Stan’s Plan Turns Around Simi Valley : Quina Stays the Course, Pioneers Begin to Win

Over the past half-century, it would seem that the Simi Valley High football team could have figured this game out.

But, from 1946 through 1990, the Pioneers hadn’t a clue. Simi Valley had won only 30% of its past 393 games and had produced just six teams with winning records since World War II.

This is a team that lost its most recent playoff game, one of only six the Pioneers have played, by a 3-2 score.

At times, the Pioneers have shown flashes of brilliance. But like a comet, it never seems to last long.

Perhaps this year’s 5-1 start, coupled with renewed enthusiasm for football among students and staff, will be the start of something more enduring.

In 1957, Simi Valley ended a streak of 11 consecutive losing seasons by winning five of seven games. But the Pioneers won only two the next season. In 1962, Simi Valley won its first league championship, only to win just three games the next season.

The Pioneers won their second league title and set a school record with nine wins in 1985 when running back M. J. Nelson led them to the second round of the Southern Section playoffs. But they finished 3-7 the next season and have not broken .500 since.

In the three years before this season, Simi Valley had won only one of 30 games.

“In the ‘70s, it got so bad that our quarterbacks had to write the plays on a piece of paper and take it into the huddle,” said Don Cameron, who is in his 20th year as a teacher at the school.

The only trail these Pioneers blazed was a clear-cut path toward the league cellar.

Last year, along came Stan Quina, a large, soft-spoken man who preached attitude and effort. In just his second season he has led the Pioneers, ranked ninth in the Southern Section Division II, to their most successful season since 1985.

Simi Valley has found that success through the relentless work ethic, dedication and enthusiasm Quina instilled in his coaching staff and players.

“The biggest thing I’ve tried to do since day one is instill the belief that winning is not a result, it’s an effort and an attitude,” he said. “We learned how to put forth the effort and the attitude, and the result is a byproduct of that.”

The Pioneers are not blessed with an abundance of talent. They have an offensive line that includes a 150-pound starting center and a 165-pound starting tackle. An assistant coach is more famous for his modeling appearances in a television commercial. A wide receiver is nicknamed “Blinky” and lists his college preference as “any reputable university of science.”

“We have our share of talented players, I guess, but we’ve won because of effort and attitude,” Quina said. “The kids are the ones who have worked hard. I haven’t made a tackle, caught a pass or thrown a ball.”

Quina is the school’s 12th coach since World War II. None of the previous 11 finished their careers at Simi Valley with a winning record, and Quina inherited a program that had no booster club. “The program was in shambles in terms of wins and losses,” he said.

Quina took over for Dave Murphy, who resigned with a 21-40-1 record in six seasons. “Every coach is going to go through a period where a group just doesn’t perform, and it isn’t always a reflection on the coach,” Quina said.

UNLIKELY SAVIOR

Quina, 35, who had never been a head coach, seemed the unlikeliest of characters to turn a program around. He was, of all things, a graduate of cross-town rival Royal. He was an insurance salesman who was an unpopular choice on campus.

Quina was a walk-on coach selected over former assistants at the school who were full-time teachers on campus.

“He was not well-received,” said Tom Derrico, a science teacher who in 17 years at the school has witnessed three winning seasons. “He was a walk-on coach and people were a little bitter about it.”

Said Quina, who is now a substitute teacher at Simi Valley: “The initial reaction was understandable. But teaching would no more qualify me to coach than coaching would qualify me to teach. Once the staff got to know me a little and saw what I was trying to do, they began to support me.”

When other candidates for the job refused to assist Quina, he was forced to piece together a coaching staff that included a former receiver at the University of Illinois whom he met at church and the owner of a local stationery store.

In 1990, his first season, the Pioneers lost all 10 games and allowed 413 points. On three occasions the Pioneers allowed more than 50 points. After one of those blowouts, the opposing coach said his team might have scored 100 had he not pulled his starters-- in the second quarter.

Quina’s run-and-shoot offense backfired. Quarterback Tim Kirksey, who threw for 1,134 yards, transferred to Westlake after the season. Quina said that at least 10 players quit during the season.

“The wrong person with the wrong attitude wasn’t going to last,” Quina said.

By the end of last season, a sophomore quarterback was shoved into the backfield to--get this--prepare for the next season.

“By the end of last year, you’d never know we were 0-10,” he said. “They didn’t necessarily perform as well as we would have liked, but they improved and they would still be playing hard when we were down 42-6. There was no giving up.”

Said senior guard Kirk Robertson, a three-year starter, “Whenever the chips were down, (Quina) kept us hopeful, looking to the future.”

