HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW : Schedule Presents Formidable Challenge

Care to schedule a nonleague game against a team from the Golden League? How ‘bout it, all you Southern California high school football programs? Step right up.

Anyone want a shot at Antelope Valley? A crack at Canyon? A piece of Palmdale?

The three teams were a combined 32-9 last season and comprised three of the final four in the Southern Section Division II playoffs. Antelope Valley, which finished second in the league, defeated league-champion Canyon, 28-22, for the Division II title. But only by whipping Palmdale, 23-13, in the semifinal did the Antelopes earn the opportunity to avenge their only league loss of the season to the Cowboys.

“The truth is, it’s just one of the strongest leagues in California,” eighth-year Canyon Coach Harry Welch said. “Consistently, year after year. But people don’t want to play us.”

Which can lead to difficulty when scheduling time rolls around. Welch admittedly would prefer to schedule a few “breathers,” but can’t seem to find any.

Neither, surprisingly, can Quartz Hill Coach John Albee. The Rebels finished 3-7 and last in the Golden League at 0-5 last season. But for some, a match-up with the league’s last-place team hasn’t exactly been deemed, well, a golden opportunity.

“There just aren’t too many teams that want to play a Golden League team,” said Albee who, in his 22nd season at Quartz Hill, is something of a Golden oldie. “We call them up and say we would like to play them. They say, ‘We’ll keep you in mind,’ and then you never hear from them again.”

That’s probably because they have heard of the Golden League: Antelope Valley, Burroughs (Ridgecrest), Canyon, Palmdale, Quartz Hill and Saugus. Through the past decade, the league has grown in strength, mirroring the growth of the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, which continue to supply the area with talented players.

Rooted firmly in fertile football ground, the Golden League has grown to become possibly the best of five Southern Section Division II leagues.

Consider:

Antelope Valley has won two conference championships in the 1980s--four since 1976--and has reached the final three times. The Antelopes have qualified for the playoffs every year since 1980.

Canyon, which has virtually owned the league in Welch’s seven-year tenure, is 34-1 in league play and has won six league titles since 1982. Canyon posted consecutive conference titles from 1983-85, while reaching the semifinals in ’86 and ’87 and the final last season.

And then there’s the Cowboys’ famed 46-game winning streak from 1983-86, which tied a Southern Section record.

Entering the final season of the decade, Antelope Valley (83-28-1 in the ‘80s) and Canyon (91-22) undoubtedly will remain conference powerhouses. Palmdale (9-4 last season), which lost only to Antelope Valley (twice), Canyon and Crespi, a Del Rey League power, should also emerge a legitimate conference contender.

“I think our league can play against anybody,” Antelope Valley Coach Brent Newcomb said.

Said first-year Palmdale Coach Kent Bothwell: “All we can do is prepare for our league schedule. They play some pretty tough football up here.”

Even at the bottom of the pack. Three different teams--Quartz Hill, Burroughs and Saugus--have finished last in the past three years. Albee, who last fashioned a league title in 1980, insists Quartz Hill will not break that streak.

“We’ve been down the last couple years,” he said. “But if everything goes right, we should be a playoff team.”

Well, it might be too early to discuss playoffs. Or even league titles. But nonleague schedules are a hot topic among league coaches. Exactly who do you play when your first choice is choosy?

Teams that are, according to Welch, “too good.” This season, every Golden League team will play a challenging nonleague schedule which collectively features some of the best teams in Southern and Central California.

An overview of the six teams’ nonleague lineups:

Antelope Valley (12-2 last season) plays Foothill of Bakersfield, West Bakersfield, Redlands, Loyola and El Toro--a combined 34-23 last season. Loyola, the defending Del Rey League champion, was 12-1 and reached the Division I semifinals. West Bakersfield (9-4) was the runner-up for the Central Section championship.

Said Newcomb: “We don’t duck anybody.”

Neither does Palmdale. The Falcons open against Muir, then play Chaminade, Hart, Alemany and Pasadena--a combined 33-23 last season. Muir (8-4) and Pasadena (7-4) were Pacific League co-champions. Chaminade reached the Division VII quarterfinals.

The league’s bottom three teams (by last year’s records) also face difficult schedules, especially considering their performances last year.

Quartz Hill plays South Bakersfield, Burroughs (Burbank), Hesperia, Cajon and Hart--a combined 27-26 last year. However, Cajon (8-4) is the defending San Andreas League champion and Burroughs (6-4) reached the Northwestern Conference final in 1987 before slipping to fourth in the competitive Foothill League last season.

Only Burroughs (Ridgecrest) plays a nonleague schedule consisting of teams with a combined losing record. Barstow, Bishop, North Bakersfield, Hesperia and Wasco of Central California were 21-27-1.

But Saugus might be facing the most difficult nonleague lineup in Coach Dick Flaherty’s three-year tenure. The Centurions, 1-8-1 last season and 5-24-1 the past three years, play South Pasadena, Alemany, Hawthorne, Hart and St. Francis--a combined 27-27-1 last season.

Hawthorne (8-3-1) finished second in the Bay League and lost to Canyon, 29-14, in the quarterfinals. St. Francis (4-7) finished third in the Del Rey League behind Loyola and Crespi.

Saugus, which has avoided a last-place finish under Flaherty, might enter league play somewhat battered. “And Harry talks about his schedule,” Flaherty said.

It appears, however, that Welch and the Cowboys will lock horns with the toughest competition of all. After the traditional opener against Foothill League rival Hart, Canyon suits up against Bakersfield, Thousand Oaks, Notre Dame and Mission Viejo--a combined 45-13-1 last season.

Bakersfield, which defeated Canyon, 28-20, last season, finished 13-0 and defeated West Bakersfield for the Central Section championship. Mission Viejo (12-1) is the defending South Coast champion. Thousand Oaks (6-4-1), which finished second in the Marmonte League, was Coastal Conference champion in 1987.

Notre Dame (8-3) is the defending San Fernando Valley League champion. And Hart, which should rebound from a disappointing 6-5 season, has defeated Canyon the past two years.

All told, Golden League teams, a combined 41-29-1 last season, will face nonleague opponents with a combined 161-112-3 record last season.

But league coaches wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I don’t think you get any better playing any lesser teams,” Newcomb said. “You don’t want to play people you can beat all the time.”

Welch, in fact, insists that a difficult nonleague season leads to an easier postseason.

“If you play a good team in the playoffs--if you get that far--it’s not that big an adjustment,” he said.

Based on recent success, it is a good bet that three Golden League teams will make that adjustment this fall.

GOLDEN LEAGUE

FINAL 1988 STANDINGS PROJECTED FINISH Canyon 11-3,5-0 Canyon Antelope Valley 12-2,4-1 Antelope Valley Palmdale 9-4,3-2 Palmdale Burroughs (R) 5-5,2-3 Quartz Hill Saugus 1-8-1, 1-4 Burroughs Quartz Hill 3-7,0-5 Saugus

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht. Wt Class Clint Beauer Canyon WR 6-3 190 Sr. Jade Freeman Antelope Valley DL 6-1 245 Sr. Eric Hanes Canyon DL 5-11 199 Sr. Pat Henry Saugus WR 5-10 155 Sr. Anthony Hess Quartz Hill OL 6-7 285 Sr. Eric Hines Palmdale DL 5-11 185 Sr. Johnny Johnson Palmdale WR 6-2 175 Sr. LaShante Parker Palmdale RB 5-9 180 Sr. Chris Peery Canyon RB 6-1 216 Sr. Wayne Walters Antelope Valley RB/DB 5-11 180 Sr.