Prep Review : Dana Hills Parent Hungry for More : Cross-Country Team Has to Win State or He’ll Eat His Hat

A little less than a month ago, the boys’ cross-country team at Dana Hills High School was in a sorry state.

The Dolphins were down and out with illnesses and injuries ranging from pulled hamstrings to inflamed root canals. Because of those problems, and a sub-par performance at the Orange County Championships, Dana Hills, the defending Southern Section champion, dropped from the polls.

Still, some had faith. Not the least of which was Michael Tansley, father of Dana Hills runners Mike and Andrew Tansley. In a letter to The Times, Michael Tansley wrote:

“Our season has been a litany of horrors . . . (Nevertheless), we will win CIF again this year and this year we will also win the state meet or I’ll eat my hat.”

Tansley didn’t say what kind of hat it was. But he was saved from eating it last weekend, as Dana Hills upset top-ranked Camarillo for the 4-A division title Saturday.

With the victory, Dana Hills heads to the state meet Saturday at Fresno. The Dolphins once again will meet Camarillo, the state’s top-ranked team. Would Tansley like to take back his promise?

“Oh no . . . I stand by that quote,” he said Sunday. “When I wrote that letter, the boys were really working hard. I really felt with their attitudes they’d be able to win. I think they will win the state.”

Fresno-bound: Several other Orange County cross-country teams qualified for the state meet. The Corona del Mar and Laguna Hills boys’ teams and Newport Harbor and Foothill girls’ teams all qualified in Division II (enrollment 700-1,599). Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor are top-ranked in the division; Laguna Hills and Foothill were somewhat of a surprise to qualify.

“These kids have just gotten better every race this season,” Laguna Hills Coach Kevin Dempsey said. “They blow me away every week. I think after they won the (Pacific Coast) league last month, they looked around and said, ‘Hey, we’re OK.’ ”

As they were last year, the Hawks are led by Tony Gibney and Steve Frisone. But their third man, senior Simon Kingston, might have made the greatest difference for Laguna Hills this season.

“Last year, Simon was a JV runner--a stalwart JV runner,” Dempsey said. “I didn’t even know if he’d have a sniff at varsity. Now, he’s just come out of the blue.”

At the Southern Section championships, Kingston started the division 2-A race in dead last, trailing more than 20 yards behind the pack of 90 or so runners in the first half mile. Amazingly, he finished 30th. His time of 16 minutes 32 seconds was a whopping 4-minute improvement over his time last year on the same course.

More points, etc.: Orange County’s football scoring machine, Eric Ekdahl of Mission Viejo, was hotter than ever Friday night.

Ekdahl, a senior tailback/wide receiver/kicker, scored 30 points in only 2 quarters of play to lead the top-seeded Diablos to a 40-16 victory over Warren in a first-round Southern Section Division VI playoff game.

Ekdahl, the county’s scoring leader with 190 points, scored on 4 touchdowns, 3 extra-point kicks and a 39-yard field goal. The 30 points ties the school record for single-game scoring. Ekdahl shares the record with Roger Brown (1982) and Todd Yert (1985).

“It just seemed that whenever we scored, I happened to have the ball,” Ekdahl said.

Ekdahl, who was allowed to only kick in the second half, managed to get in the throwing end of a conversion as well. Ekdahl was readying himself for an extra-point kick, but the snap to the holder was fumbled and the ball skittered toward the sidelines.

Ekdahl grabbed the ball, avoided a tackle and found Greg Clapper in the end zone for the conversion. It was his second scoring pass in 2 attempts this season, the other a touchdown pass play to quarterback Troy Kopp against Fountain Valley last month.

Might Ekdahl like to play quarterback now?

“No, no,” he said. “Troy can do that.”

Season 3: Saddleback, which entered the Southern Section football playoffs with the worst record in Division VI at 3-6-1, upset La Habra (6-4-1) Friday night, 17-7.

The Roadrunners tormented La Habra quarterback Albert Razo with 4 sacks and 2 interceptions. One of those interceptions was returned by Dave Morris 25 yards for a touchdown to give Saddleback a 14-0 lead early in the third quarter.

“Our defense and special teams won the game for us,” Saddleback Coach Jerry Witte said. “When you get into the playoffs, defense will win the ballgames for you.”

Are the Roadrunners surprised at their momentum.

“We’re excited,” Witte said. “But I told them, this is our third season. Forget preseason, forget league. This is the time to just say hey, let’s go out and play football.”