PREP REVIEW : Papazian Relishes Accomplishments, but Doesn’t Revel in Them

As the star football player at Whittier Christian High School in La Habra, Ron Papazian lives the life of a typical, zealously athletic 17-year-old.

On the wall of his bedroom is a photograph of his favorite football player, Gaston Green. On the family’s refrigerator is a picture of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

“That’s to give him incentive to build a bigger body,” said Papazian’s mother, Maxine. “He thinks Mike Tyson has an awesome body.”

But aside from a few trophies and photographs of himself with his teammates, Papazian, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound fullback/linebacker, keeps few mementos of his accomplishments.

Most often, it’s his parents who have to remind him how close he is to breaking the Orange County single-season touchdown record.

After scoring three touchdowns in Whittier Christian’s 21-18 Olympic League victory over Valley Christian Friday night, Papazian moved into the sixth spot on the county list for single-season touchdowns with 28. He shares that position with Willie Gittens, the former Fountain Valley standout who did it in 1978.

Papazian needs five touchdowns to break the county record of 32 set five years ago by Jim Farrell of Esperanza.

Considering that Papazian is averaging three touchdowns a game, breaking the record seems a realistic goal.

Whittier Christian (9-0 overall, 4-0 in league) has one regular-season game remaining--at Miraleste on Saturday--before entering the Division IX playoffs. The Heralds are ranked second in that division, behind top-ranked Montclair Prep.

It should be noted, however, that Whittier Christian, which has outscored opponents, 330-64, this season, does not rely entirely on Papazian. Although Papazian’s 168 points account for 50.9% of his team’s total, Scott Jordan has nine touchdowns and Mike Coelho has kicked five field goals and 46 extra points.

Of course, Papazian is the star of the team, although he doesn’t get caught up in the hype.

“It’s not like a real big deal,” said Papazian, who is the county’s fourth-leading rusher with 1,160 yards in 165 carries, a seven-yard average.

“I mean I’m glad I almost have the county record or whatever, but it’s not like (it’s been) one of my goals since the beginning of the year. Now that I’m this close, I do want to break it, though.”

Said his mother: “He is very unaffected by it. In fact, we tell him, ‘You’re tied for sixth in the county for touchdowns,’ or ‘You only need so many to break it,’ but he’s never been like that. He’s a low-key guy.

“If there’s an article about him he doesn’t come home and say, ‘Is there anything in the papers about me today?’ He just takes things in stride.”

Apparently, it’s the same with his coach, Phil Bravo. When asked about Papazian’s touchdown count, Bravo said: “How many touchdowns does he have anyway?

“Really, I’m just oblivious to that fact, to be honest,” Bravo said. “I’m not kidding you, I don’t even keep track of those things . . .

“It’s not to the point where we’re near the goal line and people are saying, ‘Well, let’s get the ball to Ron so he can get the record.’ That’s about 19th on the priority list, if even that.”

But what about the five touchdowns Papazian scored in Whittier Christian’s 74-0 romp over Brethren last month?

“He only had nine carries at halftime,” Bravo said. “He finished with 15 for the game. He normally carries 24 times a game. And really, he could’ve scored 10.”

Add Whittier Christian: Friday’s victory was the first time the Heralds have defeated Valley Christian in four years.

Thursday, the school held a rally and a bonfire to inspire the players. And Friday, a standing-room only crowd of 3,500--about 10 times the normal attendence--packed the stands at Valley Christian in Cerritos.

Here’s a look at the county’s hottest football league races, standings and playoff possibilities:

Angelus League: Bishop Amat (5-3, 3-0) is in first place. Mater Dei (5-4, 2-1), which is tied for second with St. Paul (4-5, 2-1), meets Servite (3-6, 1-2) Thursday. After losing to Bishop Amat, 27-6, Servite will not receive a playoff berth, breaking its streak of 18 consecutive years.

Century League: Santa Ana (7-2, 3-1) and Villa Park (6-3, 3-1) are tied for first, with Santa Ana Valley (3-5-1, 2-2), which lost to Villa Park on Saturday, in second.

Empire League: Los Alamitos (8-1, 4-0) is in first, but must beat Esperanza (6-3, 3-1) Friday to win the league title. Loara (7-1, 3-1) is tied for second with Esperanza.

Freeway League: Sunny Hills (9-0, 4-0) leads, with Troy (6-3, 3-1) in second and Fullerton (6-3, 2-2) tied for third with La Habra (4-5, 2-2). La Habra and Fullerton play Thursday for the No. 3 spot.

Garden Grove League: Pacifica (6-2, 6-0) has clinched the league championship. Kennedy (5-4, 4-2) is tied for second with La Quinta (5-4, 4-2).

Olympic League: Whittier Christian needs to beat Miraleste this week to win the league title outright. If Whittier Christian loses and Valley Christian wins, the Heralds share the title with Valley Christian. Santa Margarita (6-3, 4-3) clinched third place by defeating Orange Lutheran, 42-0.

Orange League: Valencia (8-0, 3-0) and Savanna (5-3-1, 3-0) are tied for first. Western, which lost Saturday to Valencia, 15-7, is third.

Pacific Coast League: Trabuco Hills (8-1, 4-0) and Orange (7-1-1, 4-0) are tied for first and play for the league title Thursday at Mission Viejo High School. Laguna Hills (4-5, 2-2) is in third.

Sea View League: Estancia (9-0, 4-0) clinched the league title with a 17-12 victory over Tustin Friday. Tustin (6-3, 2-1) is in second. Corona del Mar (6-3, 2-2) and Newport Harbor (6-3, 2-2) are tied for third and play Friday at Newport Harbor.

South Coast League: The biggest game in the county will be Friday when El Toro, the No. 1-ranked county team meets No. 2 Capistrano Valley. Both teams are 9-0 overall and 4-0 in league play. Mission Viejo (7-2, 2-2) is tied for third with Dana Hills (6-3, 2-2).

Sunset League: Huntington Beach (7-2, 3-1), Edison (6-3, 3-1) and Ocean View (6-3, 3-1) are tied for first. Fourth-place Fountain Valley (4-5, 2-2) has a chance for a playoff spot if it beats Huntington Beach Thursday.

Quotable: Gene Noji, Woodbridge football coach, after his team fell to 3-6 overall last week: “We haven’t been singing too many songs on the bus on the way back to school.”

Jerry Whitaker, Foothill cross-country coach, after his girls’ team won the Century League title and his boys’ finished sixth out of six teams: “It was a Jekyll and Hyde day for us, you know, schizophrenic. Our guys ran (poorly), our girls were nails.”

Prep Notes

Mater Dei’s basketball team will travel to St. Louis on Dec. 7 to play East St. Louis Lincoln in the annual St. Louis Shootout. The shootout features four St. Louis area teams against some of the top teams in the nation. Among the top prep players scheduled to compete: 7-5 center Shawn Bradley of Emery County High in Utah, forward Anfernee Hardaway of Memphis Treadwell and forward Brian Reese of Bronx St. Nicholas of Tolentine. The field features three defending state champions, including St. Nicholas of Tolentine, last season’s mythical national champion. The shootout has been sold out three consecutive years and has included former prep All-Americans Danny Ferry, Alonzo Mourning and Kenny Anderson.

Trabuco Hills will host a free youth basketball coaches clinic at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the school’s gymnasium. Featured speakers include Trabuco Hills Coach Rainer Wulf and former Laguna Hills Coach John Moore. Among the fundamentals to be discussed are shooting, man-to-man defense, full-court press and fast-break offense.