PREP FOOTBALL ALL-STARS 1989 : Three Powerhouses Place Four Players Each on Squad.

The strongest teams made the strongest showing in selections for The Times’ 1989 Westside All-Star High School Football Team.

Venice (11-1), Westchester (9-3) and St. Monica (8-2) each has four players on the 23-man team chosen primarily in a poll of prep coaches.

How strong were those teams?

Venice probably had the best team in the school’s history and, before a large crowd at its homecoming, defeated Westchester, 29-27, to win the championship of the Los Angeles City Western League.

St. Monica may have had its best team of all time last year when the Mariners finished with a 9-2 record. That team lost the championship of the CIF-Southern Section’s Santa Fe League to El Segundo by one point and its first playoff game to Santa Paula by two points. The 1989 Mariners, despite heavy graduation losses, won the Santa Fe title and lost in a playoff opener to Agoura by one point.

The order in which a coach nominated his players to be all-stars was an important, but not necessarily decisive, factor for putting players on the first or second team. If a player was not nominated by his coach, he was not considered.

Some players are out of position because The Times attempted to select the best athletes, regardless of position.

The first team on offense has receivers Anthony Cope of Palisades and John Aylsworth of Santa Monica and linemen Darren Johnson of Westchester, Julio Diaz of Venice, Eric Banducci of Santa Monica, Noah R. Kaiser of Westchester and Brian Gorski of Venice.

The quarterback is Louis Jones of Venice, and the running backs are Damone Ewell of St. Monica, John Haqq of Culver City and Tim Holliday of Westchester. The kicker is Jay Fields of Hamilton.

On defense, the linemen are Todd Kusserow of Santa Monica, Bryan McElroy of Palisades, Floyd Hines of St. Bernard and Devon Sando of Beverly Hills. The linebackers are Henry (Butch) Hahn of Westchester, Mike Curutchet of St. Monica and Art Cabral of Venice.

Defensive backs are Albert (Lefty) Jones of St. Monica, Greg Hooks of Culver City, Lamar K. Lyons II of St. Monica and Terence Sullivan of St. Bernard.

Members of the first team will be honored at the annual Times High School Football Awards Brunch at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Anaheim Hilton & Towers, 777 Convention Way. Featured speaker will be Coach Dennis Green of Stanford.

Sponsored by the Los Angeles Times Fund, the invitational event will bring together players on the first teams on all-star squads in 12 Times circulation areas: Westside, Central Los Angeles, Orange County, San Gabriel Valley, Southeast, South Coast, Glendale, Centinela-South Bay, San Fernando Valley, San Diego County, Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties) and Ventura County.

Parents and the head coach of each all-star have been invited. All high school head football coaches are welcome. Each player will receive a plaque and certificate. A lineman, back and coach of the year will be announced for each Times section, and they will receive trophies.

Fields is the only first-team repeater from last year. Banducci, Holliday and Sullivan were second-team selections last year.

All statistics were submitted by coaches and are from the regular season and do not include playoff games.

A big-play receiver, Cope, also a defensive back, had 34 receptions for 668 yards (a 19.4-yard average) and five touchdowns. Palisades Coach Jack Epstein said the 6-3 senior “has great hands and excellent speed and is a great leaper.”

Santa Monica Coach Tebb Kusserow called Aylsworth “a tremendous route runner with excellent hands.” He was his team’s leading scorer with 57 points on eight touchdowns, three extra-point conversions on passes and a field goal. He had 46 receptions for 697 yards, a 15.1-yard average.

A tight end and linebacker, Johnson was Westchester’s top receiver with 16 catches for 451 yards and two touchdowns. He scored three touchdowns as a linebacker, on runs of 40 and 50 yards after fumble recoveries and recovering a blocked punt in the end zone.

A two-way tackle, the 6-foot 5-inch, 275-pound Diaz is “strong and fast,” said Al Dellinger, Venice co-coach with Tony Chretin. He is an “outstanding blocker and defensive player as well,” Dellinger said. His defensive play included two fumble recoveries and three quarterback sacks.

Banducci’s grandfather, the late Bruno Banducci, was a top lineman with the San Francisco 49ers, and Eric is a chip off the old blocker. Santa Monica Coach Kusserow said that the young center is an “excellent blocker with great quickness and strength.” He was also the leading tackler on the Vikings’ defensive line with 42 tackles, six sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Kaiser played most of the time at offensive guard, where he excelled, but he also played six games at defensive tackle, where he was in on 44 tackles, had 3.5 sacks and scored a touchdown on a blocked punt. He was a two-year starter for Westchester.

