PREP WEDNESDAY: 1991-92 IN REVIEW : Triumphs From Hill to Valley

Orange County’s 1991-92 high school athletics season began with Santa Ana’s Dick Hill chasing Loara’s Herb Hill as the county’s winningest football coach, and ended with Edison’s Shelley Taylor winning the 1,600-meter race at the State track and field meet in her fourth and final attempt.

Dick Hill, 63, broke the county record for victories, getting No. 192 when Santa Ana defeated Fountain Valley, 17-7, in the season’s sixth week.

Taylor, the best girls’ distance runner in the county in the past 10 years, erased three years of frustration at State by winning the 1,600 in a school-record 4:48.52.

It was a season of impressive victories--six county schools won Southern Section football titles--and demoralizing defeats--El Dorado’s baseball team was eliminated by Diamond Bar in the Division 5-A playoffs by a 5-4 score for the second consecutive year.

Mater Dei, in its final season in the Angelus League, had the county’s most successful athletic program.

Among the Monarchs’ achievements:

--Winning the Southern Section Division I football title and finishing ranked No. 1 in the state.

--Winning the Division I-A basketball title and finishing one victory from a State title.

--Winning the section Division 5-A girls’ soccer title.

--Finishing ranked eighth in the state in baseball, and fifth in softball.

This fall, the county’s private schools will join public school leagues for the first time.

Other programs that continued long strings of success included the Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball team, which claimed its third State title in four seasons, and the La Habra girls’ volleyball team, which won its third consecutive State Division II championship.

Off the fields and courts, the State Federated Council rejected a proposed Orange County Section of the CIF at its May meeting in Burlingame. It seemingly ended nine months of meetings in an attempt to get the 72-member section off the ground. But county administrators said the issue hasn’t been settled yet.

A month-by-month look at the school year in sports:

SEPTEMBER

NOTABLE

Forgotten fast-starters: Everyone remembers the Southern Section football champions of ‘91: Mater Dei, Irvine, Los Alamitos, Valencia, Laguna Hills and Southern California Christian.

But in September, Mission Viejo was the No. 1 team in Orange County football.

The Diablos started the season by winning four consecutive games, including a 14-7 victory over Oceanside El Camino, the second-ranked team in San Diego County.

Unranked Garden Grove also started 3-0, on its way to the Argonauts’ first Garden Grove League championship season since 1980.

El Modena went 3-0 in September en route to 8-0.

Bad-news Mustangs: Trabuco Hills looked nothing like a Division VII finalist, losing to El Toro, Dana Hills and Woodbridge.

But the Mustangs won eight of their next 10 games, taking the Pacific Coast League title and reaching the Division VII championship game before losing to Laguna Hills, 35-28.

Shocking experience: While Westminster and Servite went through pregame warm-ups, a lightning bolt struck a light standard at Westminster’s football stadium, forcing the postponement of the nonleague game. Approximately 90 players, 15 coaches, five officials and 150 spectators all avoided injury.

Small school, big yardage: Jacob Cuccia of Whittier Christian rushed for 304 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-20 victory over Mammoth Sept. 21. Cuccia led the county with 513 yards in 49 carries (10.5 yards per rush) during September.

Fast-break football: Liberty Christian scored 48 first-quarter points, including three interception returns for touchdowns, during a 54-0 nonleague victory over Garden Grove Claremont in an eight-man game Sept 14.

QUOTABLE

“Those aren’t football players. Most of them are skateboarders and surfers.”

--Marijon Ancich, Tustin coach, on how he got 83 players to come out for football.

“I told the kids before the game, I’ll be up in the stands next week rooting for him to break the record, but I don’t want it to come against me tonight.”

--Gary Meek, Esperanza coach, before a Sept. 13 game against Santa Ana and Dick Hill, who was trying to become the county’s all-time leader in coaching victories. Esperanza won, 21-9.

OCTOBER

NOTABLE

The waiting is the hardest part: September turned into October, and Dick Hill still needed one victory to become the county’s all-time winningest high school football coach. It took six agonizing weeks, but Hill finally won his record 192nd game when Santa Ana defeated Fountain Valley, 17-7.

Local boys throw good: El Toro High graduate Steve Stenstrom took over as Stanford’s starting quarterback and made his first trip home as a starter a memorable one. Against USC at the Coliseum, Stenstrom threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chris Walsh late in the game to give the Cardinal a 24-21 victory.

Farther south, Trabuco Hills graduate David Lowery took over as San Diego State’s quarterback and threw for 273 yards in his debut, a victory over Hawaii.

