Area Prep Teams Planning to Fill the Air With Footballs : Preview: Six of nine area coaches say their teams will use a wide-open offense.

It appears to be a season of transition for area CIF Southern Section football teams. Seemingly, there are no constants from last season:

* Four of the nine schools have new coaches. In December, after 17 years of coaching, Teb Kusserow resigned at Santa Monica. Daniel Murphy, St. Bernard and St. Monica also have new coaches.

* The CIF switched Beverly Hills, Culver City, Brentwood and Windward into new leagues. Beverly Hills and Culver City move from the Bay League to the Ocean League, Windward moves from a free-lance schedule into the Academy League and Brentwood, which played in the Delphic League in 1990, will field an eight-man free-lance team.

* The turnover of students because of graduation. For most programs, continuity is difficult to maintain from year to year.

But there appears to be one thread of semblance: Six of nine Westside coaches say they plan to use a wide-open, multiple-formation offense.

“We’re going to play absolute wide-open football,” said Santa Monica Coach Ron Guercio.

Said Culver City Coach Lou Lichtl: “This could be our most explosive team ever.”

St. Bernard Coach Tom Strickland is also joining the trend.

“Everyone expects us to throw the ball,” he said. “We’re going to see every kind of defense ever known.”

Here is a look at area teams:

Beverly Hills (Ocean League, 6-6 last season)--Second-year Coach Carter Paysinger says it is imperative that the Normans balance their offense. Quarterback Ziv Gottlieb passed for 2,639 yards and 20 touchdowns in 1990, but Beverly Hills allowed 27.75 points per game.

“The main reason for last year’s lack of defense was our inability to stop the run,” Paysinger said. “A second reason was that when you score as fast as we did or go out one-two-three on three passing plays, it puts the defense on the field awfully fast.”

With Gottlieb (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) and receiver David Saraf (969 yards, nine touchdowns, 18.3 yards-per-reception average) returning, Beverly Hills expects to have a strong passing game. Junior fullback Rod Washington (6-0, 165) is one of six backs Paysinger plans to rotate. The Normans will keep their pro-set offense, complete with lots of motion and multiple formations.

“We threw the ball last year out of necessity,” Paysinger said. “Last year we had an inexperienced front line and it is much easier to teach players how to block backing up.

“The key to everything is on the line of scrimmage. We are stronger this year than we’ve ever been before. Potentially, we have 25 guys who bench press more than 250 pounds. Hopefully we will not get pushed around up front the way we did last year.”

Robin Beral (6-1, 225), Richard Hwang (6-3, 230), Peter Marco (6-0, 240), Morris Ayenichi (6-3, 215) and junior Mike Mense (6-0, 225) are expected to anchor the offensive line. Defensively, Alex Pravda (6-0, 235), Chauncey Fuller (5-10, 245), Robin Beral (6-1, 225), Rasheed Hibler (5-11, 175), Greg Roach (6-0, 200) and Hwang should all see time at the front of the Beverly Hills 4-4 defensive set.

This will be Beverly Hills’ first year in the Ocean League. They were 2-3 in the tougher Bay League. The Normans open on the road against Santa Monica on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Brentwood (Free-lance, 6-3)--Led by Jon Ohlgren, a 6-5 junior quarterback, the Eagles will take to the air this year.

“I’ve had to change my style a great deal,” Coach Pat Brown said. “We’ve run the ball 30-40 times normally. But now I’ve got a quarterback who is 6-5 and a bunch of tall receivers, and this is all new to me.”

Included among the receivers are Mark Kuehbeck (6-2, 180), who caught 20 passes in 1990--10 for touchdowns--and junior Kevin Gifford (6-3, 185). Brentwood averaged 26.3 points a game last year.

Gifford, a junior, will also start on defense as a safety. In fact, Brown says that he is relying on a small core of players that will play both ways to form the heart of the team.

Included in that core is Brad Griffith (5-10, 170), who will play offensive and defensive line, and Justin Markhoff (5-10, 165), who will play on the offensive line and linebacker.

