Orange Trying to Complete Turnaround

Long after the conclusion of Orange High School’s season opener, Coach Tom Meiss went back into the locker room for one last look around.

What he found was one Panther player, sitting in front of his locker. The kid was smiling, obviously happy about the 30-0 victory over Chino.

“He just looked up at me and said, ‘This stuff can work. We really can win,’ ” Meiss said.

And the Panthers have continued to win, reaching new heights under Meiss, who is in his first year as the team’s coach.

With one regular-season game remaining, the Panthers are 7-1-1 and have clinched a spot in the Southern Section Division VIII playoffs. Their only loss was to Estancia, the No. 2 team in the Division VI poll.

It’s the most victories for the Panthers since 1986, when they were 7-5 and a Pacific Coast League co-champion.

At 7:30 tonight, the Panthers (4-0 in league) will attempt to win another championship when they meet Trabuco Hills at Mission Viejo High School. A victory against the Mustangs (8-1, 4-0) will give Orange its second title in four years.

This from a school that went 14 years between championships. The Panthers hadn’t even qualified for the Southern Section playoffs since 1972, when they won the Crestview League title.

At the core of this rejuvenation is Meiss, who was the head coach at Santa Ana for six years from 1978-83.

Mark McMahon, who guided the Panthers to their first league title in 14 years, resigned as coach last spring. Finding a replacement proved to be difficult for Orange officials.

After winning the league championship, the Panthers had slipped. They had a 4-6 record in 1987 and were 2-8 in 1988. Orange won only two league games in those two years, one of which was a forfeit.

No one on campus wanted the job, so officials went outside the district and hired Meiss as a walk-on coach.

Meiss has a history of reviving programs. In 1978, he took over a Santa Ana program that had won two games in three years. His teams went on to win two league titles and compile a 46-23-2 record.

“A lot of coaches say you can’t win without the horses, and there were some who told me Orange kids didn’t know how to win,” Meiss said. “Well, not to sound egotistical, but coaching is 75% of it. I’m not saying that it will win every game, but good coaching makes a team competitive every week.”

With that in mind, Meiss assembled a coaching staff that, although inexperienced, was capable of teaching kids to win.

Only one of his assistant coaches, Ed Howard, teaches at the school. Howard, who is also the Panther baseball coach, had no experience as a varsity assistant. The rest of the staff members are walk-ons, all of whom have close ties to Meiss.

Damon Bland, Dan Stroup and Cary Conway all played for Meiss at Santa Ana.

Ben Haley Jr. is another assistant, whose father was an assistant under Meiss at Santa Ana.

“We don’t have a lot of experience on the staff. In fact, sometimes I’ve actually been teaching coaches how to coach,” Meiss said.

Meiss has built on the success started by McMahon. He has instilled a winning attitude, something he said was lacking when he arrived.

He has used toughness and humor to turn the Orange program around.

During Hell Week, the Panthers went through three-a-day practices instead of the standard two-a-days. Meiss also has the team in pads every practice, and every scrimmage is full contact.

“Our kids don’t know what it’s like to hit and then giggle,” Meiss said. “We’re at full speed every practice.”

Yet, Meiss has also kept the team loose. Before each practice, he gathers the players together for the Joke of the Day. There are also special events, like Crazy Hat Night, when the players come to practice in hats of their own design.

“You can’t be serious all the time,” Meiss said. “You have to be able to laugh at yourself from time to time.”

But this season, no one is laughing at the Panthers.

Servite (3-6, 1-2) vs. Mater Dei (5-4, 2-1) at Santa Ana Stadium--A Mater Dei victory will assure the Monarchs of being the Angelus League’s No. 2 team entering the Division I playoffs. Mater Dei is currently tied with St. Paul for second place, but defeated the Swordsmen, 34-24, this season. Servite will be out of the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.

In other games:

Century League--Foothill at El Modena; Empire League--Cypress vs. Katella at Glover Stadium, El Dorado vs. Loara at Western High School; Freeway League--La Habra at Fullerton, Buena Park vs. Sunny Hills at Buena Park, Troy vs. Sonora at La Habra High School; Garden Grove League--La Quinta at Garden Grove, Kennedy vs. Pacifica at Bolsa Grande High School; Pacific Coast League--Laguna Hills at Laguna Beach; South Coast League--Dana Hills at Irvine, Mission Viejo at San Clemente; Sunset League--Fountain Valley at Huntington Beach, Ocean View vs. Marina at Westminster High School, Westminster vs. Edison at Orange Coast College.