No Friday-Night Lights: After two days of racial tension and violence in and around Buena Park High, administrators elected to start a nonleague football game against Anaheim at 4 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. Buena Park won, 28-7, in front of an estimated 150 spectators and numerous police officers. No problems were reported.

Playing catch-up: Edison’s Shelley Taylor took a wrong turn at the Central Park Invitational cross-country meet in Huntington Beach, went 150 yards off the course--and still came back to win by 40 seconds.

Tough month: Mission Viejo started the month as the county’s top-ranked football team. By Halloween, the Diablos had dropped to No. 10 after back-to-back losses to Mater Dei (42-7) and Irvine (16-13).

Smog Alert: At the Mt. San Antonio College cross-country invitational, dozens of runners suffered from heat exhaustion--six were treated at the hospital--after competing in 90-degree heat and smog. A number of coaches questioned the decision to hold the meet under such conditions, and it was halted with just a few races remaining.

Milestones, streaks, etc.:

--Valencia football Coach Mike Marrujo reached his 100th career victory when the Tigers defeated Troy, 35-0.

--Marina stopped Edison’s 15-game Sunset League football winning streak, 15-12.

--Buena Park ended Sunny Hills’ 120-game Freeway League water polo winning streak with a 7-6 victory over the Lancers. Coyote Coach Ted Clark was dunked afterward.

--Los Alamitos clinched its fourth consecutive Empire League girls’ tennis title.

--Foothill’s Amanda Parson finished the regular season 57-0 at No. 1 singles for the Knights’ tennis team, which clinched its second consecutive Century League title.

QUOTABLE

“You can picture Matt reading poetry in the library. Of course, on the football field, he’ll try to shove that poetry book down someone’s throat.”

--Bill Denny, Mission Viejo assistant coach, on star defensive lineman Matt Keneley.

“Every time we play a team down there, there is a certain arrogance, like we’re the country bumpkins or hayseeds. They think all the smartest coaches are down there.”

--Tom Hoak, Rialto Eisenhower football coach, on Orange County football.

NOVEMBER

NOTABLE

Who’s No. 1? The regular season ended and the great debate began: Which is the No. 1 football team in the county? Esperanza (10-0) or Mater Dei (9-1)?

Esperanza earned the distinction in the final poll of county sportswriters and was seeded first in the Division III playoffs. But the Aztecs’ 27-game winning streak was stopped by Empire League rival Los Alamitos in the title game.

Mater Dei went on to win the Division I championship by beating Rialto Eisenhower, ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today.

Madame Paula speaks: On the eve of the first round of the section football playoffs, The Times enlisted the help of a Santa Ana psychic to help make sense of it all.

Her predictions were, shall we say, enlightening.

Among them:

--Valencia will win the Division VI title.

--Garden Grove will win the Division VI title.

(Yeah, yeah, we know that’s not possible).

--El Dorado will be a big winner in Division III.

(Yeah, yeah, we know).

--Valencia’s taskmaster Mike Marrujo is too soft on his people.

(Yeah, yeah, we know).

Oh, by the way, Valencia did indeed win its championship, just as Madame Paula predicted.

Further attempts to reach Madame Paula were unsuccessful. Perhaps she was busy in the beyond.

Charger power: Edison’s Shelley Taylor had been to the State cross-country meet at Fresno’s Woodward Park before, but she had always run without her teammates.

This time was different.

On the final day of November, Taylor lined up with six teammates beside her at the starting line. She went on to win the individual title in 17 minutes 28 seconds, and Edison narrowly won the Division II team title with 52 points, edging Escondido San Pasqual by three points.

Taylor would later say the key to the winning performances was a late-night gab session in the hotel the evening before the race.

Goodby: Several longtime coaching tenures came to an end:

--Tom Baldwin, who coached Costa Mesa’s struggling football teams for eight seasons and, better still, played Santa Claus for underprivileged children in Mexico. Despite having few talented players, he was fired after posting a 26-54-1 record.

--Dick Hill, longtime football coach at Santa Ana and Santa Ana Valley, who coached what turned out to be his final game with the Saints--a 35-13 loss to Canyon Country Canyon in the first round of the playoffs.

Hill, 63, planned to remain as a walk-on coach after retiring from his teaching position at the end of the school year. But school officials said in February that it was against school policy to have a head football coach who wasn’t a full-time staff member. Hill, whose career record is 196-87-3, said he was “fired” from coaching because he was retiring from teaching. In May, he was hired as an assistant coach at Foothill.

