PREP NOTES / ROB FERNAS : Leuzinger Ready to Give Foes a Sample of a Healthy Lineup

Heading into Bay League play, Leuzinger High football Coach Steve Carnes says his team is right where he wanted it to be at the halfway point.

“Looking back, I expected us to be 3-2 and I wanted to be healthy,” he said. “I think we’re both. I know we’re 3-2.”

More importantly, the Olympians have no significant injuries for the first time since early last season. All of Leuzinger’s best players will be suited up Friday night for a league opener at Culver City (3-2).

That includes senior tailback B-Jon Sample.

When last seen carrying a football, Sample was making a cut against Santa Monica when his knee gave way. It came in the final league game of 1989. The injury robbed the Olympians of their leading rusher for the playoffs and put Sample’s football career in jeopardy.

He underwent surgery in April and there were doubts if he would ever play again, at least at Leuzinger. His name was not included in the program.

“He kept saying he was going to play, but I didn’t think he was going to play,” Carnes said. “All of a sudden, here he is.”

Sample was cleared to play last week by doctors and will see duty for the first time Friday night. He has practiced for several weeks and looked good in a scrimmage Tuesday, Carnes said.

“B-Jon won’t start, but he’s going to get in there quite a bit,” Carnes said. “He gives us really good quickness at tailback.”

Before his injury last year, Sample had established himself as one of the area’s most explosive backs. He rushed for 924 yards and eight touchdowns on 104 carries, an average of 8.9 yards per carry. Of the returning backs in the area, only Robert Coulter of Rolling Hills rushed for more yards last season.

Sample’s return allows Carnes to move Marvin Johnson, Leuzinger’s leading rusher with 450 yards and seven touchdowns, from tailback to fullback, where the coach feels he is more effective.

Another key player returning to the lineup for Leuzinger is senior Manny Gonzalez. The all-area linebacker missed four games after suffering a broken hand in the team’s opener against Bishop Montgomery.

With Gonzalez, who also plays fullback, Sample, Johnson and Manny’s brother and tailback Charlie Gonzalez, the Olympians have four quality running backs entering their most important games.

By sharing the load, Carnes hopes to give Johnson and the Gonzalezes more time to play defense.

“I’m looking to get our best 11 people on defense,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve done that up to now.”

Following are three coaches’ views of the Bay, Ocean and Pioneer league football races, which begin this week:

Carnes, on the Bay League: “Obviously Hawthorne is the favorite. They’re the team to beat. Santa Monica is always good. The league is tough again. If you have a letdown, you’ll get beat.

Rolling Hills Coach Gary Kimbrell, on the Ocean League: “The league is pretty tough all the way down the line. I wasn’t overly impressed with Redondo in the summer, but you don’t see their big kids. Geez, they’re playing really tough on defense and they have a balanced offense. Mira Costa looks physical. I picked Palos Verdes as the best team to begin with. And there’s Morningside. You have to be ready every week.”

West Torrance Co-Coach Mark Knox, on the Pioneer League: “I think it’s going to be real close. North is coming on. Poor South has lost some real close ones. They’re a couple of points away from having a real good season. I think you might have a little bit of a break against Centennial, but all of the Torrance schools match up across the league pretty good.”

Our predictions:

Bay League--1. Hawthorne; 2. Leuzinger; 3. Santa Monica; 4. Beverly Hills; 5. Culver City; 6. Inglewood.

Ocean League--1. Rolling Hills; 2. Redondo; 3. Palos Verdes; 4. Morningside; 5. Mira Costa.

Pioneer League--1. West Torrance; 2. Torrance; 3. South; 4. North; 5. Centennial.

Knox, the West co-coach, said he will be looking for an improved effort from the offensive line when the Warriors (4-1) face South (1-4) in an Ocean League opener Friday night at West.

West was held to a season-low 139 yards rushing last week in a 9-7 victory over Redondo. Knox said the line, which had been playing well to that point, was partly to blame for the poor production.

“I really don’t think we blocked very well,” he said. “It was probably the most disappointing game for the offensive line. You have to give Redondo credit; they did a good job. But I think we have to be a little more intense. We were taking things for granted.”

Notes

Roger Hendrix, a 6-foot-6 forward for Rolling Hills, has given an oral commitment to play basketball for Utah State. He averaged 24 points and nine rebounds last season. . . . Robin Ortgiesen of Mira Costa was named to the all-tournament team last weekend at the San Marcos Invitational girls’ volleyball tournament at UC Santa Barbara. Corona del Mar won the team title to solidify its No. 1 ranking in the CIF-Southern Section 5-A Division coaches’ poll. Mira Costa slipped from fourth to seventh. . . . Agoura and Palos Verdes, the nation’s second- and third-ranked girls’ cross-country teams by Harrier magazine, met Saturday at the Kenny Staub Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park, with Agoura defeating the defending state Division I champions for the second time this season, 19-38. . . . Israel Pose of Torrance turned in the best time Saturday at the Fountain Valley-Huntington Beach cross-country meet. Pose covered the three-mile course at Central Park in Fountain Valley in 15 minutes, 21 seconds to win the Division II individual title. . . . Three South Bay teams are ranked in the Southern Section 4-A Division girls’ tennis top 10--Palos Verdes (No. 1), Miraleste (No. 5) and Rolling Hills (No. 6).