Defensively, Brown says the Eagles will concentrate on stopping the run, something they could not do last year.

“I’ve always figured that, at the high school level, if you force a team to put together 12- and 13-play drives they will mess up,” Brown said. “Last year that did not happen. Our big challenge defensively is to force teams out of the running game. To do that, we’ll have to gamble a lot.”

Middle linebacker Doug Buchalter, a three-year starter, and Alex Kaba, a two-year starter at defensive tackle, will lead the defense.

Brentwood will open on the road against Coast Union on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Culver City (Ocean League, 6-5)--Lou Lichtl is optimistic that the Centaurs will make a strong showing in the Ocean League.

“We were physically overmatched in the Bay League last year,” said Lichtl, whose team was 3-2 in league play. “I do not feel that will happen to us this year.”

Offensively, All-Bay League quarterback Dameron Ricketts (5-10, 165) returns to lead the Centaurs. Ricketts passed for 482 yards and ran for 641.

Tailback Bao Hong (5-8, 160), who rushed for 173 yards in 30 carries, and fullback Damien Reynolds (71 carries for 456 yards, seven touchdowns) also are expected to start in the backfield.

Junior Tommy Covington (6-1, 190) should be Ricketts’ main receiver. As a sophomore, Covington gained 167 yards on seven receptions. Darren Daggitt, James Kim and Dannie Kamak also expect to see some playing time.

Right guard Hyung Lee (5-11, 210), tackle Kevin Kwak (6-1, 220) and junior center Ulysses Regalto (5-11, 230) anchor the offensive line.

Culver City allowed only 17.2 points, but graduated eight starters. However, the three returning starters were all-league selections. Chris Wade (6-1, 195), Kamak and Ricketts should make the secondary a dangerous place for visiting receivers.

The Centaurs open at home against St. Bernard on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Daniel Murphy (Santa Fe League, 3-7)--New Coach Rolando Young returns 18 starters, nine on each side of the ball.

“I just want to make sure they have fun playing football this year,” Young said.

The Nobles, who gave up 17.9 points a game last year, expect to be strong defensively.

Andrew McCarthy (5-10, 185), Sean Nichols (6-0, 200) and Ben Stevens (6-2, 190) return to the defensive line.

Returning linebackers include Jerome Burns (6-0, 185), Jose Valley (5-10, 165) and Mannales Madamba (5-9, 165).

Hans Velasco (6-1, 175) is the starting quarterback. Velasco, who was a wide receiver before becoming a quarterback, passed for 500 yards in Daniel Murphy’s last three games.

Louis Williams (5-8, 190) and Carlos Adams (5-7, 170) complete the backfield. Velasco’s primary receivers should be Stevens (6-2, 190) and Dale Stelly (5-9, 115).

All-Santa Fe League selection Leo Hernandez is among the four starters returning to the offensive line.

Murphy opens against Oak Park on Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Jackie Robinson Stadium, where the Nobles will play all their home games.

St. Bernard (Mission League, 4-6)--New Coach Tom Strickland is a former recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach at UC San Diego. He has also coached at high schools in Texas and East Los Angeles.

Strickland plans to throw the ball.

“We have the kind of kids who potentially can work a five-yard play into a 30-yard gain,” he said. “We’re going to move the ball with a variety of formations, but not to the extent where it gets the kids confused.”

Chris Keldorf (6-6, 230) will quarterback. Keldorf has passed for 2,600 yards in two years.

The running backs are Marcus Thompson (5-11, 185) and Carlyle Nixon (5-10, 190). Thompson, who led the junior varsity in rushing in 1989, started at linebacker last year and did not play offense.

Wide receivers include Derrick Smith (6-0, 180), who totaled 150 yards in receptions as a sophomore, Chris Steinbacker (6-5, 200), Chris Bowman (6-3, 235), Brian Blott, Eddie Gordon and newcomer Touissant Moore.