--Bill Shannon, who coached Woodbridge to seven playoff berths and one State basketball title in 10 seasons, announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season. His best player, Adam Keefe, is expected to be a lottery pick in today’s NBA draft after four standout seasons at Stanford. Shannon and his wife, an executive with the Walt Disney Co., moved to Orlando.

--Roger Takahashi, who resigned after coaching La Quinta’s football team for six seasons, reaching the Division VI championship game in 1989.

QUOTABLE

“He’s something special. The best pure passer I’ve ever seen. Every time he went back to pass, you just held your breath. He’s just deadly.”

--Steve Grady, Los Angeles Loyola coach, on Mater Dei quarterback Billy Blanton after Blanton threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-20 loss Nov. 2.

TEAM HONOR ROLL

Southern Section champions: Boys’ cross-country--Mission Viejo (II-AA), La Habra (II-A), Laguna Hills (III-AA). Girls’ cross-country--Irvine (I-A), Edison (II-AA), El Modena (II-A), Laguna Hills (III-AA), Newport Harbor (III-A). Water polo--San Clemente (4-A). Girls’ tennis--Los Alamitos (2-A). Girls’ volleyball--Laguna Beach (5-A), La Habra (3-A).

State champions: Boys’ cross-country--Laguna Hills (III). Girls’ cross-country--Edison (II), Newport Harbor (III).

DECEMBER

NOTABLE

Football frenzy: Eleven county schools played in section divisional championship football games, the county’s best showing since divisional play was introduced in 1977. The big attraction was the Division I matchup pitting Mater Dei’s passing attack against Rialto Eisenhower’s ground game at Anaheim Stadium.

Red attitude: A crowd of 33,204 saw quarterback Billy Blanton pass for 257 yards and three touchdowns to lead Mater Dei to a 35-14 victory over Eisenhower, the nation’s top-ranked team. It was the third-largest playoff crowd in the section’s 77-year history. Mater Dei won its first title since 1965, and Blanton set county records with 3,545 yards and 36 touchdown passes for the season.

Streak ends: Los Alamitos ended Esperanza’s 27-game winning streak with an 8-0 victory in the Division III championship game. It was the second-longest winning streak in county history, surpassed only by Edison’s 32-game streak that was halted in 1981. Esperanza’s last loss had been to Villa Park, 48-28, in the first round of the 1989 playoffs. After Los Alamitos’ victory, Esperanza Coach Gary Meek said, “We’ve had a hell of a football team here the past two years. You don’t win 27 straight games without good players.”

Perfect season: Valencia went to the air for 226 yards in a 27-7 victory over Tustin in the Division VI championship game. The victory capped an undefeated season and was the second section title for Valencia under Mike Marrujo in the past five seasons. Later, when asked about his team’s uncharacteristic passing fancy, Marrujo said, “We usually don’t pass that much, put it that way.”

A season of firsts: Irvine claimed its first victories over Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley, its first South Coast League title, its first playoff victory and, finally, its first section title, after the Vaqueros defeated Dana Hills, 22-11, in the Division II football championship game. Later, Irvine’s Terry Henigan was named The Times’ county coach of the year.

Pay-back time: Running back Dave Webber rushed for 278 yards in 42 carries to lead Laguna Hills to a 35-28 victory over Trabuco Hills in the Division VII championship game. The victory avenged a 34-21 loss in Pacific Coast League play and ended years of frustration for Laguna Hills. The Hawks were 0-20 in the two seasons before Coach Steve Bresnahan arrived in 1988.

Overpowering: Running backs Mike Jacot and Dennis Amundson combined for 280 yards and four touchdowns in Southern California Christian’s 34-14 victory over Calvary Chapel in the Division X championship game.

Three-peat: The La Habra girls’ volleyball team, led by outside hitter Zrinka Kristich, won its third consecutive State Division II championship by defeating San Jose Leland. El Toro won the Division I title, outlasting Lakewood St. Joseph in a 2-hour 40-minute match. Capistrano Valley Christian defeated Atherton Sacred Heart Prep to win Division V.

Milestone: Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball Coach Mark Trakh earned his 300th career victory when the Ladycats defeated Gahr, 61-30. Trakh, in his 12th season, became only the fourth girls’ coach in the state to reach 300 victories; Trakh is the fastest to gain No. 300.

QUOTABLE

“I was suffocating, but I could have laid there all night.”

--Laguna Hills running back Dave Webber after being mobbed by his teammates in the section Division VII football championship game.

