Tonight’s High School Football Games : Who’s No. 1? Fountain Valley, Mater Dei Will Settle It on Field

Mike Milner, Fountain Valley High School’s no-nonsense football coach, has been busy preparing his team for its season opener at 7:30 tonight against Mater Dei at Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium. But he did find time to take exception to The Times’ preseason poll that has his Barons ranked No. 1 and Mater Dei No. 2.

“We think you’ve got the wrong team at No. 1,” Milner said. “We think Mater Dei is the best team in the county. They’re big and physical and everyone is aware they’ve got the biggest line in the county.”

Milner, however, downplayed one important factor when he cast his ballot for the county’s top team. Fountain Valley has the county’s best quarterback, David Henigan, and Mater Dei will start junior Danny O’Neil, who has never taken a snap in a varsity game.

Henigan starts his third varsity season with some impressive credentials. For openers, he threw only seven interceptions in 276 pass attempts as a junior and didn’t throw an interception in four postseason playoff games in which the Barons advanced to the Big Five Conference championship game.

“I wouldn’t trade David for any quarterback in the county or any quarterback we’ve ever had at Fountain Valley,” Milner said.

That’s saying a lot. Seven former Fountain Valley quarterbacks have earned four-year college scholarships and Matt Stevens was named a prep All-American in 1981.

Fountain Valley has opened the past two seasons by losing to Mater Dei, including an embarrassing 34-6 rout in 1987. Milner credited Mater Dei’s coaching staff for surprising his team last season.

“They did some things we weren’t prepared for and made us look bad,” he said. “They’re a difficult team to prepare for because (Coach) Chuck Gallo changes so much from year to year.”

Gallo watched Fountain Valley defeat Long Beach Poly in the El Camino College summer passing league and said he was impressed with the Barons’ ability to move the ball through the air.

“The past two years, they’ve been one dimensional and a little conservative with their passing game,” Gallo said. “I expect them to show more offense than they have in the past. David Henigan is a lot more mobile than in the past, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some option plays with him.”

Gallo said his defense, led by nose guard Lua Pola and tackle Jason Uhl, has dominated play in early practices and scrimmages despite all the publicity his offensive line has received in the preseason. The Monarchs’ veteran line averages 260 pounds.

O’Neil, a highly publicized transfer from Corona del Mar, has impressed Gallo with his ability to make quick decisions and his scrambling. Gallo said the junior’s playing style reminds him of a young Roger Staubach.

“When Danny first arrived, his mechanics weren’t very good,” Gallo said. “But it was obvious he was an intelligent athlete with a great future.”

Both coaches admitted they don’t know what to expect tonight. If the game is close, the outcome could be decided by two very good kickers--Derek Mahoney of Fountain Valley or Ken Ammann of Mater Dei.

In other featured games (all 7:30 p.m.):

Fullerton vs. Anaheim in Glover Stadium: A matchup between two of the county’s top running backs: Johnny Mountain of Anaheim and Steve DePhillips of Fullerton. Mountain rushed for 1,226 yards as a junior at Foothill before transferring to Anaheim last spring. DePhillips had 891 yards and averaged 8.3 yards per carry.

Kennedy vs. Los Alamitos in Western High’s Handel Stadium: Mitch Olson, who earned seven varsity letters and holds single-season and career rushing records at Los Alamitos, begins his second season as coach at Kennedy where the Fighting Irish are expected to be vastly improved. Todd Gragnano, the county’s top junior quarterback, passed for 1,136 yards in 10 regular-season games as a sophomore.

Newport Harbor vs. Santa Ana in Santa Ana Stadium: Newport Harbor opened the 1987 season with a stunning 15-14 victory over Santa Ana with a last-minute, two-point conversion pass following Julius Fletcher’s fumble. Fletcher and a talented cast of running backs return for Santa Ana and Dan Tuioti, younger brother of last year’s starting quarterback, George Tuioti, is starting at quarterback.

Other Games: Corona vs. Canyon at El Modena High School; Cypress vs. Ocean View at Huntington Beach High School; University at Irvine, and Westminster at Valencia.

‘We think you’ve got the wrong team at No. 1. We think Mater Dei is the best team in the county. They’re big and physical and everyone is aware they’ve got the biggest line in the county.’

--MIKE MILNER