Taft to Log Extensive Air Time

Larry Stewart, Taft High’s first-year football coach, apparently didn’t have enough novices to worry about.

Today at 3:15 p.m., undersized and inexperienced Taft will play host to Canoga Park in what several weeks ago was scheduled to be a routine scrimmage.

And, in fact, the first few minutes of interaction will be exactly that. Canoga Park will run a series of plays, then hand the ball over to Taft’s offense, which will do likewise.

After two quarters, however, Stewart will turn his headphones over to folks with considerably less football experience: disc-jockeys-turned-TV-personalities Mark & Brian, the morning radio team on KLOS-FM.

Stewart said the plan calls for the pair to call the offensive and defensive shots for Taft, beginning at 4:45 p.m.

The highlights, lowlights and everything in between will be filmed and edited into NBC’s new series, “The Adventures of Mark & Brian,” which will air Sundays at 7 p.m.

Wearing His Game Face

An injury to Village Christian’s second-string quarterback, Mike Spielman, has left senior Eric Weisel as the backup.

Weisel, who is built like a rail at 6-foot-4, 140 pounds, is a player who Coach Mike Plaisance loves to tease.

“If he swallowed an olive, he’d look pregnant,” Plaisance said.

Actually, Weisel spent the summer working as a Frankenstein greeter at Universal Studios.

Said Plaisance: “We’re trying to get him to wear the outfit out on the field for one of our games.”

Blunt and to the Point

It was only a matter of time before San Fernando quarterback Leon Blunt, an engaging sort, popped the question.

Blunt, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound sophomore, won the starting position over the past few weeks and spent most of his time learning to run the team’s wishbone offense. Finally, enough was enough.

After days of grinding it out on the ground, Blunt got to the point.

“Hey, coach, do we ever throw the ball?” Blunt asked.

Of course, Coach Tom Hernandez had heard questions like this before. Every year--from every quarterback hopeful.

“We’d put off the passing game for a week so he could learn to run the option plays,” Hernandez said. “But the first time we ran any passing stuff with the defense, he throws one about 50 yards. I went, ‘Jeez.’ ”

The installment of Blunt at quarterback frees two other players to return to their natural positions. Running back Brian Brison and receiver Dwight McDuff were taking snaps at quarterback before Blunt won the job.

Blunt appeared at San Fernando a few weeks ago after working out all summer with Sylmar. Blunt played quarterback for Sylmar during seven-on-seven passing competition, and although he lives in the San Fernando attendance area, he planned to move to Sylmar before school started.

Sylmar Coach Jeff Engilman, who characterized Blunt as “a super kid,” said the change of address and transfer never came to pass.

Blunt came to San Fernando to do precisely that.

“He ranks right up there in athletic ability with the best guys we’ve had,” Hernandez said.

No U-Turns Allowed

Kennedy High will play its opener Friday against Narbonne, which brings back memories for Golden Cougar linebacker Bobby Rodgers.

Even if Rodgers tried to forget, his teammates wouldn’t let him.

“They ride him about it constantly,” Kennedy Coach Bob Francola said.

It was a ride of Rodgers’ own making that earned him the good-natured jibes. Last year against Narbonne, Rodgers intercepted a pass, was spun around while breaking a tackle and returned the ball 82 yards into the wrong end zone for a safety. It marked the only points Kennedy surrendered--if that is the word--in its first three games.

The alliteration was irresistible, and Rodgers was dubbed, “Wrong-Way Rodgers.”

Rodgers reversed his fortunes a week later. In a game against Franklin, he picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown.

Clash of Styles

The oil-and-vinegar duo of area football coaches, Steve Landress and Engilman, might be reunited again next season.

Landress (easygoing along the sidelines) and Engilman (intense) served as co-coaches at Manual Arts for several seasons and led the Toilers to City Section 3-A Division titles in 1983 and ’84.

Five years ago, the pair were reunited when Engilman assisted Landress at Cleveland. Engilman is now coach at Sylmar and Landress, who last season resigned as coach at Cleveland, recently volunteered to lend his friend a hand.

Engilman, while admitting the offer was appealing, suggested that Landress take some time to recharge his batteries.

“Steve has a great offensive mind and we complemented each other real well,” Engilman said. “When I took (a year off), I came back the next year with a new outlook on football.”

The More the Merrier

A week ago, Engilman talked excitedly about getting the ball into the hands of flanker Brian Roberson because “there isn’t a defensive back who can cover him.”

But quarterback Ryan Walker suffered a separated right shoulder during an intrasquad scrimmage Thursday and those plans have changed. Roberson (5-10, 165) will touch the ball on every offensive play as the new quarterback.

“He’s a play-action type guy,” Engilman said. “We’ll roll him out more because of his speed.”

Roberson attempted just two passes last season but completed one for a 59-yard touchdown.

Going Once, Twice . . .

The summer-long legal battle with the Southern Section was not without its costs for Canyon Coach Harry Welch, some emotional, some financial. On a teacher’s salary, Welch had no trouble admitting that money was getting to be a problem in sustaining the fight.

So Saturday in Santa Clarita, some of Welch’s friends gathered and held an auction to help defray the legal costs.

Items donated by Welch’s supporters included time-share condominiums in Sun Valley, Ida., and Acapulco, and $1,000 in patio furniture.

About 150 people attended and parents of cheerleaders provided refreshments.

“The people have just been really, really good to me,” Welch said.

Flame-Broiled

The Jack Bowman era at Saugus will begin Friday with a game against Thousand Oaks, The Times’ No. 2-ranked team in the area.

While Bowman has been hard at work improving the Centurions’ program, he can think of cheerier ways to start a season than facing the traditionally hard-hitting Lancers.

“I’m not sure if we’re excited or scared to death,” the coach deadpanned. “We’re not jumping from the frying pan into the fire, we skipped the frying pan totally. It’s straight to the fire.”

Practice Is a Kick

L.A. Baptist Coach Mark Bates teaches a sixth-period P.E. class designed primarily for football players, but last year he discovered Nathan Ward, a soccer player who was spied kicking around the football.

Bates’ interest peaked when, one day in class, Ward booted a 50-yard field goal. Bates coaxed Ward to come out for the team with the promise that he need not burden himself with playbooks or hard conditioning.

Ward kicks for an hour before practice gets under way. Then, Bates said, he may send Ward on a lap around the track and home for the day.

More Boot Camp

Four soccer players have joined Royal’s football roster: Seniors Eric Hambly (punter), Wade Stark (kicker), Dan Morrison (fullback), and junior Ryan Campbell (wide receiver) have become part of a team that is expected to have a leg up on most of the Marmonte League.

Hardly Scott-free

Football at Buena has become a family affair for Coach Rick Scott.

Scott’s stepson, Bobby Gregorchk is a linebacker. The team’s ball girl is daughter Julie Scott and one of the statisticians is daughter Megan Scott.

“I’ll put my ball girl up against any,” Scott said. “She’s a nut. She’s out there throwing passes to the referees . . . and she has a better arm than a lot of quarterbacks I’ve seen.”

Staff writers Steve Elling, Paige A. Leech, Brian Murphy and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.