HIGH SCHOOLS : Football Playoffs : Despite Outsiders’ Doubts, San Pasqual Likes Its Chances

So what business does the San Pasqual High School football team have playing for the San Diego Section 2-A championship against unbeaten, untied and unbelievable Rancho Buena Vista?

San Pasqual (9-4) lost 14 starters to graduation last year, has no defensive starters that weigh more than 185 pounds and has turned the ball over five times in each of its four defeats.

And this team might be a section champion by Saturday night? It seems unlikely, though. But Saturday at 5 p.m. in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, San Pasqual will get a chance to win a championship that few--except San Pasqual’s players and coaches--think is within its reach.

“I’ve heard everything,” said Andy Loveland, San Pasqual’s senior quarterback. “I’ve heard Rancho say they’re going to score 100 points. I’ve heard that we don’t have a chance. That’s what people have been telling us all season.”

But all season, San Pasqual has proven people wrong. Now, after playoff victories over Carlsbad, Lincoln and El Camino, San Pasqual will attempt to ruin the curtain call for top-ranked Rancho Buena Vista (12-0), a team it lost to this season, 35-13.

“Really, nobody gives us a chance,” San Pasqual Coach Mike Dolan said. “They played us before and did a pretty good job on us. We were picked to come in fifth in our league. (The players) just got tired of hearing that they couldn’t do it and decided to prove that they could do it.”

Dolan never let them think otherwise. He has a sign hanging from the wall of his office: “What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.” Every practice, Dolan repeats the first part of the sentence, and the players shout the second in unison.

San Pasqual’s young defense matured early to help the team earn regular-season victories over Poway, Escondido and Oceanside.

Loveland has been the offensive leader. His statistics (971 yards passing and 643 rushing) don’t place him among the county’s best, but his versatility and experience have been a welcomed combination for a team that has been forced to mature on the field.

Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne has called Dolan and expressed interest in Loveland. El Camino players, who lost to San Pasqual twice this season, know Loveland is worthy of the attention; he always seems to find a way to win.

In San Pasqual’s 30-20 victory over El Camino in the regular season, Loveland deviated from his team’s standard running game plan and passed for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns. In last week’s semifinal playoff against El Camino, Loveland rushed for 112 yards in 12 carries to lead San Pasqual to a 14-0 victory.

Loveland was the starting quarterback last season when San Pasqual tied San Marcos, 14-14, in the 2-A championship game. He remembers being awed by the size of the stadium and the number of fans. He doesn’t expect to be as nervous this year.

“I’ll know how it feels when I get there, and I won’t be as surprised,” he said. “Last year we came out and were a little bit tentative.”

Tony Medina, the starting fullback, has rushed for 1,083 yards and 17 touchdowns on 233 carries and had 248 yards and 4 touchdowns against Lincoln in the quarterfinals. Running back Jim Clayton also has been an important part of San Pasqual’s offense, rushing for 818 yards on 124 carries.