A three-year starter for Venice at offensive guard, Gorski was part of what Dellinger called the best offensive line the school has had since he began coaching there in 1971. The 5-11, 230-pound senior has “super technique as a blocker,” Dellinger said.

Dellinger said that Jones is the “best all-around player” he has seen in 25 years of coaching and was the catalyst for Venice’s strong season. A converted wide receiver, Jones moved to quarterback this year and continued to be a top defensive back as well. He didn’t pass often (37 completions in 87 attempts for 416 yards and five touchdowns), but he ran often and well (96 carries, 769 yards and 14 touchdowns), and he always ran the show.

Jones was the Gondoliers’ leading tackler in the secondary, had eight sacks and five interceptions and forced four fumbles. He also handled all the punting and kicking chores. As a spot receiver, he caught two touchdown passes.

Ewell averaged 13.3 yards every time he carried the ball, gaining 1,305 yards on 98 carries, and he scored 18 touchdowns. He also had five receptions for 110 yards.

Holliday, a three-year starter for Westchester and an All-Los Angeles City 3-A selection last year, provided much of the offense for the Comets this year. He had 138 carries for 1,115 yards (an 8.1-yard average) and scored 10 touchdowns.

Haqq rushed for 1,242 yards on 176 carries, including a couple of 200-yard games, and 11 touchdowns. He caught 17 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown.

Fields did all the kicking and punting for Hamilton and was his team’s leading rusher, despite missing two games with leg injuries. He averaged more than 40 yards a punt, including one for 64 yards, and rushed for 853 yards on 122 carries and seven touchdowns.

Santa Monica Coach Kusserow called son Todd the best blocking tight end and the best defensive end in the Bay League. He led the Vikings in sacks with 13, had 48 tackles (including 20 for losses) and forced four fumbles.

Palisades Coach Epstein said that McElroy, a center and all-league defensive tackle, was “everybody’s All-American.” A two-year starter, he was also team captain and the glue of the defense.

A linebacker and tight end, Hines seemed to stop opposing running backs and wide receivers every time they ran or caught a pass. He had 139 tackles. He also returned an interception and a recovered fumble for touchdowns.

Beverly Hills forfeited three games because of a teachers strike, but in seven games Sando had 16 unassisted tackles and 48 assists, including four tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He was credited with forcing quarterbacks out of the pocket three times, had two sacks, caused one fumble and recovered a fumble.

A two-year starter and defensive captain, Hahn was Westchester’s leading tackler with 37 solos and 78 assists. He was known to opposing backs as a big hitter.

Curutchet started for two years in a row for St. Monica, and a lot of running backs and quarterbacks wished he hadn’t. He was in on 120 tackles and had six interceptions. He also had six sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Cabral led the Gondoliers with an average of 10 tackles a game and had three interceptions, five sacks and five fumble recoveries. He was also a capable fullback and long snapper.

St. Monica Coach Angelo Jackson considered Jones to be “the best football player on the Westside.” A sure tackler at defensive back, he also had six interceptions, two for touchdowns. As a wide receiver he had 32 receptions for 606 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also returned four punts for touchdowns, including one for 95 yards.

Hooks was named the Ocean League’s Defensive Back of the Year, but he was also a top receiver and punt returner and was considered Culver City’s best athlete. He had four interceptions, including two for touchdowns. He also caught 51 passes for 761 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Jackson said that strong safety Lyons was strong, hard-hitting and very fast and could have played for an NCAA Division I team this season. He had 110 tackles and seven interceptions.

A quarterback, running back and strong safety, Sullivan passed for more than 700 yards, rushed for more than 300 and caught 25 passes for 300 yards. He also had five interceptions and was chosen all-league on both offense and defense.

The second team on offense has wide receivers John Song of Beverly Hills and Kyle Bryant of University and linemen Bryan Orange of Hamilton, Payam Saadat of St. Monica, Charles Geitzen of Hamilton, Nigel Mills of Venice and Hassan Allen of Westchester.

Bob Aylsworth of Santa Monica (John’s brother) is the second-unit quarterback, and the running backs are Mario Mattison of Fairfax, Walter Grissam of Westchester and Robert Hughes of University. The kicker is Rick Heineman of Culver City.

