High Schools : Richards Found His Quarterback in the Secondary

Bob Richards has taken the first step toward replacing his backfield but he may have trouble getting Thousand Oaks senior Anthony Gonzales to share his enthusiasm.

Richards coached Thousand Oaks to the Southern Section’s Coastal Conference championship last season with an all-senior backfield. Lost to graduation were running backs Marc Monestime and Mike Moore and quarterback Steve Sisco.

As many as seven players are competing for the two running back slots but Richards has decided that Gonzales, an All-Marmonte League defensive back last fall, will switch to offense and play quarterback. Gonzales agreed to the move but already misses the secondary.

“Defense comes more naturally to me and I like the hitting,” he said, “Playing quarterback isn’t as easy as people think, The reads are hard and there’s a lot that you have to learn.”

Gonzales (5 feet, 11 inches, 165 pounds) played quarterback as a freshman and sophomore but was a full-time defensive player last year. He has run the offense during 7-on-7 passing-league games this summer, but Richards puts little significance on summer play. Unlike some teams that run plays designed especially for passing-league games, the Lancers run their regular power I offense with same pass routes used in mid-season.

“It could be deceiving to watch Anthony play this summer,” he said. “We play teams where backs are the leading receivers. They run little dinks about one yard deep to the backs that would never work in a real game. We’re doing play-action in 7-on-7 and there are no linebackers to fool.”

Richards likens Gonzales to Sisco, who was overshadowed by Monestime, the Ventura County career rushing leader with 4,024 yards. Sisco passed for 762 yards and rushed for 507.

“Steve had great flair and could make things happen and Anthony’s the same way,” he said. “Both are good at improvising and are very competitive. Anthony may not have good stats in the summer but they’ll be much better in the fall.”

Add Gonzales: Jim Hansen, the Thousand Oaks baseball coach, had penciled Gonzales into next year’s starting rotation. Gonzales, a hard-throwing, righthanded pitcher, saw limited action behind starters Dan Chergey and John Bushart, who combined to pitch more than 100 innings.

But Gonzales has stopped playing baseball, forgoing the American Legion season to concentrate on football. He played on the junior varsity basketball team last season and will play again next winter.

“It was too much playing three sports,” he said. “Next spring I want to concentrate on football. My goal is to play football in college.”

Shrine game: The South team, coached by Richards and Dick Bruich of Fontana, opened practice this week at Azusa Pacific for Saturday’s 37th Shrine all-star football game at the Rose Bowl.

Crespi running back J.J. Lasley and Thousand Oaks linebacker Mack Humphrey have been added to the 32-member South team, which includes six other Valley-area players: Royal defensive lineman Eric Anhalt, Crespi lineman Kyle Cummings, Hart offensive tackle Brian Jacobs, Granada Hills wide receiver, Kyle Jan, Thousand Oaks running back Marc Monestime and Camarillo wide receiver Gill Valencia.

Running home: Roy Gilmore, former Westlake basketball coach, has returned to the one school for which he would accept a postion as a walk-on coach: Ventura High, his alma mater. Gilmore replaces Chris Taylor, who resigned after a 21-6 season to take an administrative position at the school.

Gilmore, 46, had coached at Westlake for four years, leading the Warriors to the Southern Section championship in 1987. Gilmore left after that season, either resigning or getting fired, depending on the source. Gilmore said he was fired; Athletic Director Bob Fisher claimed he resigned.

Regardless, Gilmore said he enjoyed his season away from coaching but is eager to return.

“I got to go skiing for the first time with my family and enjoyed myself. I didn’t spend much time out of the gym, though. I saw a lot of games.

“I’m glad to be back. I don’t want to teach and not coach. Coaching is the No.1 priority, and coaching at Ventura is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Two for the road: El Camino Real guard Brent Lofton and Faith Baptist center Jason Henderson will participate in the Bill Cronauer Basketball Camp in Rensslauer, Ind., starting today. The Cronauer camp selects players by invitation and is generally regarded as one of the best camps in the nation.

El Camino Real assistant Jeff Davis said he was pleased by the selection of Lofton, a 6-5 All-City Section player, especially because Lofton was not invited to participate in other well-established summer camps.

Guards Adonis Jordan of Cleveland and Mitchell Butler of Oakwood, The Times’ Valley Player of the Year last season, just returned from the Nike Basketball Camp in Princeton, N.J., Other Los Angeles players at the Cronauer camp include forward Zan Mason and point guard Sam Crawford of Westchester, the LA. Games champion.

Staff writer Steve Elling contributed to this notebook.