New Faces Join Old Powers Edison, Fountain Valley

Once again, Edison and Fountain Valley high schools are in the race for the Sunset League football championship, but a new team, Huntington Beach, may have the inside track this season.

Speaking of new faces, there are a couple of new coaches.

First-year Coach John Seeley will try to end Marina’s losing streak of 15 games--the longest losing streak in Orange County.

At Ocean View, former Huntington Beach assistant Howard Isom replaces Guy Carrozzo, who is now head coach at Lake Elsinore.

Westminster opted for a single coach instead of co-coaches. Jack Bowman was asked to step down, leaving Stan Clark as the head coach this season.

What might all this mean for the league?

“You really don’t know, when there are coaching changes, how drastically the (teams) are going to change,” Fountain Valley Coach Mike Milner said. “We have been playing the same schools for a number of years but now, all the sudden, there are going to be changes.”

Two schools that had no coaching changes, Huntington Beach and Edison, are the class of the league this season.

Huntington Beach Coach George Pascoe, in his sixth season, has 13 starters returning, and three promising transfers.

Edison is ranked second in the Southern Section Division I preseason coaches’ poll, behind Fontana. Coach Dave White has five starters back.

Milner is still running the show at Fountain Valley, the defending league and Division I champion, but only two starters return. That does not mean the rest of the league is taking Fountain Valley lightly.

“Anybody who would overlook Fountain Valley would be foolish,” Westminster’s Clark said. “These guys were CIF champs. A lot of the kids who are coming back, and while they may not have been starters, they were the ones playing against the CIF championship guys in practice.”

A look at the teams:

EDISON

“The key for us this year is that we have no great players, just a lot of good hard-working players, and if we stay healthy, we will be a good football team,” White said.

The Chargers don’t have a lot of depth so injuries could be key. They also lack experience. Only five starters return from last season’s 9-2 team. Of those, only one, Donnie Smith, was an all-league selection. Smith made it as a punter though he filled in for Greg Angelovic at quarterback late last season when Angelovic missed four games with a broken thumb.

Smith did well, completing 37 of 59 passes for 522 yards and three touchdowns.

Returning guards Kip Winkler (6-3, 249) and Jeff Aselin (6-2, 225) hold down an offensive line that averages about 230 pounds. Four players could see action at running back. But Shane Sherman, who rushed for 450 yards and scored five touchdowns last season as a backup to 1,000-yard rusher Gus Miranda, will do the bulk of the ball-carrying.

Defensively, returning starters Dan McCown, the strong safety, and cornerback Chad Ponegalek will give Edison strength and experience against the pass.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY

One of the big questions at Fountain Valley: How do you replace David Henigan, the Southern Section Division I co-player of the year who completed 199 of 345 passes for 2,944 yards and 23 touchdowns en route to a Division I championship?

“He is an irreplaceable type of player,” Milner said. “You enjoy the last three years and victories he has been responsible for, and start a new chapter in your life. It is kind of like trying to replace your son.”

Two candidates, seniors Jason Hassay (6-2, 185) and Willy Puga (6-1, 185) are competing for the starting job. They alternated as junior varsity quarterbacks last season.

The major weakness is inexperience--at quarterback and elsewhere. Only two starters return.

“With the CIF championship team last year and the team that went to the CIF finals the year before, our juniors who are seniors this year got virtually no playing time at all,” Milner said.

The only offensive starter who returns is a good one. Wide receiver Doug Weaver, all-league last season, is the best in the county at his position. Strong safety Pat Tokeshi, a part-time starter last season, is the only experienced defensive player.

Fountain Valley will be tested early. Four of the Barons’ preseason games are against ranked teams. “It is a very physical and thunderous preseason we play, meaning one right after another,” Milner said. “We play Mater Dei, El Toro, Mission Viejo, El Modena and Long Beach Poly--more commonly referred to as murderer’s row. So if we can get through there and still remain intact health-wise, we can be a representative team in the Sunset League.”

HUNTINGTON BEACH

Talk about a windfall. Three quality players, two of whom are definite starters, transferred into the district and will play for Pascoe.

Senior Dave Lacy, a wide receiver and defensive back, transferred from an Alabama school and will start.