THE FUTURE IS NOW

Still, the team remained a target for mischief-makers. During two-a-day workouts this summer, the struggling Pioneers were pelted with water balloons by passersby. “That was pretty humiliating,” said Lisa Castellanos, a student trainer for the team. “They were screaming, ‘Royal’s number one! Simi sucks!’ I wondered if it was ever going to end.”

Simi Valley answered with a stunning upset in the opener Sept. 13. The Pioneers pinned a 23-20 loss on Ventura, the defending Channel League champion. Ventura has since won six in a row.

Quina remained reserved. “Sure, we celebrated at midfield and the kids were excited. But they’ll be the first to tell you that we weren’t surprised,” he said.

Some opposing coaches still viewed the win as a fluke, attributing the victory to Ventura Coach Harvey Kochel’s tinkering with his offense. But the following week, Simi Valley narrowly missed a second upset, losing, 27-20, when Buena scored with 74 seconds to play.

Then the Pioneers really hitched their wagons. They scored twice in the fourth quarter to rally past Santa Maria, 19-15. In a 34-27 win over Newbury Park, the Pioneers were unfazed by a 97-yard interception return in the fourth quarter that left them trailing by a touchdown, and they again rallied.

Next came Camarillo, which had beaten Simi Valley 24 times in the past 32 meetings. The Pioneers’ offense sputtered, but the defense, which had allowed a region-worst 382 yards a game last season, gave a poised effort that led to a 17-8 win.

Last week, the Pioneers routed Agoura, 41-21. This winning business was becoming routine. The halls at school buzzed with newfound fervor. Posters went up and criticism down.

“I went to a pep rally, and it actually was fun!” science teacher Lee Strong said.

CAMPUS CELEBRITY

Quina, an assistant at Royal and Moorpark during each school’s brief rebuilding periods in the 1980s, now is popular on a campus where people usually count the days until basketball season.

“It’s not like we’ve never had talent here,” said Steve Pinkston, the school’s starting quarterback from 1982-84 and a second-year assistant under Quina. “The talent was there, but the work ethic wasn’t. There just wasn’t the coaching there to get it done.”

The Pioneers do have talented players. Junior quarterback Eric Bennett has thrown for 1,230 yards this season and set school records with 291 passing yards against Newbury Park and 23 completions against Ventura.

Senior wide receiver Dave Romines has caught 23 passes for 656 yards and set a school record with 168 yards against Buena. Robertson (6-foot-4, 275 pounds) is an NCAA Division I prospect who will visit the University of Wisconsin and Cal in December.

Yet Quina attributes the team’s success to an old-fashioned work ethic that his players have shown in the weight room and on the practice field.

“It didn’t take a genius to see that we were physically outmanned last year,” he said. “We haven’t waved any magic wands around here. We just worked hard. A lot of our success has to do with the seeds we planted last year. Quite honestly, I knew we could do some things this season and might surprise some people, but I didn’t want to (let) on. I can do that now because I think some people have sat up and taken notice.”

The students and staff at Simi Valley certainly have.

“Last year you could go to a game any time and sit anywhere,” senior Mark Hainline said. “Now, if you’re late, you’re not going to get a seat.”

Wally Boggess, a teacher, laughed and said, “The guys who work the gates during the games are complaining because they never had any problems with the crowd before. Now there are all kinds of problems.”

A capacity crowd of more than 3,000 is expected tonight (7:30 p.m. game time) when Simi Valley travels to meet Thousand Oaks (5-1, 3-0), ranked third in Division II. The Lancers, winners of four of the past five league titles, have not lost to Simi Valley since 1982 and handed the Pioneers a 46-6 loss last season.

The Thousand Oaks-Simi Valley matchup reflects Marmonte history. Thousand Oaks has won more games (77) than any team in league history, and Simi Valley has lost more games (84) than any other Marmonte team.

“Everyone is so excited,” Castellanos said. “It’s incredible that we’ve gone from water balloons to cheers. People drive by now and scream, ‘Yeah, Simi! Number one!’ They’re talking about the Thousand Oaks game being the biggest in the history of the school.”

Quina cautions that the Pioneers have plenty of work left. Although Simi Valley is on the verge of only its seventh winning season since 1946, the Pioneers try to keep it in perspective.

“The Thousand Oaks game is a big game,” Robertson said. “But it should be a lot of fun.”

Football is fun again at Simi Valley. Imagine that.

Stan’s the Man

Overall League Year Record Record PF PA Coach 1985 9-3 5-1 184 118 Dave Murphy 1986 3-7 0-6 153 225 Dave Murphy 1987 4-5-1 2-3-1 156 191 Dave Murphy 1988 0-10 0-6 70 257 Dave Murphy 1989 1-9 1-5 69 235 Dave Murphy 1990 0-10 0-7 88 413 Stan Quina 1991 5-1 3-0 154 118 Stan Quina 7 yrs. 22-45-1 11-28-1 874 1557 ---