PREP REVIEW : La Quinta Endures Rare Losing Season

The nightmare on McFadden Avenue continued this past week.

La Quinta High School’s 112-85 loss to Rancho Alamitos Friday dropped the Aztecs’ record to 0-17 overall, 0-9 in Garden Grove League play.

It’s an uncharacteristic mark for a tradition-rich program, one of the most consistent in Orange County in the past decade.

Last season, La Quinta won its fourth league championship in the last eight seasons and finished with an 18-7 overall record. The Aztecs have advanced to the second round of the Southern Section playoffs three times during that span and posted a 21-6 record in 1982-83.

Former La Quinta players dot the rosters of college teams.

Scott Campbell, who led the county in scoring (28.9 points) and three-point shooting (64 of 102) last season, signed a letter of intent to play at Cal State Fullerton, but left last week to attend Golden West College.

Former Aztecs have played at Azusa Pacific, Cal Poly Pomona, Point Loma Nazarene, San Diego State and Southern California College.

And maybe that’s why losing has been especially tough to take around the La Quinta campus.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me,” said Jim Perry, in his ninth season as La Quinta coach. “It bothers you to think you can’t figure out a way to win a game.”

Times have been tough for the Aztecs.

First, three potential starters transferred to other schools.

This season, the team was left short-handed while the football team advanced to the Division VI championship game.

“We had six kids on the varsity and the JVs (who played football and) didn’t have a day of practice until the ninth of December,” Perry said. “So we played our first two games without six of our top 10 kids.

“Then, we played the next three games with a total of 1 1/2 hours of practice with those kids. It was the 27th of December before we played a game with everyone having a full week of practice.

“We have young, inexperienced kids that got a late start. We’ve got to scramble around like crazy.”

Often, the Aztecs haven’t helped their cause much.

Wednesday night, La Quinta made just 11 of 54 shots from the field (20.4%) and lost, 81-40, to Pacifica.

Walter Dawkins, a 5-foot-11 junior guard, has been the Aztecs’ most consistent scorer, averaging 10.8 points.

“To be honest, we’ve been extremely proud of the kids,” Perry said. “If you could go out and recruit and reload every year it might be different. I’m excited about some of the younger players.”

For now, Perry will have to make do.

“No one wants to be the team that loses to us,” Perry said. “They’ll play to keep from losing to us. That’s going to hurt one of them.”

The Aztecs will have a chance to their losing streak today when they play at Kennedy.

Former Mater Dei basketball players don’t fade away, they just migrate to . . . Eastern Montana College?

That’s where ex-Monarchs Kevin Rembert and Char Ruppel have found spots in the Yellowjackets’ starting lineup.

Rembert and Ruppel, both sophomore forwards, were key figures in leading Mater Dei to its fourth consecutive 5-A championship in 1988.

Rembert originally signed a letter of intent to play at San Diego State, but changed his mind and found his way to Billings, Mont. Ruppel went to Eastern Montana, a Division II program, directly from Mater Dei.

Ruppel holds a slight statistical edge over Rembert, averaging 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. Rembert averages 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds.

Jeff Andrade, Mater Dei junior varsity coach, played at Eastern Montana, hence the connection with Mater Dei.

Add where are they now: Markus Muller-Stach, a former Corona del Mar forward, is redshirting at the University of the Pacific after undergoing knee surgery.

An all-county selection at Corona del Mar in the 1986-87 season, Muller-Stach averaged 18.2 points as a freshman at Golden West College and 22.3 as a sophomore.

He finished as the second-leading scorer at Golden West.

Video basketball: Marina Coach Steve Popovich, seeking to show his players their inconsistent play last week, played the videotape from the fourth quarter of the Vikings’ 61-55 victory over Edison. He then showed them the tape from their 68-65 loss to Fountain Valley.

Popovich didn’t say much beyond, “Notice any difference?”

The Vikings got the message, and defeated second-ranked Ocean View, 62-61, at Ocean View Friday night.

Herb Hill, Loara’s one and only football coach, retired this season with 191 victories, more than any other Orange County coach.

And that made the Saxons’ awards dinner last Tuesday a little more special.

His address to the players, their parents and friends was vintage Hill. It was short and to the point.

“You, the players, have been the greatest joy of my life,” he said. “It was a pleasure being the first and only football coach at Loara High School for the past 28 years. I’ve been very fortunate.

“This is not an easy banquet for me. If I can leave one message with you seniors, it’s this: Never give up. Be all that you can be. As for the juniors and sophomores, you’re going to have a new coach next year and, no doubt, he’ll be a good coach. He won’t be Coach Hill. He’ll do some things different . . . that’s great. Just remember, the game is still the same.”

Add Hill: The Loara players presented Hill with a monogrammed golf bag. During the presentation, running back Coy Collins cracked, “Now, do you think you can play under par?”

Last add Hill: Commenting on a typographical error in the awards program which listed Loara with 24 losses for the 1989 season, Hill said, “I guess when you schedule 11 games and lose 24, it’s time to get out.”

Prep Notes

Members of the Newport Harbor boys’ soccer team are wearing black arm bands in memory of youth soccer Coach Don Wolfe. Wolfe helped establish the American Youth Soccer Organization program in the area in 1978 and served as its commissioner for five years. A scholarship fund has been established at the school in memory of Wolfe. . . . Trabuco Hills is accepting applications for a boys’ varsity volleyball coach. Anyone interested can call athletic director Gary Sabella at 768-1934, ext. 712. . . . The California Baseball Coaches Assn. will hold a clinic for coaches Feb. 3 at Cal State Long Beach. The clinic, which runs from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will be at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall No. 1. . . . Foothill will be the site of a baseball card show Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the school’s gym. Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for students.