Changes Create an Air of Uncertainty - Football: Coaches take cautious outlook in wake of City Section realignment, departures of quarterbacks.

After the City Section realigned this season, the Mid-Valley League wound up with four teams with striking similarities.

The league is evenly matched in several respects but two in particular: each team lacks a returning starting quarterback, and each coach is uncertain how his team will fare.

Reseda, which finished second in the Mid-Valley League last season, has moved to the North Valley League, and Canoga Park moved in from the West Valley League to take its place, joining Birmingham, Monroe and Van Nuys.

Van Nuys Coach Kenji Mochizuki, whose team won the league title last season, is less than enthusiastic about the shake-up.

“Honestly, I thought Reseda and Van Nuys were developing a great rivalry,” Mochizuki said. “We looked forward to playing them. We are really disappointed. It changes the whole league.”

Van Nuys edged Reseda, 23-21, in the final game of the year to clinch the title. Mochizuki enjoyed the rivalry so much that he has scheduled a scrimmage against the Regents today at 3 p.m. at Reseda.

While Mochizuki misses the rivalry with the Regents, all the league coaches undoubtedly will miss their quarterbacks of a year ago. Birmingham’s Danny Larson, who threw for 1,445 yards and 12 touchdowns, has graduated, as has Monroe’s Jesse Wallace, whose 835 yards passing accounted for nearly 75% of the Viking’s total offense.

Canoga Park’s David Erhardt, who threw for 889 yards and seven touchdowns, has transferred to Cleveland, and Van Nuys, which isn’t known for its passing, lost Roy Vasich to graduation.

Stepping in to take their places are senior Noah Kirshbaum (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) for Birmingham, senior Robert Adams (6-0, 190) for Canoga Park, sophomore Bill Calhoun (5-11, 170) for Van Nuys and senior Ramy Antoum (5-11, 160) for Monroe.

Interestingly, Mid-Valley coaches did not express concern about their inexperienced quarterbacks.

Second-year Monroe Coach David Lertzman explains: “With the exception of maybe Birmingham, the quarterback isn’t the key (to winning). Good defense is what is going to win it for you. You have to be able to stop the run and run the ball (on offense).

“(The quarterbacks) don’t necessarily have to win it for you, you just don’t want them to lose it for you.”

Coaches will be looking to their running backs to generate offense.

Standout senior running backs Darrell Moore (5-11, 160) and Jon Zuccaro (6-0, 210) return for Birmingham. Moore, who missed the first few games last year, finished with 454 yards and eight touchdown. Zuccaro, a three-year starter, also leads the defense at linebacker.

Van Nuys has Aaron Gadasy, who rushed for 627 yards as a junior, but lost a promising running back in junior Harold Boudreaux (6-1, 180) to ineligibility because of grades.

Elvis Palacios (5-10, 180) returns at fullback for Canoga Park, and Monroe is hoping to have a bulldozer of a running back in senior Jason St. John (6-1, 210).

With all that experience at running back, many coaches might be confident about their teams’ chances, but Mid-Valley coaches remain noncommittal.

Canoga Park Coach Rudy Lugo, whose team will scrimmage Taft today at 3 p.m., is representative of the coaches’ cautiousness in making predictions.

“Because of our inexperience, we will have to wait and see what we do well,” Lugo said. “Against Taft, we will see what we do well, and go from there.”

MID-VALLEY LEAGUE

FINAL 1989 STANDINGS PROJECTED FINISH Van Nuys 5-5, 5-2 Birmingham Birmingham 5-3-1, 3-3-1 Van Nuys Monroe 1-7-1, 1-5-1 Canoga Park Canoga Park 1-8, 1-6* Monroe

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht Wt Class Darrell Moore Birmingham RB-DB 5-11 165 Sr. Jon Zuccaro Birmingham LB-FB 6-0 210 Sr. Kevin Blount Canoga Park TE 6-2 210 Jr. Aaron Gadasy Van Nuys RB 5-5 145 Sr. Donnell Grey Birmingham OG-DT 6-1 220 Sr. Jose Martinez Van Nuys OL-DL 5-10 220 Sr. Luis Garcia Van Nuys C-DL 6-0 195 Sr. Noah Kirshbaum Birmingham QB 6-4 200 Sr. Elvis Palacios Canoga Park FB-DE 5-10 180 Sr. Jason St. John Monroe LB-FB 6-1 210 Sr.

*In West Valley League