On defense, the second-team linemen are Humberto Irigoyen of Daniel Murphy, Antonio Johnson of Culver City, Wes Smith of Westchester and Fabrice Perzik of Beverly Hills. The linebackers are Matt Schmitter of Santa Monica, Alex Kahan of Beverly Hills and Dominic Walker of Palisades.

Defensive backs are Troy Dunlap of Culver City, Lerone McElrath of Venice, Keith Walk Green of St. Monica and Tharen Todd of Fairfax.

OFFENSE Name: Anthony Cope Position: Wide Receiver School: Palisades Height: 6-3 Weight: 185 Year: Senior Name: John Aylsworth Position: Wide Receiver School: Santa Monica Height: 5-10 Weight: 165 Year: Senior Name: Darren Johnson Position: Lineman School: Westchester Height: 6-1 Weight: 200 Year: Senior Name: Julio Diaz Position: Lineman School: Venice Height: 6-5 Weight: 275 Year: Senior Name: Eric Banducci Position: Lineman School: Santa Monica Height: 6-3 Weight: 250 Year: Senior Name: Noah R. Kaiser Position: Lineman School: Westchester Height: 6-1 Weight: 230 Year: Senior Name: Brian Gorski Position: Lineman School: Venice Height: 5-11 Weight: 215 Year: Senior Name: Louis Jones Position: Quarterback School: Venice Height: 6-2 Weight: 200 Year: Senior Name: Damone Ewell Position: Back School: St. Monica Height: 5-11 Weight: 175 Year: Senior Name: John Haqq Position: Back School: Culver City Height: 5-8 Weight: 155 Year: Senior Name: Tim Holliday Position: Back School: Westchester Height: 6-0 Weight: 185 Year: Senior Name: Jay Fields Position: Kicker School: Hamilton Height: 5-5 Weight: 155 Year: Senior

DEFENSE Name: Todd Kusserow Position: Lineman School: Santa Monica Height: 6-3 Weight: 195 Year: Senior Name: Bryan McElroy Position: Lineman School: Palisades Height: 6-0 Weight: 203 Year: Senior Name: Floyd Hines Position: Lineman School: St. Bernard Height: 6-2 Weight: 185 Year: Senior Name: Devon Sando Position: Lineman School: Beverly Hills Height: 6-0 Weight: 231 Year: Senior Name: Henry Hahn Position: Linebacker School: Westchester Height: 6-1 Weight: 215 Year: Senior Name: Michael Curutchet Position: Linebacker School: St. Monica Height: 6-1 Weight: 210 Year: Senior Name: Art Cabral Position: Linebacker School: Venice Height: 5-10 Weight: 180 Year: Senior Name: Albert Jones Position: Back School: St. Monica Height: 6-3 Weight: 190 Year: Junior Name: Greg Hooks Position: Back School: Culver City Height: 6-2 Weight: 180 Year: Senior Name: Lamar K. Lyons II Position: Back School: St. Monica Height: 6-4 Weight: 200 Year: Senior Name: Terence Sullivan Position: Back School: St. Bernard Height: 6-2 Weight: 185 Year: Senior

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Name School Position Height Weight Year John Song Beverly Hills WR 5-7 145 12 Kyle Bryant University WR 5-10 147 11 Byran Orange Hamilton OL 6-0 240 12 Payam Saadat St. Monica OL 6-3 215 12 Charles Geitzen Hamilton OL 6-4 270 12 Nigel Mills Venice OL 5-11 235 12 Hassan Allen Westchester OL 5-11 220 12 Bob Aylsworth Santa Monica QB 6-0 180 11 Mario Mattison Fairfax RB 5-11 167 11 Walter Grissam Westchester RB 5-7 150 12 Robert Hughes University RB 5-8 185 11 Rick Heineman Culver City K 6-3 180 11

DEFENSE

Name School Position Height Weight Year Humberto Irigoyen Daniel Murphy DL 5-8 165 12 Antonio Johnson Culver City DL 5-10 290 12 Wes Smith Westchester DL 5-11 185 11 Fabrice Perzik Beverly Hills DL 6-2 200 12 Matt Schmitter Santa Monica LB 5-10 190 12 Alex Kahan Beverly Hills LB 5-11 188 12 Dominic Walker Palisades LB 5-10 170 11 Troy Dunlap Culver City DB 5-8 150 12 Keith Walk Green St. Monica DB 5-11 171 11 Tharen Todd Fairfax DB 5-9 150 11