FOOTBALL ’89 : VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE : EAST VALLEY LEAGUE

Grant

COACH: Bill Foster, 5th year

LAST SEASON: 3-6; 3rd place in league, 2-5

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Grant has been tabbed by coaches as a team to watch. One good reason is the return of senior tailback Shawn Booker (5-11, 165). Booker ran for 662 yards and a 5.4-yard average last season and should carry much of the offensive load. Booker has an experienced and talented line in front of him, led by senior Nick Avila (6-3 1/2, 265), a three-year varsity player at tackle. Tight end Anthony Melton (6-0, 235), a converted defensive tackle, should also have a big year, according to Foster. Joining that pair on the line are returners Seung Rho (6-2, 190), a guard, Miguel Gonzalez (6-1, 210), a junior center, and tackle Mark Segal (6-1, 225). At quarterback, Foster has two candidates: senior Andy Wells (5-9, 150) and senior Marlowe Lewis (5-10, 165). Foster would prefer Wells to win the job to free up Lewis, one of the team’s best athletes, to play slotback and receiver. Foster also is overseeing a battle for the fullback slot between senior Geerson Martinez (5-7, 185) and Tony Johnson (5-10, 175). The defense reads like the offensive roster, with standouts being Booker and Lewis at cornerback, Avila on defensive line and Gonzalez at linebacker. Foster is looking for a big year out of senior safety Josh Kesselman (5-10, 150).

OUTLOOK: “The team I’m really watching for is Grant,” said the coach of the league favorite, Sylmar’s Jeff Engilman. “They could sneak up.” Foster shares the enthusiasm of his rival. “If we play as a team, and play fundamentally sound,” Foster said, “We have a good chance to be successful.

North Hollywood

COACH: Fred Grimes, 4th year

LAST SEASON: 4-6; 2nd in league, 4-3

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The offensive-backfield situation is a bit jumbled for Grimes, but one thing is certain: Senior Mike Lewis (5-11, 175) will be there somewhere. Lewis, a first-team all-league selection at safety last year, will be looked at as a tailback and a quarterback. “Without a doubt, he’s our best athlete,” Grimes said. Senior Rob Wylie is also being considered for the position but Grimes, for all practical purposes, is heading into practice without a passer. So the Huskies will run the ball. Senior Gill Kalantirski, a starting defensive back, likely will join Lewis in the backfield at fullback or tailback. The rest of the Huskies are inexperienced. Seventeen players will return for their junior season, one of whom is John Gawronski (6-3, 205), an offensive tackle and outside linebacker. Grimes’ most experienced lineman is Kyu Lee (5-11, 225), who will play offensive guard and nose tackle. Two more juniors will be lining up at wide receiver for the Huskies: speedy Leon Gable (5-9, 155) and promising Louis Barragan (5-9, 155). But as Grimes says, the Huskies will only throw “when we have to.” On defense, Grimes speaks highly of Gable and Lewis in the secondary and senior Keyin Hayes (6-2, 235) on the line.

OUTLOOK: Grimes is entering the season with his fingers crossed. “I don’t know if we can beat anybody,” he joked. More seriously, “It depends on how these 11th-graders come through,” he said. “If we stay healthy and keep our heads screwed on, we could be OK. If we lose one or two key kids, we could hang it up.”

Poly

COACH: Fred Cuccia, 1st year

LAST SEASON: 2-8; 4th in league, 0-7

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Poly enters the season in a different state than most other City teams: Coach Kevin Kennedy resigned in mid-August, leaving the program without a coach. Fred Cuccia was hired Aug. 23 and met with the players for the first time that night. It is likely that the first player he met was junior Jonathon Campbell (5-10, 175), an all-league performer at safety last season who has “blue-chip potential” at running back, according to Kennedy. Campbell has a talented backfield mate in senior running back Daruth Thomas (6-2, 190), who was ineligible last season. Campbell and Thomas should carry a load, too, since Kennedy said he had no candidates for quarterback. When Cuccia does find one, he can try to utilize wide receivers Eddie Guerrero, a second-team all-league performer, and Carlos Guerra. A green offensive line will be anchored by senior John Rosenthal (6-0, 210) who has trimmed down from 230 pounds with some work in the weight room. Also spending time in the weight room was defensive lineman Charlie Lemos (5-11, 220), who likely will play both ways. The linebacking corps will feature Brian Butterfield (5-8, 160), whom Kennedy called “small, real quick and smart.”

OUTLOOK: When Cuccia took over the floundering program he didn’t even know the team’s schedule. But that doesn’t alter his optimism, even though he has a team that went winless in league play last year. “Hey, we’re going to be there,” he said. “We’re going to be aggressive and well-conditioned.”

Sylmar

COACH: Jeff Engilman, 3rd year

LAST SEASON: 7-4; 1st in league, 5-2

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Listed as the ninth-best running back in the nation by Super Prep magazine, tailback Jerome Casey is one strong reason why Sylmar should waltz to another league title. And strong is the operative word. “He’s my first legit 400-pound bench presser,” Engilman said. Add a 6-foot, 185-pound frame and breakaway speed (10.7 in the 100) to that strength and you have one of the City Section’s best backs. Just who will hand Casey the ball is another matter. Engilman is studying two candidates at quarterback: junior Danny Terry (5-10, 160) and sophomore Toby Brookens (6-0, 155). Both are good running quarterbacks, but Engilman said that Terry may have the edge coming into practice. Meanwhile, a stellar Sylmar receiving corps may be making some news of its own. Tight end London Woodfin (6-3, 225) will team with wide receivers Stacy Lyons, Joseph Vaughn, Giramar Johnson and Harold Augustus. Lyons (5-10, 160), a senior being recruited by Division I colleges, runs a 4.4 40, according to Engilman, and Vaughn (6-1, 175) is a “great possession receiver.” Johnson and Augustus are both juniors. A good offensive line, anchored by senior James Jackson (6-1, 270), and junior Ken Green (6-2, 225), is still a question mark because of its inexperience. On defense, Sylmar’s strength lies in its secondary, featuring Casey, a standout safety, and Lyons and Vaughn as solid cornerbacks. Woodfin, a Division I prospect, should be a force at linebacker.

OUTLOOK: “I hate to put a thing on us,” Engilman said, “but I’d say in the league we’re the favorites.” Don’t believe him? Fred Grimes, coach of league rival North Hollywood, is a Spartan believer, too. “In our league, it’s gotta be Sylmar,” he said.