SportsScope : 3 Valley Prep Standouts Ready for Shrine Football Game

Three players from the San Gabriel Valley will compete for the South in the 38th annual Shrine All-Star Football Game at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The game, which benefits the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Los Angeles, features 68 of the top graduated high school seniors in the state playing in a Northern California vs. Southern California format.

The valley players are linemen Terry McDaniels from Pasadena and Len Gorecki from Damien of La Verne and defensive back Lavars Barber from Rosemead.

McDaniels, at 6-6 and 250 pounds, and Gorecki, 6-6 and 271, will play for USC.

McDaniels was selected The Times San Gabriel Valley Lineman of the Year as a senior when he recovered two fumbles for touchdowns against St. Francis and developed a reputation as an excellent pass rusher. The defensive lineman also has outstanding speed with a 4.7-second clocking in the 40-yard dash.

Gorecki, an offensive lineman, is regarded more for his blocking skills. An All-Baseline League selection, Gorecki was named to the All-Far West team by Super Prep Magazine.

Barber, 6-0 and 185, was one of the top offensive players in Rosemead’s history with more than 4,100 yards rushing. As a senior he rushed for 1,414 yards and 22 touchdowns in 212 carries and caught 21 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns.

He also excelled on kick and punt returns and finished with 2,385 all-purpose yards last season. But he will probably play mostly at defensive back in the Shrine Game, having been among his team leaders with two interceptions and 73 tackles last year.

Many of the top amateur players in Southern California will compete in the 28th annual Glendora Tennis Championships that start at 8 a.m. Saturday at Glendora High, Dawson Park, George Manooshian Park and Citrus College.

The tournament, which has 837 entrants, will run through Aug. 6 with the men’s open singles final at noon. The event, sanctioned by the U.S. Tennis Assn., has $2,500 in prize money.

Among the favorites in the men’s open singles division is defending champion Mitchell Bridge of Huntington Beach. Other contenders include Peter Smith of Long Beach, Glenn Erickson of Anaheim, Anthony Smith of Los Angeles, Steven Jung of Hacienda Heights, Ronan Moralli of Israel, Al Matinez of Woodland Hills, Chris Ganz of Huntington Beach, Frank Grannis of San Diego and Robert Rao of Westminster.

In the women’s open division, the favorite could be defending champion Helen Park-Bates of Pasadena. Her toughest competition is expected to come from Jennifer Slattery of Huntington Beach, Carolyn Reed of Escondido, Jolene Watanabe of La Puente, Edna Olivarez of Eagle Rock, Debbie Strombeck of Santa Ana and Rebecca Huereque of Alta Loma.

In junior divisions, top girls competing include Jennifer Wall of Arcadia, Abigail Villena of Granada Hills and Devon Sedlacek of Manhattan Beach. Top boys include Richard Yung of San Marino, Lee Kirner of Laguna Beach, Martin Escos of Glendale and Dean Ho of Rolling Hills Estates.

Admission is free.

The Cal State Los Angeles baseball team, which finished with a 23-31-1 overall record and in fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. last season, has signed five high school players to letters of intent for next season:

Pitcher Brian McGraw from Temple City High, infielder Mike Maldonado of West Covina, outfielder Dave Richards from Northview of Covina, catcher Steve Soliz from Rio Mesa of Oxnard and pitcher Shane Borowski from El Dorado of Placentia.

The Golden Eagles had previously signed infielder Mike Thibodeaux from Downey High and pitcher Albert De La Isla from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Candace Wong, a senior on the Cal State Los Angeles women’s tennis team last season, has been named to the Volvo Tennis Scholar-Athlete Team.

It is the second straight year that Wong has appeared on the squad. Thirteen players were named to the team, four of whom also made the squad last year.

Wong, who graduated with a degree in child education, was the No. 4 singles player for the Golden Eagles last year with an 8-8 record in match play and teamed with Traci Binder as the No. 2 doubles team with an 11-7 record.

She is a graduate of Alhambra High where she was her team’s most valuable doubles player as a senior.

Leo Cueller, who guided the Cal State Los Angeles men’s soccer team to a 9-9-2 record in his first season as coach last year, has announced the signing of six players to national letters of intent.

The list is headed by goaltender Louie Hernandez from Nogales High in La Puente, an All-CIF selection last season, and halfback Juan Carlo Sanchez from Garey of Pomona, a member of the 19-and-under U.S. Olympic Development team.

Three others are also from the prep ranks: halfbacks Gilberto Elizarraz of Santa Paula and Santo Rivas from La Serna of Whittier and forward Carlos Zavala from Saddleback of Santa Ana. The other player is junior college transfer Roberto Hernandez, a halfback from Rancho Santiago College.