Carpinteria’s Rivals Might Have Chance : Football: Key Warrior players have graduated, but inexperience abounds among the challengers.

If any of Carpinteria High’s Tri-Valley League opponents are dreaming of knocking the Warriors off their throne, this might be the year to wake up and make it happen.

Carpinteria, which has won four consecutive league titles and three consecutive Division IX championships, has seven returning starters. But it has lost several skill-position players to graduation, including its starting quarterback, a leading running back, both wide receivers, and two linebackers.

Ben Hallock has succeeded longtime Coach Lou Panizzon, under whom he served as an assistant for six years. The team opened its season Friday night with a nonleague loss to Cabrillo, 27-0.

Hallock is one of three new coaches in the league. Dick Billingsley, who co-coached at Beverly Hills for the past nine years, has taken over at Oak Park, which routed Leffingwell Christian, 63-0, Friday night. Jon Mack is in his first year at St. Bonaventure after seven years as an assistant at Notre Dame and Loyola. St. Bonaventure lost to Paraclete, 21-0, in an opener Thursday.

Moorpark’s Rob Dearborn, the veteran coach of the league, is beginning his third season with the Musketeers, who began the season Friday night with a 16-6 loss to Nordhoff. This is the second season at Bishop Diego for Norris Fletcher.

Fillmore, which finished second to Carpinteria last season, has moved to the Frontier League, giving Moorpark and Oak Park a clearer shot at a title.

Experience is at a premium throughout the league. Moorpark, which finished third a season ago, has five returning starters and Oak Park has seven. The league’s two weakest teams last season, Bishop Diego and St. Bonaventure, have the fewest returning starters: Bishop Diego has three, St. Bonaventure none.

Oak Park’s Mike Stern, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior, is the only returning starting quarterback. Stern threw for 848 yards and five touchdowns last season but suffered 14 interceptions. If he can cut down on turnovers, the Eagles should be poised to battle with the best.

Moorpark, Bishop Diego and St. Bonaventure all have entrusted the quarterback position to juniors, and Carpinteria will feature a three-man rotation that includes sophomore Son Ngo. What Carpinteria lacks at the skill positions it more than makes up for with experience on the offensive and defensive lines. Elias Hernandez (5-10, 220), a three-year starter and All-Southern Section defensive lineman; Mark Carrillo (5-10, 185); Brian Reischl (6-1, 190); Ty Patton (6-1, 180); and Manuel Nunez (5-9, 205) are returning starters and will line up both ways.

When asked who he thought would win the league title this season, Moorpark’s Dearborn said, “Carpinteria. They have basically owned us for the last 50 years.”

Similarly, Dearborn expects Moorpark’s longstanding rivalry with Oak Park to remain tough. Moorpark’s 27-10 victory over the Eagles last year helped secure its third-place finish.

“Oak Park has never been big or anything, but they always find a way to get the job done,” Dearborn said.

Billingsley promises to shake things up with a triple-option attack and he said that the Eagles will throw the ball much more than in the past.

“We’ll be battling Carpinteria and Moorpark for the championship,” Billingsley said. “The kids have really rallied together and they’re very energetic.”

At St. Bonaventure, which has had a paltry following over the years, Mack promises to have “one of the best (programs) in the area.”

Mack’s coaching and inspiration have prompted Hallock to predict that St. Bonaventure will place third behind his team and Moorpark: “I’ve heard a lot about them,” Hallock said. “I hear they’re pretty good.”

TRI-VALLEY LEAGUE

FINAL 1989 STANDINGS PROJECTED FINISH Carpinteria 13-1, 5-0 Carpinteria Moorpark 7-3, 3-2 Oak Park Oak Park 6-4, 2-3 Moorpark Bishop Diego 3-7, 1-4 St. Bonaventure St. Bonaventure 1-9, 0-5 Bishop Diego

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht Wt Class Elias Hernandez Carpinteria DL 5-10 220 Sr. Mike Stern Oak Park QB 6-1 185 Sr. Ricky Demarest Bishop Diego WR 5-9 155 Sr. Robert Reyburn St. Bonaventure OT 6-5 245 Sr. Chung Ho Moorpark CB 5-11 150 Sr. Jeff Gibbons Oak Park WR-DB 5-10 155 Jr. Mark Carrillo Carpinteria G-LB 5-10 185 Sr. Zach Siciliano Oak Park G-LB 6-0 192 Sr. Brian Reischl Carpinteria FB-DE 6-1 190 Sr. Toussaint Powdrill Moorpark CB 5-11 160 Sr.