Amid Talk of Titles, El Camino Keeps Principles in Focus : Division 2-A: Two-time defending section champions are ranked No. 1 in the state this season.

For years he has sent football players marching single-file off to the college ranks. The past two seasons his team humiliated its opponent in the section championship game. Now his team is being touted as the best Division AAA squad in California by Cal-Hi Sports.

Herb Meyer could have the best 2-A team in the county for the third consecutive season.

What does he do at El Camino that inspires 162 boys to sign up for football? Why do these kids prefer sweating, aching and wheezing each August to chasing girls at the mall, fixing their cars or tending their baseball card collections?

Why do these guys suffer the humiliation of doing crab walks after they’ve just won a game for Herb Meyer when they could be pouring shakes for wages at All-American Burger?

What is Meyer putting in the minds of these 16- and 17-year-olds?

Nothing new. Just some basic principles of life. Hard work and commitment are his main themes, and what benefits they reap. In El Camino’s case, the harvest is football championships.

The results are obvious at game time. The Wildcats are two-time defending section champions. They’ve been to the section final five times since 1982. All they seem to do is win, win, win. Yet Meyer says football at El Camino is not about winning.

“Our program has a lot to offer in terms of values and intangibles that people make fun of and joke about,” Meyer said. “It’s easy to pontificate those things when you’ve had success than if you’re in a struggling situation. And they are not things you spend a lot of time talking about.”

Now seems a good time. El Camino’s program is based on structure and traditional values. The expections of each season (this year to repeat as Avocado League champions) and goals (to be the first to win three section titles in a row) are on the surface.

He tells parents before the season that he intends to make their sons “champions as human beings.” Then he takes those boys in big bodies introduces them to manhood. The season can sometimes seem like hell, but hell is a ritual, an initiation for the Wildcats.

“We want them to learn how to react under pressure, make the right decision and do all the things that are going to make them productive in society,” Meyer said. “You have to do a lot of things that discomfort them a great deal.

“Human nature is such that most people--as soon as they have to exert themselves--become uncomfortable and decide it’s time to quit. I think you have to fight through that barrier and achieve more than you think you’re capable of achieving.”

It sounds corny. But wouldn’t every 2-A team want to be El Camino right now? Only one of top teams around the county this year--Lincoln--has had comparable success in recent years. The others--San Marcos, La Jolla, Kearny and San Pasqual--are trying trying to catch up. Lincoln Coach Vic Player has announced that the Hornets--who lost to El Camino, 38-6, in the 1989 section final, are back. But he acknowledged the roof nearly caved in during Lincoln’s 4-7 season last year.

“The team I had last year didn’t really know me, and I didn’t really know them,” Player said. “Now they they ask me all the time, ‘Are we going to be any good this year?’ They just need to be reassured.”

Meyer said his players come to him naturally lacking confidence. And after a 1-4 start as defending section champions in 1990, Meyer’s staff worked constantly on that aspect.

But even as the Wildcats came back to win their final nine games, some of those victories were followed by “punishment-type” drills.

“I’ve been criticized for that, and the kids get upset,” Meyer said, “but winning is not what it’s about. It’s playing as well as you’re capable and not being willing to accept mediocrity.

“And when the chips are down and there’s a big game, you’re going to know how to respond.

“Everybody has principles. It’s just a matter of applying them and to what point you’re willing to compromise your principles. I really don’t know how you can sell kids if they see you backing down on them.”

But those principles can be easy to forget amid the hoopla of being No. 1.

“What’s happening is we’re getting to the point where winning isn’t enough anymore,” Meyer said. “All people want to talk about is the playoffs and the CIF championship.

“And that’s bad. But it’s a fact of life.”

San Diego County 2-A Football: The Sweet 16

School: Coronado ’90 W-L: 5-6 Coach: Bud Mayfield Comment: Veterans galore should give Islanders something to cheer about. School: El Camino ’90 W-L: 10-4 Coach: Herb Meyer Comment: Two-time defending champs have 13 starters back. School: El Capitan ’90 W-L: 2-8 Coach: Dave Waasted Comment: Vaqueros return to 2-A includes trip to playoffs. School: Kearny ’90 W-L: 11-2-1 Coach: Willie Matson Comment: Many good players return, but they must perform without a great one--Darnay Scott. School: La Jolla ’90 W-L: 10-2-1 Coach: Dick Huddleston Comment: E.J. Watson must stay healthy. School: Lincoln ’90 W-L: 4-7 Coach: Vic Player Comment: They have talent, talent, talent; they need discipline, discipline, discipline. School: Madison ’90 W-L: 6-5 Coach: Steve Jacobacci Comment: Can the Warhawks overcome the loss of 1,000-yard rusher/league MVP Curtis Dawson? School: Oceanside ’90 W-L: 4-5-2 Coach: John Carroll Comment: Carroll says he might have as much talent as El Camino. School: Rancho Bernardo ’90 W-L: 2-8 Coach: Bill Christopher Comment: A second-year school with a lot of talent. School: San Marcos ’90 W-L: 7-4-1 Coach: Ken Broach Comment: Fullback Mark Frazier should lead the Knights to second consecutiveplayoff berth. School: San Pasqual ’90 W-L: 3-5-2 Coach: Mike Dolan Comment: After a year’s absence, Eagles figure to be back in the hunt. School: Santana ’90 W-L: 4-5-1 Coach: Doug Coffin Comment: Sultans have one of top rushing teams in the 2-A. School: St. Augustine ’90 W-L: 6-4-1 Coach: Joe Medina Comment: We’ll find out just how “misunderstood” wishbone really is. School: University City ’90 W-L: 4-6 Coach: Steve Vukojevic Comment: Celebrating its 10th anniversary; still searching for firstplayoff victory. School: USDHS ’90 W-L: 4-6 Coach: Ron Hamamato Comment: Horrible luck in close ballgames must change. School: Valhalla ’90 W-L: 4-6 Coach: John Odom Comment: Annual longshot finishes in the money this year.