Poltl’s a Dream for Coaches, a Nightmare for Opponents : Prep football: Capistrano Valley receiver, who faces El Toro tonight, is within 45 catches of the Orange County career record.

There was one play involving Dave Poltl that Capistrano Valley football Coach Eric Patton can’t seem to forget.

No, it wasn’t one of those diving, sprawling, acrobatic, miraculous grabs that Poltl pulls out of his hat all too frequently. In fact, the image that Patton has is of one that got away from Poltl.

It was two years ago against Point Loma. Poltl, then a sophomore, made his cut and turned.

The ball was high.

Poltl leaped.

“When he didn’t make the catch, I found myself angry with Dave--like he had just dropped an easy one,” Patton said. “I was going to say something to him, but when he came off the field he had this look in his eyes. He was actually embarrassed that he hadn’t caught the ball. The kid is a coach’s dream.”

A dream for some, a nightmare for others.

Poltl has made life miserable for opposing defensive backs. The quantity and quality of his receptions have made him one of Orange County’s most dangerous wide receivers.

For the past two seasons, Poltl has been on the other end of many of quarterback Tony Solliday’s passes. The two have become close friends and an almost unstoppable combination.

Through the first five games this season, Poltl has 34 receptions for 386 yards. He has a career total of 123 catches, 14 short of the school record and 45 shy of the Orange County record.

“The guy not only has great moves, he has a whole bunch of moves,” Solliday said. “I know that on every play that Dave will be open.”

Poltl, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior, has been so effective that teams have gone to great lengths to try to stop him.

Edison tried double coverage, but Poltl caught 11 passes for 143 yards in a 15-14 Cougar victory. It was one catch short of the single-game record held by Todd Beightol and Poltl’s second 10-reception game of his career.

Servite also tried to double-team him, with a little better success. Poltl had only four catches, but three went for touchdowns. Capistrano Valley won, 37-12.

“It’s a lot of fun when teams go out of their way to stop me,” Poltl said. “It makes me feel good and shows they’re giving me respect.”

And Poltl is respected by everyone. Well, almost everyone.

“Dave Poltl? He’s overrated,” Solliday said.

Solliday and Poltl have been friends since they were on the freshman team in 1986. They helped the Cougars to a 9-1 record that season and were promoted to the varsity as sophomores.

Poltl has been Solliday’s favorite target for the past two seasons. In 1989, Poltl had 64 receptions for 969 yards and eight touchdowns.

Against Paramount in the Southern Section Division III semifinals last season, Solliday and Poltl hooked up six times for 96 yards in a 35-34 loss.

Poltl had two catches on Capistrano Valley’s final touchdown drive, which sent the game into overtime.

“One of those I was just throwing away,” Solliday said. “The clock was running out and I was trying to ditch the ball. Dave got to it anyway. He’s good.”

Besides playing together, the two are close friends off the field. They go to football games, movies and parties on the weekends.

“We know each other so well that it helps us on the field,” Poltl said. “We know what music we like and what girls we like. It’s like telepathy on the field. I know when Tony is going to throw the ball and he knows where I’m going to be. It works.”

But it’s not just friendship that keeps Solliday looking for Poltl, it’s trust. With good speed and sure hands, Poltl is almost a lock to make a catch no matter how difficult.

Against Santa Ana in the playoffs last season, Poltl made a diving grab on the sidelines, carefully touching his feet in bounds.

“The ball was high and I thought there was no way he’d get it,” Patton said. “Dave not only got the ball, he brought both feet down in bounds. When (the coaches) studied the film, we kept stopping it to see how he made that catch.”

With efforts like that, it’s easy to see why Poltl is closing in on Beightol’s school record. However, he doesn’t plan to stop there, not when the county record is within his grasp.

Rick Parma set the county record of 168 receptions for Kennedy from 1973-75. Poltl said he decided this season to go after that record.

“It really started as a joke between Tony and I,” Poltl said. “When we were sophomores, we used to kid each other about the records we would break.”

But, for Poltl, it has stopped being a joke.

“We were supposed to be taking notes in English one day and I saw Dave writing fast,” Solliday said. “I figured he was getting it all down. Then after class he showed me the chart he had been working on. It had how many catches he needed to break the record, what the ratio per game would be. I couldn’t believe it.”

Said Poltl: “I might get it if I had a better quarterback. Tony is overrated.”