New-Found Speed Might Lift Kennedy

Bob Francola’s jaw dropped like somebody who had found an extra $100 at the automatic teller. The Kennedy coach looked incredulously at his stopwatch. He tapped lightly against the glass to see if it was in working order, played with its buttons, reset it and tried all over again.

Yet no matter how often he timed his two young tailbacks, he kept getting eye-popping readings.

Four point what?

“A couple of weeks ago, I was really concerned about team speed,” Francola said. “Not anymore. We have some kids who can haul. I mean, flat-out speed burners.”

His frequent fliers will include Antiwaun Carter and Channing Ragsdale, underclassmen with overdrive speed. This could be the ultimate quick fix.

Carter, a 5-foot, 9-inch, 163-pound sophomore, has been so surprising that Francola said a starting berth at tailback is almost a certainty. Francola is so enamored of the sophomore’s speed that he unabashedly predicted a City Section sprint title before Carter graduates.

Carter would own the position outright, but then Ragsdale (5-7, 150) popped up. Ragsdale played for the junior varsity last season at Western Hills High in Fort Worth, Tex.

Last week, during routine 40-yard sprints, Francola timed both Carter and and Ragsdale in 4.5 seconds.

“I timed them the morning of the last day of conditioning,” Francola said. “Their legs were dead, like being in cement. Those times are real impressive.”

The two have filled Francola’s need for speed--and just in time. The Golden Cougars, seeking to rebuild from a disastrous 1-9-1 season, are currently running football’s version of a fast-break offense. Kennedy will attempt to run a play every 15 seconds to keep defenses from getting set.

Last year, San Fernando was operating its own revamped offensive scheme, trying to keep defenses guessing by dumping its storied wishbone and moving to an offense that made better use of quarterback Joe Mauldin’s athletic abilities. This season, junior Mike Wynn steps in and picks up where Mauldin left off.

Wynn already has his believers.

“I think the key to San Fernando is whether Wynn has a transition year,” Francola said. “Mauldin had a great senior year, but (when he was) a junior they really struggled. If Wynn picks everything up right away, they have to be the favorite.”

One potential stumbling block for San Fernando is its nonleague schedule, which includes games against Banning at Harbor College on Friday and against Crespi on Sept. 24.

San Fernando and Wynn, however, have one thing in their favor--a full season of operating the new offense.

“Last year we were still trying to teach the kids some new things,” San Fernando Coach Tom Hernandez said. “This year, Mike and lots of the others have already experienced it.”

Experience? San Fernando has 30 lettermen, including 14 starters, back from a team that finished 7-2-1. Cal-Hi Sports rates the Tigers 18th in the state, and adds this warning: “You have to go all the way back to the mid-70s and the days of Charles White to find a San Fernando team with more potential.”

Graduation was not as kind to Granada Hills, where five skill-position players are gone, two to Division I schools.

However, as the defending City Section 4-A Division champion, even trace amounts of talent at Granada Hills cannot be dismissed.

The Highlanders (9-3 last year) have some new faces, but the defense should be solid behind the linebacking corps of David Kim, Sebastian Glaze and Randy Spitzer, all returning starters.

If Granada Hills continues to progress, as it did in summer 7-on-7 passing competition, then the playoffs--or even a league title--are not out of reach. In Granada Hills’ aerial attack, much of the attention will focus on 5-11 junior quarterback Chris Gadomski, who inherits an inexperienced but talented receiving corps.

Sophomore fullback Brett Washington (5-11, 215) has been one of the team’s most impressive backs in early drills.

Chatsworth (7-4 in ‘87) steps up to the 4-A Division, but this isn’t the ideal year to do it. The Chancellors are inexperienced, and if the team makes a move, it will probably be behind fullback Jeffrey Jones (6-1, 220) and an offensive line Coach Myron Gibford calls his “best in years.”

CITY LEAGUE 1 Predicted Finish

1. San Fernando (9-1)

2. Granada Hills (7-3)

3. Kennedy (5-5)

4. Chatsworth (2-7)

Predicted records in parentheses.