Prep Review : Los Altos Coach Weighs Move to Century High

Dwayne DeSpain, one of the most successful football coaches in Southern Section history, said he is interested in the coaching position at Century High School, scheduled to open in Santa Ana this fall.

DeSpain, 49, won his seventh Southern Section title at Los Altos last season when his team defeated El Rancho, 12-0, for the Division IV title. DeSpain tied former Temple City Coach Bob Hitchcock for the most section football titles won in a career.

Century High, at 1401 S. Grand Ave., will open with freshmen and sophomores in the fall. The new school will offer computer training and will be open to all students in the Santa Ana Unified School District.

“The idea of open enrollment is enticing,” DeSpain said. “A new program is also attractive because you can surround yourself with good people. The only question would be at what (salary) step I could start in the district.”

DeSpain has won 10 league titles in 22 years at Los Altos, but he said that dwindling enrollment in the Hacienda Heights area has made it increasingly difficult to field strong teams.

Two years ago, DeSpain applied for a vacant coaching job at Palm Springs High and was offered the position, but declined when district officials offered him a salary that would have meant taking a loss of nearly $20,000. DeSpain is more optimistic about the Century High position.

DeSpain has developed some of the top prep quarterbacks in Southern California during his tenure at Los Altos, including Rob Hertel, Mike Smith, Dennis Smith and Dennis Sproul.

Gerald Arriola, principal at Century, began interviewing administrators for the new school last week and is completing interviews of teaching applicants.

The odds of the Huntington Beach boys’ basketball team leading the Sunset League appeared slim only a month ago when the Oilers concluded nonleague play with a 5-8 record.

Fountain Valley, Ocean View, Marina and Edison were given a better chance of winning the 6-team league than Huntington Beach, which hadn’t qualified for the playoffs since 1983.

But Huntington Beach is tied with Fountain Valley for the league’s top spot after the first round of play after defeating Fountain Valley, 71-61, Friday. It was the Oilers’ fourth consecutive victory.

“It’s been a combination of five players playing together as a unit,” said Roy Miller, Huntington Beach coach. “There’s no star player on the team, and they’re finally starting to believe in themselves.”

Center Scott Drake has been instrumental in the Oilers’ success, limiting Marina’s Cherokee Parks to 12 points and Ocean View’s Todd Norman to 9 points.

Guard Andy Thompson has controlled the tempo the past 4 games and orchestrated the offense to the point where Miller said, “Andy is like a quarterback on the court. He’s really come of age.”

Huntington Beach opened a 15-4 lead against Fountain Valley and never trailed. The Oilers also went wire-to-wire against Ocean View. The Oilers hadn’t beaten either team in 6 years.

“Winning goes in cycles,” Miller said. “We had some lean years, now it’s our turn. The players, teachers and myself are really enjoying this season.”

Playoff sites for the Southern Section’s boys’ and girls’ basketball championship games have been established. The boys’ 5-AA, 5-A, 3-A, 2-AA and 2-A division games will be played at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Saturday, March 4. The boys’ 4-AA and 4-A championship games are scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, at UC Irvine’s Bren Center. The girls’ 5-AA, 5-A and 3-A division games will be played at Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, March 3. The 4-AA and 4-A division games are scheduled for Thursday, March 2, at Chapman College’s Hutton Sports Center. The 2-AA and 2-A division games will be played at Whittier College on Wednesday, March 1.

Prep Notes

Quarterback David Henigan and center Glenn Christy of Fountain Valley, running back Derek Brown and linebacker Garrett Greedy of Servite and wide receiver Tony Pena and nose guard Jason Uhl of Mater Dei have been selected to play for the South team in the 38th Shrine All-Star football game July 29 in the Rose Bowl. Bill Redell of Crespi will coach the 32-member squad. The South team will train at UC Irvine for the first time.

Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates will be the featured speaker at the 10th Southern Section Athletic Administrators Symposium Feb. 7 at the Sequoia Athletic Club in Buena Park. Gates will discuss drug testing and prevention. Other workshops on eligibility, steroids and game management are scheduled. For more information, call Karen Hellyer at 826-5390. . . . Ken Ostrowski, Westminster baseball coach, is accepting applications for junior varsity and frosh-soph baseball coaches in a walk-on capacity. Anyone interested should call Ostrowski at 893-1381. . . . Tom Vitello, Servite athletic director, is accepting applications for a varsity and junior varsity tennis coach in a walk-on capacity. Anyone interested should call Vitello at 774-4350.

Jerry Kindall, who has led the University of Arizona to NCAA College World Series titles in 1976, 1980 and 1986, will head the Orange County baseball coaches’ clinic scheduled for Feb. 18 at Cal State Fullerton. Other guest lecturers include Jim Wing and Jerry Stitt, assistant coaches at Arizona, and Dennis Rogers, assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton. The clinic is free to area coaches, who are invited to the Cal State Fullerton-Arizona baseball game after the clinic.