Strickland’s biggest concern is the offensive line, where Morgan Flint (6-0, 235) is the only returning starter. Lamont Brown (6-4, 230) and Gary Foster (6-5, 240) will try to solidify the line.

Thompson, Brown, Gordon, Moore and Nixon will all start on defense as well. Brown is expected to start at tackle and Yang Kim (6-3, 205) and sophomore Matt Higgins (6-3, 205) are expected to start on the line.

Only Nikia Flint (5-9, 150) has any experience in the secondary. Damion Thomas (5-10, 145) is expected to start at cornerback.

“Nobody expects us to do anything,” Strickland said. “We’ll play a lot of underclassmen all season, and how we do depends on them.”

St Bernard opens at Culver City on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

St. Monica (Camino Real League, 6-5)--New Coach Norm Lacy must replace 18 seniors.

“We’ve just got to survive this year the best we can and get through it,” Lacy said. “I’ve got a big juggling act on my hands, for sure.”

Sophomore Oscar Casillas (5-11, 170) will play quarterback, with Marcellus Wiley (6-2, 190) at tailback and Jesus Padilla (6-0, 180) at fullback. Three-year starting center Steve McGarry (6-0, 215) is the only experienced member of the offensive line.

Offensively, the Mariners will use an I formation.

“We’re going to try and keep it easy and do things right,” Lacy said. “We do not want to get kids confused by bringing in college stuff. In high school, there’s not a whole lot of time to put in lots of offenses.”

The wide receivers are Marvin Williams (6-0, 180) and Diarro Foster (5-11, 170).

“Pretty much everyone but our quarterback is going to play both ways,” Lacy said.

The only sure starter on the defensive line is Shawn Houinhan (6-2, 215). McGarry will play linebacker or defensive back and Williams will play in the secondary, a position he played in 1990, as will Foster. Padilla will start at linebacker and Wiley will play strong safety.

St. Monica opens at Montclair Prep on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Santa Monica (Bay League, 3-5-1)--New Coach Ron Guercio promises a wide-open passing attack.

Quarterback Zach Nishimura (6-3, 190) will lead the offense.

“We’re going to play absolute wide-open football,” Guercio said. “We’ll still run some, but we’re going to use sets with no running backs, single backs, I formations, pro-sets with split backs, and then add some things week to week.

“We have a lot of good skilled kids we can move around a lot, and we know what we want to do offensively,”

The offensive line will be anchored by Luke Davis (6-6, 260) and Ed Cregar (6-3, 280).

“A lot of people will play two ways,” Guercio said. “There’s still a lot to be done. We have not even penciled in our defensive ends and so forth. The one thing I can say though, is that we’ll be an attacking defense. In the next couple of weeks, until we find out who is going to play where, there’s going to be a lot of mixing done.”

Santa Monica opens at home against Beverly Hills on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Windward (Academy League, 4-3)--Windward was a free-lance team in eight-man football in its first season last year. The Wildcats will play in the Academy League this season with St. Margaret’s and Hesperia Christian, rated No. 9 and No. 10 among eight-man squads in preseason rankings.

Windward Coach Mike Biermann expects his team to be “competitive, especially on defense. We have a quick defensive team with kids that like to hit.”

Among the returning players is junior Josh Johnson, who will play linebacker and defensive end. Johnson, son of former Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson, was the team’s second-leading tackler.

The brothers Treiman--senior Daniel, a tight end and defensive tackle, and junior Matt, a tailback and cornerback--return.

Camp Kilpatrick (Freedom League, 9-4-1)--A Los Angeles County Probation Department camp for juvenile offenders, Camp Kilpatrick fielded its first 11-man team last year. The Mustangs won the Freedom League title and advanced to the Division X championship game, where they lost to Montclair Prep, 13-7.

The Mustangs, No. 6 in Division X in the preseason, are favored to repeat as league champions. Sean Porter enters his second year as coach.

Staff writer Ray Ripton contributed to this story.