Palomar Football Preview : Addition of RBV Will Make It Even Tougher

There is one new football coach, one new team and a whole lot of new players in the perennially tough Palomar League.

If you’re looking for good, solid competition, this is the place, especially now that Rancho Buena Vista has been added to the group. If you’re looking for a lot of marquee names, forget it.

“I call it a ‘No Names’ year,” Fallbrook Coach Tom Pack said. “I don’t think there are a lot of big name guys this year. It’s more of a team concept than outstanding players.”

Said Vista Coach Dick Haines: “I couldn’t name one player in our league.”

And you, Poway Coach Brad Elrod? Who are some of the top offensive players in the Palomar League? “I honestly don’t know,” Elrod said.

OK, then, let’s roll the credits.

THE RACE Top contenders: Rancho Buena Vista (13-0 in 1988), San Dieguito (8-3).

Surprise potential: Orange Glen (12-1 in ’88 but hit hard by graduation), Mt. Carmel (4-6), Poway (5-5-1), Torrey Pines (4-5-1), Fallbrook (5-5).

Hoping for improvement: Vista (0-10).

Game of the year: Rancho Buena Vista at San Dieguito, Oct. 13. Palomar League coaches say anybody can beat anybody else on a given week, but the Longhorns and the Mustangs should decide the league title.

THE PLAYERS The man: With the initials O.J., how could he help but be the man ? Running back O.J. Hall (5-feet-11, 180 pounds) is quick, shifty and talented enough to lead Rancho Buena Vista into 3-A competition after one year at the 2-A level.

Hall replaces Scott Garcia, who gained 2,560 yards last season as Rancho Buena Vista won the San Diego Section 2-A championship. Hall might have been overshadowed in the RBV backfield in 1988, but not because of his own performance. He gained 1,811 yards himself.

Who will fill Jake Nyberg’s shoes? A year ago, Jake Nyberg caught every pass in sight, and Orange Glen won its first 12 games before losing to Morse, 31-28, in the San Diego Section 3-A championship game. Nyberg was The Times’ section lineman of the year and is at San Diego State this season. To replace him, the Patriots are counting on senior receivers Chris Ybarra (5-11, 165) and Ryan Gustine (5-10, 160).

Another important newcomer is Rancho Buena Vista offensive guard Donnie Aliipule (6-0, 244), who will replace Jack Harrington. At Poway, juniors Tom Fischer (6-2, 175) and Miles Kelly (6-2, 175) are battling to replace Mike Beam at quarterback.

Others to watch on offense: Preston Bynes of Torrey Pines is one of the best all-around players in the league. He doubled as a receiver and cornerback last year and also returned punts and kickoffs. He averaged more than 20 yards a catch on 35 receptions and returned two punts for touchdowns. Said Pack: “He’s the toughest guy to tackle on returns that I’ve seen in a long time. He’s a real threat.”

Rancho Buena Vista’s other running back, Markeith Ross (5-10, 175; 800 yards in 1988), will form a pretty good tandem with Hall. One of the best linemen is Orange Glen’s Troy Martz (6-4, 250). And Mt. Carmel Coach Bill Christopher says junior Matt Miller (6-1, 185) is the best quarterback he has had.

Players to watch on defense: Torrey Pines linebacker Greg Johnson (6-0, 223) returns for his third varsity season and is one of the best defensive players in the league. Victor Santa Cruz (6-1, 215) of Rancho Buena Vista is another top linebacker.

Elrod has just three returning defensive starters at Poway--all linebackers. The trio is led by Chris Rzewuski (5-11, 190), who was all-league last year. At Vista, Haines thinks his safety, Chris Angel (6-1, 190), is one of the best in the league.

THE INTANGIBLES New kids in town: Rancho Buena Vista joins the Palomar League this year, and the Longhorns already are causing some resentment. “From what I understand, we’re all playing for second place,” Torrey Pines Coach Rik Haines said. “Every sportswriter and TV station is giving them the crown.” OK, Rancho Buena Vista is good. But . . . “Help,” was RBV Coach Craig Bell’s reaction to moving up to 3-A. “Bigger schools, more depth, bigger players. It’ll be tough.” How will RBV do? How about somewhere between Haines’ and Bell’s statements?

Same man, different status: After spending the past five years as offensive line coach at Orange Glen, Rob Gilster takes over as head coach from Dave Lay (now at SDSU) and is faced with the departures of quarterback Cree Morris and receivers Nyberg and Glenn Reyes. All were important cogs in last year’s championship team. “We’re just working on making a first down,” Gilster said the other day, laughing. “To be honest, I really like it (as the head coach). Of course, I haven’t lost a game yet.” Orange Glen will pass less this year. “We’ll still throw, just not as much because we don’t have the talent at those positions,” Gilster said.

Pete Rozelle would love this: Parity. “This is the best football league, top to bottom, in California,” Torrey Pines’ Haines said. “They can talk about Banning and Carson (in Los Angeles), but in this league, anybody can beat anybody.” Example: Last year, San Dieguito shut out Fallbrook, 29-0. The next week, Poway whipped San Dieguito, 48-24. The following week, Fallbrook took care of Poway, 22-13. You’ll see everything from strong passing attacks (Fallbrook, Orange Glen and Torrey Pines) to a balance between passing and rushing (Mt. Carmel) to power rushing attacks (Vista and Rancho Buena Vista) to an option attack (Poway) to a wing T (San Dieguito).

As for “the other” Vista: Vista was in the San Diego Section championship game four times in the 1980s, winning it twice. But then came Rancho Buena Vista, a new school that opened two years ago. Half the kids in Vista went to RBV, so Vista went 0-10 last year and was outscored, 255-51. Dick Haines is again optimistic, though. “We’ll get our minds set and get away from that disaster of last year,” he said. “We’ll be a lot better.” Vista has a new quarterback, Charles (Choo-Choo) Walker (6-3 1/2, 180), who transferred from Palm Springs. “We could be good to very good, or we could be good to bad,” Haines said.

FRIDAY: The Avocado League.