Top Football Coach, Back, Lineman Honored : Glendora’s Dean Karnoski has gone from the bottom to the top in coaching with a first season 0-9 record to this year’s 12-1-1, best in the valley.

In five seasons at Glendora High School, Dean Karnoski has known the highs and lows of coaching football.

Karnoski’s career with the Tartans did not start auspiciously as the team struggled to an 0-9 record in his first season.

There were also difficult times since then, including the 1988 season when Glendora had expectations for a big year only to finish with a 5-5 record and miss the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

It was the memory of disappointments, Karnoski said, that made the result of this season even more sweet for the Tartans.

Completing its best season in the school’s history, Glendora captured a share of its first football championship by tying Ramona of Riverside, 28-28, in the Division IV title game.

That left the Tartans with a record of 12-1-1--the best mark of any team in the San Gabriel Valley--and also earned Karnoski the Los Angeles Times San Gabriel Valley coach of the year honor.

Karnoski, who improved his record at Glendora to 30-23-1, said the season also left him and his coaching staff feeling considerably better about themselves.

“I feel real good about what we’ve done here,” Karnoski said. “We’ve accomplished a lot in the five years. We’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re happy about what we’ve accomplished.”

The coach said his team may have been looking ahead too much last season.

“I think last year we didn’t do a real good job of focusing the kids on the task at hand,” Karnoski said. “Maybe these kids (this season) were a little easier to coach. But my philosophy has always been that it’s the coach’s responsibility.”

Karnoski credited the addition of a strong rush--to complement Glendora’s traditional passing game--as an important factor.

But he thinks “the fear of J. J. (quarterback) O’Laughlin) and our ability to throw and catch the football was almost bigger than our running game.”

After starting 8-0, the Tartans suffered their only loss to Damien, and Karnoski said that may have benefited the team.

“It appears as if that brought us back to reality and showed us what it was like to lose again, and we didn’t like the feeling,” he said.

Although Glendora did not win the Division IV title outright, Karnoski said the players were not too disappointed with a tie considering that they rallied from a 28-7 deficit in the second half against a much bigger team.

“I think that made it more like a win to us,” he said. “On the field it appeared that physically, for a while, they were the better team, and I think our team showed a lot of character in coming back the way they did.”

Karnoski and two athletes received special honors at The Times High School Football Awards Brunch. Marshawn Thompson of Bassett was named back of the year for the valley, and Norberto Garrido of Workman was chosen lineman of the year.

Thompson, Garrido and Karnoski each received a trophy. The 23 members of the All-San Gabriel Valley first-team offense and defense were awarded golden plaques and certificates, as were players from other Times circulation areas: Orange County, Westside, San Fernando Valley, Glendale, Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside counties), Ventura County, Southeast, South Coast, South Bay, San Diego County and Central City.

The awards, presented last Sunday at the Anaheim Hilton, were provided by the Los Angeles Times Fund.

Presenting the awards was Dennis Green, a former San Francisco 49ers assistant and Northwestern coach who guided Stanford this season. Green addressed 276 all-star players and their parents and coaches.

For Thompson, the award puts the finishing touch on a remarkable high school career in which he rushed for 4,254 yards to rank among the all-time valley leaders.

As a senior, the 6-1 and 195-pound fullback powered for 2,294 yards and 30 touchdowns in 379 carries to lead the state in rushing. He was 10th in the state in scoring with 190 points, including five two-point conversion runs.

Thompson moved into the Southern Section record book with the 10th highest single-season rushing yardage total and the 10th most touchdowns rushing in a season in section history.

The impressive season came after an exceptional junior year in which he rushed for 1,701 yards and 16 touchdowns in 301 carries and earned All-Division V honors.

He also led Bassett this season to its first playoff victory in 24 years, a 7-5 record and a berth in the Division V quarterfinals. The Olympians defeated Bonita, 42-40, in the opening round before losing to Norco, 20-12, in the quarterfinals.

A second-team all-valley selection as a junior, Thompson is regarded as a major-college prospect with outstanding strength and 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash. Among colleges recruiting Thompson are USC, Colorado and Colorado State.

At 6-7 and 280 pounds, Garrido is easily the most imposing lineman on the team. He also completed an excellent prep career.

He was a fierce pass rusher and recorded 12 1/2 quarterback sacks. Offensively, he developed a reputation for knocking opponents off their feet.

He even realized a lineman’s dream when he recovered a teammate’s fumble in the end zone for a touchdown against Montclair.

Garrido has exceptional strength and bench presses nearly 400 pounds. He also has above-average speed of 5.0 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

An All-Valle Vista League selection and a good student, Garrido is the most heavily recruited lineman in the valley. His list includes UCLA, Colorado, UC Berkeley and Washington State.

Besides Thompson and Garrido, the first-team offense has receivers Jeremy Smith and Jason Green of Bishop Amat, linemen Mike Collins of Los Altos, Joe Patterson of Bishop Amat, Chris West of Glendora and Mudie Mushonga of Muir, quarterback O’Laughlin, running backs Roger Boden of Los Altos and Bill Zernickow of Glendora and kicker Neil Voskeritchian of Arcadia.

The first-team defense consists of linemen John Rafols of Wilson, Mike Balian of Damien and Orlando Benn and Reggie Hunt of Muir, linebackers Paul Joiner of Muir, David Dunkelman of Baldwin Park and Ellison Kim of Arcadia and backs Chris Liu of Temple City, Billy Ivey of Nogales, Keven Shanahan of San Marino and Darren MacLellan of Arroyo.