Ramona Looms as ‘Big’ Favorite, but It’s Not Likely to Be Easy

Tom Smith had heard the word favorite before, but he said it was different hearing it mentioned in the context of Ramona football.

“It kind of felt strange when the coach said, ‘You guys are the favorites,’ ” said Smith, Ramona’s fullback.

And no, Mel Galli was not just trying to make his team feel good. It’s the truth: Ramona is the favorite in the Avocado League. Ask any Avocado coach.

“With 17 of 22 starters back, they have to be the favorite,” El Camino Coach Herb Meyer said.

And this from someone who has never lost to Ramona in 12 games and put a damper on the Bulldogs’ best season ever by embarrassing them, 49-0, in the 2-A semifinals last year.

Galli, who led Ramona to its first playoff appearance and first season above .500, isn’t quite sure how to take this.

“It’s a different feeling,” he said. “Our kids really have high expectations. We have some good players coming back. But our No. 1 goal is to win our league. And our league scares the heck out of us.”

It should. Last year, three of the four section semifinalists--El Camino, Ramona and San Pasqual--were Avocado League teams. The past three 2-A champions and five of the past eight have come from the Avocado.

On paper, or should we say on the scale, it appears Ramona has a shot to make it six of nine.

The strength of Ramona’s team last year was its mammoth offensive line. In playoff victories over Crawford and Mission Bay, the Bulldogs controlled the ball and the game by running behind Ramona’s version of the Washington Redskins’ “Hogs.”

Although the Bulldogs lost three players off the line to graduation, it should again be their strength.

Center Mike Murray (6-2, 265) and guard Jason Emerick (6-5, 280), a three-year starter, are the most experienced lineman and probably also the most talented. But Galli expects newcomers Steve Pieta, a 6-5, 300-pound junior tackle, Jerry Tretora, a 6-4, 200-pound junior tackle, and Jason Madsen, a 6-3, 190-pound junior guard, to make significant contributions.

Smith (6-2, 235) heads a trio that started in the offensive backfield last year. He will team with 1,000-yard halfback Sarn Salmon (5-9, 175) and senior quarterback John Cappasolla (5-11, 175), who started the second half of last season.

When Cappasolla gets tired of handing off Smith and Salmon, he will look for senior wide receiver Todd Dick (6-3, 185) and tight end Ryan Simpson (6-2, 230).

The defense will be led by Smith, who is being heavily recruited as a nose guard, and senior inside linebackers Louis Ethington (5-10, 200) and Jeff Manno (5-10, 190).

Murray said he can’t wait to start the season against last year’s 2-A runner-up, Lincoln, on Sept. 7.

“Last year, our feeling was, ‘We think we can or maybe we can,’ but this year we believe we can,” he said. “But we’re bigger this year, and we’ve bulked up. And there’s a lot more pride this year.”

But Murray said the pride will be bursting over Oct. 12 when the Bulldogs play host to El Camino. He can’t seem to get 49-0 out of his mind.

“We were all so pumped up, but once we got down, we stayed down,” he said. “I’ll never forget when we were walking off the field and having the humiliation of them laughing at us. And then they kept saying ‘49-0.’ Even during baseball, they were yelling ‘49-0’ at us.”

With El Camino returning only seven of 22 starters off its section championship team, Ramona appears to at least have a fighting chance this year.

Meyer said he’s worried about everything from his inexperienced secondary to his tattered offensive line, which has lost two players in the past month, one to injury and one leaving the team.

San Pasqual is also down. Mike Dolan has lost 20 of 22 starters.

But Galli said he isn’t buying any of it. “I would never underestimate those schools, because they have great coaching staffs,” he said.

And for once, people are not underestimating Ramona.

“I know if we don’t at least make the playoffs,” Galli said, “we’ll have one disappointed group of football players.”

AVOCADO LEAGUE FOOTBALL Defending champion: El Camino (13-1 in 1989, 7-0 in league). Who should win: Ramona (8-5, 3-3).

Who could win: El Camino, San Marcos (3-6, 2-4).

Who should look toward 1991: Carlsbad (3-7, 1-5), Escondido (2-8, 0-6), San Pasqual (11-2, 5-1), Oceanside (5-4, 4-2), Rancho Bernardo (new school).

The Game: El Camino at Ramona, Oct. 12. Ramona won’t have proved anything until it has defeated the defending section champion.

Impact players: Von Robinson, El Camino tailback, 6-0, 190; ran for 907 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior. Cullen Owen, San Pasqual fullback, 6-0, 215; he scored 23 touchdowns as a junior. Jason Emerick, Ramona offensive guard, 6-5, 280; he’s being recruited by most Division I schools, but he’s not even the biggest player on the line.

New faces: The entire Rancho Bernardo team is new, outside of two players who started as sophomores for Mt. Carmel last year. Jerry Singleton, Escondido quarterback, 6-2 1/2, 210; he could turn out to be the best passer in the league. Steve Pieta, Ramona offensive tackle, 6-5, 300; he played junior varsity last year, but his size should help him adapt to varsity competition.

Last word: It has been five years since at least one Avocado League team failed to make an appearance at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. This year doesn’t figure to be any different.