Kelly Cotton, a 6-1, 215-pound senior who will start at outside linebacker and share time at tailback, transferred from Los Amigos.

Dave Roman, a 6-1, 200-pound junior from Maryland, is not in the starting lineup yet, but is pushing for linebacker and offensive line spots, Pascoe said.

And the Oilers weren’t hurting for players. Thirteen starters are back, more than any team in the league.

“Without (the transfers), we would be very good anyway. But those guys can’t do anything but help you,” Pascoe said.

The Oilers’ impact player is Doug Cunningham--arguably the league’s best athlete. Cunningham (6-2, 195) was all-league his junior year as a defensive back and wide receiver, catching more than 20 passes for more than 300 yards. He moves to fullback this season.

Senior Jeff Gibson will replace graduated quarterback Eric Pettinato. Gibson was the quarterback of the junior varsity, taking the team to a 6-2 record last season.

MARINA

Seeley predicts the Vikings will be much more competitive than they have been the past two seasons. If the Vikings win just one game, that will be an improvement on the past two seasons.

Marina has has not won since it beat Long Beach Millikan in the last nonleague game of 1987.

Seeley, an assistant at Marina from 1976-80, says the attitude of the players, the students and the staff has been very positive.

The players showed their enthusiasm by heeding Seeley’s request to recruit for their team. Fifty-two players, many from other sports, came out for varsity football this season, significantly more than in years past.

“It’s the kids wanting to improve,” Seeley said.

Seeley’s expertise is defense. He spent six years as a defensive coordinator under Mike Marrujo at Valencia.

He inherits seven defensive starters, led by senior Dave McLeod, an all-league linebacker his sophomore and junior years, and all-league defensive tackle Matt Hunt.

Junior Dave Schultz, a two-year starter at quarterback, heads a young offense.

His main target figures to be senior Darren Fields, who started as a sophomore but did not play last year. Junior Kristen McLemore, a transfer from Torrance, will start at tailback. A slashing-style runner, McLemore (5-10, 175) started as a sophomore at Torrance. He has 4.6 speed and is a good pass-catcher and runner.

OCEAN VIEW

Isom, who spent four years as the defensive coordinator, has six starters and seven part-time starters back from a team that finished fourth, one spot out of the playoffs.

The Seahawks will run the run-and-shoot--a one-back offense with four receivers. “It is an air offense, but it sets up your running game very well,” Isom said. They will try for a balanced attack by using the wing-T.

Ocean View has strength in the skill positions. Junior Randy Karliner (6-1, 208) will be the quarterback. He started as a sophomore and passed for more than 1,400 yards.

The backs will be senior Quincy Bennett (5-9, 170) a part-time starter at fullback last season, and Sean Rogers (6-0, 175), a transfer from South Dakota who will play fullback and defensive back.

Ocean View has a speedy secondary. Senior Scott Caringella returns. He may have something to prove, having been overlooked for all-league honors last season though he led the league in interceptions with seven.

Linebacker is the big question mark due to the loss of Todd Norman, now at Notre Dame.

WESTMINSTER

The Lions have been to the playoffs the past four seasons, but they are going to have to grow up in a hurry if they want to make it this season.

Only three starters return to play a very tough nonleague schedule. All five of Westminster’s nonleague opponents--La Quinta, Millikan, Esperanza, Capistrano Valley and Valencia--are rated in their divisions.

Mike Seui (6-0, 265) is an impact player. He was all-league at offensive guard and defensive tackle last season, and will anchor the defensive line.

Vince Tauanuu (6-3, 225) moves to tight end from offensive tackle this season and will also play defensive end.

Up from the sophomore team to start at quarterback is Vance Senteno.

The squad is very young and has only 43 players, down from 52 last year.

SUNSET LEAGUE

1988 Overall, League Records in Parentheses

SCHOOL ’89 COMMENT Edison (9-2, 4-1) Donnie Smith is the league’s best quarterback Fountain Valley (12-2, 5-0) Only two starters return. Lost QB David Henigan Huntington Beach (2-8, 1-4) Three quality transfers and 13 returning starters. Marina (0-10, 0-5) New coach and county’s longest losing streak. Ocean View (5-5, 2-3) Strong QB--Randy Karliner. Strong secondary. Westminster (4-6, 3-2) May miss the playoffs for first time in five seasons.