HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEW : Carter Likely to Carry Load for Kennedy : Football: Golden Cougars favored along with San Fernando, which will revert to its wishbone attack.

Kennedy High Coach Bob Francola figures he rode his bicycle at least 1,500 miles this summer. Big mileage for the big guy, who has shed 100 pounds since last fall and weighs in at 204.

The former Hollywood High standout says he has lost so much weight that “people believe me now when I tell them I used to be a fullback and not a lineman.”

Francola’s tailback, Ontiwaun Carter, rushed for 1,563 yards last fall. Big yardage from a big-play guy. Carter, however, gained five pounds in the off-season and it has not slowed him at all.

“(People) remarked last year how much bigger and faster he seemed,” Francola said. “Believe it or not, ‘Twan’s bigger and faster now.”

Carter, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior, is expected to carry the bulk of the Kennedy offensive load. And take it from anybody who tried to bring down Carter from behind last year and failed, nobody confused him with an offensive tackle.

The return of Carter, who led area City players in rushing last fall, is the primary reason North Valley League coaches point toward the Golden Cougars as a co-favorite with San Fernando. Simply put, Carter is Kennedy’s marquee player, a player capable of lighting up a scoreboard--or shooting the lights out.

Last season, in fact, the Kennedy field went black in the middle of one of his scoring jaunts, a power outage having cut off electricity in the stadium. In the blink of an eye--Francola says Carter has run 40 yards in 4.41 seconds--Carter was standing alone in a darkened end zone. Which, come to think of it, happened often enough when the lights were on.

Running primarily out of a single-back set, Carter averaged 6.2 yards a carry and scored 10 rushing touchdowns. No loss of power is expected in 1990.

“He’s due for a great season,” Francola said. “He’s got to get his hands on the ball 30 times a game by either the run or pass.”

Yet the key for Kennedy might be its passing game, since stopping Carter often meant stopping the team in its tracks. The Golden Cougars’ offensive line features four juniors and a senior, although junior guards Troy Bregel and Craig Gardner started every game last season.

Effective pass blocking will be a must with 6-5 senior Mike McMullen, a pocket passer, starting at quarterback. Carter, who caught four passes last season, will be utilized more often as a receiver, Francola said.

“We want to be as close to balanced as possible,” Francola said, referring to run-pass equity. Last season, Kennedy passed for 1,138 yards and rushed for 1,651. With Carter accounting for 94.7% of the team rushing total, better balance in the backfield sounds like a good idea too.

Senior receiver Keith West, Kennedy’s lone two-way starter, caught 29 passes last season to lead returning area City Section players. West will start for the third year at safety and also will handle the punting and kicking.

Meanwhile, San Fernando is undergoing a metamorphosis. Three seasons ago, the wishbone set was jettisoned so the Tigers could better utilize the multiple talents of All-City quarterback Joe Mauldin. Next came Michael Wynn, who passed for 24 touchdowns and earned All-City honors as a junior in 1988. Yet last season, with Wynn back for his senior year, the offense fell apart.

The Tigers had problems finding receivers and the offensive line was a sieve. So just in time for the new decade--and the beginning of San Fernando’s fourth quarter-century of football--it’s Back to the ‘Bone.

“We’re a lot quicker this year,” Hernandez said. “Last year we were kind of stocky and slow.”

The backfield of 1990 is stocked and fast. Kennedy gets things done with Carter; San Fernando by committee.

Brothers Tony and Leonice Brown, uncles of former Crespi All-American Russell White, will split time with LaKarlos Townsend, Will Taylor and Amon Flanagan in the Tiger backfield.

If three of the five merely repeat their efforts of a season ago, the Tigers will gain roughly 2,000 yards on the ground. Leonice Brown rushed for 1,097 yards at Crespi last year as a junior before transferring. Townsend, a junior, gained 464 yards, and Taylor, a senior, rushed for 260.

It won’t hurt the transition to have former Tiger running back Chris Richards, who started for two seasons at Cal, serving as an assistant coach. But unless San Fernando’s line play improves, rolling up yardage with the wishbone might prove to be nothing more than wishful thinking.

“Their success always seems to depend on how good they are up front,” Francola said. “When Fernando’s good it’s because they have good linemen. They always have the skill kids.”

San Fernando has two returning all-league linemen in Steve Diaz (5-10, 210) and Rene Acosta (6-1, 250). Quarterback Cruz Trevino is not particularly fleet of foot, but nobody is questioning his judgment.

“Speed-wise, he’s about average,” Hernandez said. “But he runs the team real well and he knows which guys he needs to give it to.”

Cleveland’s senior quarterback Dave Erhardt, a transfer from Canoga Park, has the arm and mobility to give defenses fits. Erhardt passed for 889 yards and seven touchdowns and scored four times on the ground. Cleveland was moved from the West Valley League to the North Valley this season.

“They’ll have to be reckoned with,” Francola said. “Cleveland’s in a good position. Everybody’s looking at Fernando and us and if we’re not careful, we’re both going to end up chasing Cleveland.”

Reseda, promoted to the North Valley from the 3-A Mid-Valley League, might take its lumps. The Regents could use as many as eight two-way players and are fielding one of their smallest teams in several years. To worsen matters, Andre Jackson, the returning starter at quarterback, moved to Oregon.

Yet if Reseda’s characteristically solid defense can keep the team close, the Regents have the capability to win in the fourth quarter. Sophomore kicker Gerald Cohl made 22 of 23 point-after tries and six of 10 field-goal attempts while playing for the B team last year.

Reseda allowed an average of 202.6 yards a game, second only to Granada Hills among area City teams. Otherwise, it would seem to be a good league in which to be a ballcarrier. Among the 17 City schools in the Valley last season, Cleveland was eighth in total defense (219.0 average), San Fernando (226.7) was 10th and Kennedy (278.2) was 16th.

NORTH VALLEY LEAGUE FINAL 1989 STANDINGS Reseda: 5-3-2,4-2-1* San Fernando: 5-6,5-2 Kennedy: 5-7,3-4 Cleveland: 4-6,3-4** PROJECTED FINISH Kennedy San Fernando Cleveland Reseda PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht Wt Class Ontiwaun Carter Kennedy RB 5-10 175 Sr. Anthony Jones Kennedy DB 6-1 180 Jr. Keith West Kennedy WR-K 6-0 175 Sr. Dave Erhardt Cleveland QB 6-2 185 Sr. Mike Wamsganz Cleveland OL-DL 6-2 235 Sr. Edgar Fernandez Reseda OL-LB 5-10 195 Sr. Mike Green Reseda OL-LB 5-10 195 Sr. Leonice Brown San Fernando RB 6-2 185 Sr. LaKarlos Townsend San Fernando RB-DB 5-8 165 Jr. Keith Woods San Fernando DB 5-10 175 Sr.

*In Mid-Valley League

**In West Valley League