Valencia’s Ehli Figures Opposition Isn’t as Menacing as His Coach : Football: However, Tigers’ defensive coordinator did show confidence in the senior linebacker two years ago.

Mike Ehli looked left and then right, then ran around the partition to make sure no one--especially a certain coach--was lurking in the doorway. Finally satisfied that he would not be overheard, he relaxed.

“I’m playing at the level I expected,” said Ehli, a senior linebacker at Valencia High School. “I’ve worked hard for two years, learned the techniques and system. I’m happy with the way I’m playing. But don’t tell Coach Dolen I said that.”

Ehli fears few on the football field, but the sight of Harry Dolen, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, is enough to make Ehli sweat. For the past three years, Dolen has been Ehli’s mentor and tormentor.

“He’s always giving me a hard time,” Ehli said. “Earlier this year, I intercepted a pass and started running, but the quarterback tackled me. All I heard for the next three weeks was, ‘You let the smallest guy on the field tackle you.’ ”

Dolen maintains a running monologue directed at his standout linebacker. He has a slew of nicknames for Ehli, chides him about his play and jokes about the way he runs.

But it was also Dolen who showed confidence in Ehli, putting him into the starting lineup as a sophomore in 1988. He also made Ehli the defensive captain this season.

“There are times when I get on his case,” said Dolen, who has coached at Valencia for the past 12 years. “He’s such a quiet kid, you can’t help but tease him. But he’s the one player on defense we can’t afford to lose.”

The two have been close ever since Ehli joined the varsity as a sophomore in 1988. And under Dolen’s guidance, Ehli has become one of the top linebackers in Orange County.

Ehli calls the defensive signals for the Tigers and is Dolen’s eyes on the field. If the defense needs to be changed before the ball is snapped, it’s Ehli who does the adjusting.

“Mike breaks down a defense scheme better than any kid I’ve had,” Dolen said. “He just has that ability to dissect an offensive formation into pieces. . . .

“But when he runs, he looks like Popeye. You know, he moves close to the ground, and his forearms stick out.”

Ehli didn’t play linebacker until his sophomore season. Although he was a tight end on the freshman team, he wasn’t thrilled about physical contact.

But Dolen saw in Ehli the makings of a good linebacker and talked him into playing the position. Well, maybe there wasn’t so much talking.

“He told me I was going to be a linebacker,” Ehli said.

End of discussion.

Ehli spent the 1988 season learning the position. He backed up Steve Rangel, an All-Orange County performer, but rarely played. In fact, he didn’t get into a game unless the Tigers had a secure lead.

“Everything was very confusing,” Ehli said. “If it hadn’t been for Rangel, I don’t know if I could have adjusted. Coach Dolen would ask me about a particular defense, and Steve would whisper the answer to me.”

Slowly, though, Ehli began to learn. So when Rangel came down with a staph infection before the game against Sunny Hills in the Southern Section Division VI playoffs, Dolen put Ehli into the lineup.

“Everybody thought I was crazy to start this gangly sophomore,” Dolen said. “But I knew what he could do.”

And Ehli did it.

Besides playing a strong game in the middle, Ehli returned an interception 15 yards for the clinching touchdown in a 20-7 victory.

“I was really scared before that game,” Ehli said. “I didn’t let Coach Dolen know it, but I wasn’t sure I could do it. The first few hits didn’t help me much. Then I settled down and started thinking out there.”

At Valencia three-year lettermen are rare because Coach Mike Marrujo usually brings his players up through the ranks. Ehli is one of only two for the Tigers this season.

He was a starter in 1989 and led a Tiger defense that gave up just 46 points during the regular season. Only one team scored more than seven points against Valencia, and Ehli was named all-Orange League.

This season, he leads the team in tackles.

“In a lot of ways, Mike is typical of every Valencia linebacker,” Dolen said. “He’s not real big or real fast. He works hard and uses good technique. We don’t let our kids wear pads on their forearms--that’s how we can tell if they are using proper techniques. If they aren’t, they get bruises on their arms. Mike rarely has bruises. . . .

“He also let a quarterback tackle him after an interception. Not only that, he got a bruised knee on the play. We had a lot fun teasing about that.”

Ehli has an unusual approach to playing linebacker. In fact, he’s liable to give linebackers a good name.

It’s a position that generally requires emotional intensity--sometimes foam-at-the-mouth intensity--but Ehli plays more analytically. He makes his reads, fends off blockers, then makes the tackle.

“I don’t get real hyped up and start ranting and raving,” Ehli said. “There are a lot linebackers who live for the big hit, like Rangel. But I just want to make the play.

“Sometimes, Coach Dolen gets on me about being too low-key. I’ll be coming off the field, and he’ll yell at me to get fired up. But I’m just a little more kicked-back.”

Then, looking over his shoulder, he said “but don’t tell Coach Dolen I said that.”