior, averaging 17.9 points and 7.1 rebounds.

Capistrano Valley, led by twin towers Jim Waikle (7-feet) and Steve McCaughey (6-10), is a methodical team that relies on its size and outside shooting. The Cougars swept the two-game series against El Toro last season.

Marinovich is a solid forward who averaged 15 points per game, but Waikle and McCaughey continue to be the biggest question marks in the county.

“One game, they look like all-world and another, you hardly notice them,” said Mark Thornton, Capistrano Valley coach. “If the two big people get it together, we could be good.”

Steve Thornton, Dana Hills coach, gives Capistrano Valley a slight edge over El Toro based on the Cougars’ depth.

“Capo Valley’s second team would be competitive in most leagues,” Thornton said. “The only question about that team is at point guard. They’ve been spoiled with great ones like Burt and Nathan Call and Scott McCullough in the past, and I don’t see anyone of that caliber on this year’s team.”

If either team slips, Mission Viejo could follow the lead of its football team and sneak into first place. The Diablos have won 81 games over the past four seasons and have qualified for the Southern Section playoffs in seven of the past 10 seasons.

Here’s a closer look at the South Coast League, with last season’s records in parentheses:

CAPISTRANO VALLEY (18-9, 8-2)

Key personnel: Jim Waikle (7-0, C); Todd Marinovich (6-5, G/F); Randy Stark (6-3, F); Charles Lockard (6-0, G), and Steve McCaughey (6-10, F).

Top newcomers: Scott McCorkle (6-5, F); Chris Kostoff (6-2, G); Andy Bosma (6-5, F/C), and Frank Aguilar (6-4, F).

Outlook: Marinovich, Lockard and Kostoff are excellent shooters who should adapt quickly to the new three-point shot. Waikle and McCaughey are rarely offensive threats, but the big guys do present all kinds of problems for opposing offenses. The Cougars beat Marina three times over the summer and won tournaments at Dana Hills and Trabuco Hills. Newcomers Kostoff and McCorkle, both sophomores, are two players whom college coaches and scouts will watch closely over the next couple of years. Kostoff showed in the Servite summer tournament that he can shoot as well as anyone in the county. Look for both players to break into the starting lineup before the season ends. Capistrano Valley will play Bishop Ireton in Alexandria, Va., and Archbishop Carroll in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21-22.

DANA HILLS (6-16, 4-6)

Key personnel: John Lloyd (6-8, C); Donny Macintyre (6-3, G); Chris Delfs (6-0, G), and Brent Gaut (6-0, G).

Top newcomers: Tyrone Meixsell (6-3, F); Brent Hilliard (6-4, G); Mike Fedden (6-3, F), and Brendhan Quinn (6-3, F/C).

Outlook: The Dolphins were a young team last season with three sophomores in the starting lineup. Predictably, they started slowly, but they won four of their six games in the second round of league play. They defeated Mission Viejo and Irvine and lost to Capistrano Valley in double overtime. Lloyd, a junior, has been a pleasant surprise and has added 20 pounds. “I’ve never had a player that has improved as much as John from one year to the next,” Thornton said. Gaut injured his knee in the Dolphins’ final football game and has been unable to practice. “We are much improved, but we could still end up finishing fourth or fifth in the league,” Thornton said. “This is the toughest league in the county.”

EL TORO (18-9, 8-2)

Key personnel: Bret Johnson (6-1, G); Eric Speaker (6-5, F); Cory Wayland (6-5, C); Khari Johnson (6-5, F); Mike Van Riette (6-2, G), and Chris Soriano (6-2, F).

Top newcomers: Rob Johnson (6-4, F); Brian McNamara (6-0, G), and Don Reznicek (6-0, G).

Outlook: The Chargers are coming off their most successful season with 18 victories and their first league title. Bret Johnson, Speaker and Wayland are returning starters, but Johnson and Wayland won’t join the team until the football season ends. Speaker, who averaged 18.2 points and shot 52% from the floor as a junior, has been playing with a cast on his broken right hand but still managed to score 25 points in a scrimmage against Tustin. Khari Johnson is vastly improved and Bret’s younger brother, Rob, figures to see plenty of playing time as a freshman. Travers, on the prospects of playing Capistrano Valley: “The matchup is difficult because they’re so much bigger than us. I think the only team we’re bigger than in the league is San Clemente.” The Chargers will travel to Hawaii to compete in the Walter Wong Invitational on Dec. 28-30.

IRVINE (13-13, 5-5)

Key personnel: Jerry Petersen (6-6, C) and David Ballantyne (6-3, G/F).

Top newcomers: Raphael Molle (6-5, C/F); Todd Trout (6-3, F); Bryan Allred (6-1, G), and John Molle (6-3, F).

Outlook: Steve Keith, one of the most respected coaches in Southern California, has replaced Al Herring at Irvine. Keith spent 10 seasons at Glendale, where he won Southern Section titles in 1981 and 1985 and his teams made eight appearances in the playoffs. The Vaqueros don’t have a returning starter but Petersen and Ballantyne did play some last season. Irvine doesn’t have much height or experience, and the ball-handling skills of its guards is suspect. “We’ll have to mature and develop during the preseason if we are going to have a chance to compete successfully in the league,” Keith said.

MISSION VIEJO (16-9, 5-5)

Key personnel: Vince Merk (6-1, G); Lance Elmore (6-1, G); Jeff Springfield (6-6, F), and Bruce Mathieson (6-7, C).

Top newcomers: Lou DeGuzman (5-11, G); Tom Tkach (6-6, F); Jacob Forbes (6-1, G), and Eric Cramer (6-3, G/F).

Outlook: Merk, a point guard who averaged 6.9 assists per game as a junior, is the only returning starter. But the Diablos have plenty of size and talent. Coach Bob Minier has three players--Springfield, Mathieson and Tkach--who are 6-6 or taller. Springfield, from the post, is a scoring threat, and Mathieson is improved from last season. “I think we have good scoring balance, strong guards and good shooters,” Minier said. “The question mark is our lack of experience. Merk is the only returning player who started every game last year. We could have a mediocre year or we could wind up doing very well.” The Diablos meet Marina and defending state Division II champion Woodbridge in nonleague play.

SAN CLEMENTE (3-20, 0-10)

Key personnel: Mike Peters (5-11, G) and Mark Broccardo (6-3, C).

Top newcomers: Jason Dunahee (6-4, F); Fred Sveda (5-11, G); Bill Hagedorn (5-11, G); Anthony Discala (6-2, F) and Jon Pardoen (6-4, C).

Outlook: The second-year coach, Dion Kerhoulas, has one of the county’s best point guards, Peters, returning and little else from a team that won only three games last season. Don’t look for the Tritons to improve much on their win total in 1987-88. Peters averaged 9 points and 8.6 assists. He holds the school record for most assists in a season (207) and probably will become the school’s career record-holder this season. “Mike is ultra quick and an excellent ball-handler,” Kerhoulas said. “The only drawback for him is that he is playing on an inexperienced team.” Broccardo, the team’s only physical, inside player, injured his knee in the Tritons’ next-to-last football game and his status is doubtful for the basketball season.