Valencia High’s Defensive Backfield Gets Better Than Passing Grades

Valencia High School’s football team, traditionally one of the strongest in the county, is strong again this season.

The Tigers, 5-0-1 overall and 1-0 in the Orange League, are the sixth-ranked team in the Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. poll.

One reason? The Tiger secondary.

“Oh, they’re real strong,” Brea-Olinda Coach Jon Looney said of the defensive backfield. Brea lost to Valencia, 41-7, in the league opener last Friday.

On the game’s first play, Valencia cornerback Kevin Thomas intercepted a pass by Brea-Olinda’s Chad Marlow and returned it 40 yards to set up a Tiger touchdown.

And the reputation of the secondary isn’t lost on other Orange League coaches.

Magnolia doesn’t play Valencia until Nov. 4, but Coach Tony DiThomas says he doesn’t want to think about the Tigers--especially their defensive backfield--just yet.

“If I spend too much time worrying about them, I’ll drive myself crazy,” he said.

Anaheim Coach Ted Mullen’s team will play Valencia Friday. What does he think about the Valencia defensive backs?

“I hope they all break their legs before the game,” he said, joking. “Or that their bus goes over a cliff.”

Who are these guys who are intimidating opponents?

They are safeties Guy Shepard and Randy Roskelly and cornerbacks Kevin Thomas and Scott Wilson. Together, they make up the final stopping point of the Valencia defense.

Shepard, who also plays wide receiver, is a 3-year starter. Shepard led the team with eight interceptions as a junior last year. He leads the team this season with three.

“He has a great sense as (to) where the ball’s going,” said Harry Dolen, Valencia defensive coordinator. “That’s an intangible talent; it’s almost impossible to teach.”

Roskelly, a senior who also plays running back, is a 3-year starter as well. One of the team’s quickest players, Roskelly had six interceptions last year, but missed the first three games this season because of head and arm injuries he suffered in a July boating accident.

Wilson, a junior, plays wingback in addition to cornerback. One of the team’s best tacklers, he has one interception so far.

Thomas, a senior who also plays running back, has good jumping ability and is, along with Roskelly, the fastest of the four.

Having a good secondary isn’t new to Valencia, which has won the Orange League title the last 5 seasons and won the Central Conference championship last season. Since Coach Mike Marrujo took over the program 6 years ago, the Tigers have built a reputation for a strong defensive backfield. Witness their 1986 season.

The Tigers had four players who were among the Orange County leaders in interceptions: Brett Gregory, who had six interceptions in six games; Mike Edwards (6); Nacho Garcia (5) and Dorian Estes (4).

Edwards, a two-time all-county player now attending the University of Utah on a football-baseball scholarship, said he believes the preparation he received at Valencia has helped him adjust to playing defensive back in college.

“The other freshmen (defensive backs) I talk to here seem to have a lot harder time adapting to the system,” said Edwards, who’s redshirting his freshman year.

“It’s been a lot easier for me to adapt, I think. A lot of the stuff we ran in practice at Valencia is just what we’re doing here. . . .

“At Valencia, we ran about nine coverages in the secondary. Other players I’ve talked with only ran two in high school. The defensive backs have to know a lot at Valencia. That’s why they get as many picks (interceptions) as they do.”

What are the secrets of the Valencia secondary?

The Tiger staff, including Marrujo, Dolen and defensive backfield coach Todd Borowski, won’t discuss specifics. Instead, the coaches continually recite Valencia’s overall philosophy: teamwork, teamwork and more teamwork.

“Mike said we can’t reveal (the secrets),” said Borowski, a Valencia safety from 1982-83.

“Our main theme is that we’re not a defensive back unit, we’re a whole defensive unit,” Borowski said. “We all work as one.”

One way Valencia seems to bring about a strong secondary each year is that Tiger coaches continually comb the freshman and sophomore ranks for players who show potential for the position.

“Quite often, we can tell at the freshman level who’s going to be a good one,” Marrujo said.

What are the qualifications?

According to Borowski, the coaches look for players with great athletic ability, superior hand-eye coordination, good hands, intelligence, good tackling abilities and quick reaction time.

“Skill-wise, defensive backs are our best athletes,” he said.

Marrujo agreed. “We just look for athletic ability,” he said. “We take our best kids and put them there.”

What would Marrujo do if he couldn’t find that good athlete for the secondary?

“I’d go look for another job,” he said.