“I know I usually play down my team, but I think we’re going to be pretty good this year.”

--Mater Dei basketball Coach Gary McKnight, entering a 1991-92 season in which the Monarchs went 34-2.

TEAM HONOR ROLL

Southern Section champions: Football--Mater Dei (I), Irvine (II), Los Alamitos (III), Valencia (VI), Laguna Hills (VII), Southern California Christian (X).

State champions: Girls’ volleyball--El Toro (I), La Habra (II), Capistrano Valley Christian (V).

JANUARY

NOTABLE

Beating buzzers: Last-second shots are among the most dramatic moments in basketball. Here are two of the more notable ones from this month:

--With his team trailing by two with five seconds remaining, Sunny Hills senior Terry Mann made a three-point shot that gave the Lancers a 59-58 victory over Sonora.

--Tustin senior Christine Garner rebounded a missed free throw, turned up the court and unleashed a 43-footer that hit nothing but net and gave the Tillers a 46-45 victory over Woodbridge. “It doesn’t even compare with any other shot,” Garner said. “I think I’ll remember this one for a while.”

No. 1 . . . and only: Robert Fierro’s 20 points helped Bolsa Grande defeat Rancho Alamitos, 67-64, for its first boys’ basketball victory of the season after 16 losses. It would also prove to be the Matadors’ last victory. Rancho Alamitos finished second in the Garden Grove League.

Strange coincidence or what? Jan. 22, 1991: The Tustin girls’ basketball team defeated Woodbridge, 67-60, to break the Warriors’ 29-game league winning streak that spanned four seasons and two leagues--the Pacific Coast and the Sea View.

Jan. 23, 1992: Newport Harbor defeats Tustin, 49-46, ending the Tillers’ 30-game league winning streak.

Imagine . . . Mark Thornton, the Capistrano Valley boys’ basketball coach, was trying just about anything to help his team improve its free-throw shooting. One day in practice, he had them shoot imaginary free throws and report back how many they made out of 10.

“Believe it or not, I had two guys who said they missed two shots and another kid who said he stepped over the line,” Thornton said. “I got so upset, I had them run laps for the shots they missed. And they weren’t imaginary laps, either.”

Making points: Toby Curto, a junior at Liberty Christian (enrollment 85), had the biggest scoring week of the boys’ basketball season. Curto had 46 points in an 87-69 victory over California Lutheran and 51 points, the best performance of the season and 12th-best in county history, in a 112-90 victory over Glendale Adventist. He finished as the county scoring leader with a 28.3 average.

QUOTABLE

“This is how Servite used to play. Get ahead, then make them pay.”

--Servite Coach Richard Smith, after the unranked Friars defeated sixth-ranked Santa Margarita in basketball, 72-59.

“Matt just wears you down until you are a little pile, and then he puts you away. It’s a ferocious onslaught.”

--Canyon wrestling Coach Gary Bowden on Matt Padgett, who won the 160-pound class of the Five Counties Invitational by pinning three of his five opponents, including one in 13 seconds.

“If this was my senior class planning a benefit to sell pizza with this type of planning and organization, I wouldn’t allow it to happen.”

--Clark Stephens, Liberty Christian principal, on the formulation of a proposed Orange County Section.

FEBRUARY

NOTABLE

A Tiger tale: Tiger Woods, 16, a sophomore at Western, made his PGA Tour debut by playing at the Los Angeles Open at the Riviera Country Club.

But Woods was in the woods quite a bit, playing wildly in the first two rounds for a 36-hole total of 147. He missed the cut.

“It was a learning experience,” Woods said, “and I learned that I’m not that good.”

The lean year: College signing day was Feb. 5 for high school football and volleyball players. Only 14 football players signed with Division I schools, compared to more than 30 in each of the past two years.

Still, there were some notable signees: Mater Dei quarterback Billy Blanton (San Diego State), Irvine lineman Curt Cannon (Brigham Young) and twins Korey and Kevin Alexander of Valencia, who signed with Utah State.

USC landed two of the county’s top linemen in Mission Viejo’s Matt Keneley and El Toro’s Chris Miller.

More than 20 county girls signed to play volleyball at Division I schools, in one of the best years in recent memory. Among them were Capistrano Valley’s Allyson Carpenter (Cal State Long Beach), Newport Harbor’s Tara Kroesch (Pepperdine) and Maureen McLaren (Stanford).

But the two best volleyball players in the county didn’t sign--Laguna Beach junior Rachel Wacholder and La Habra’s Zrinka Kristich, who already had signed with UCLA for basketball.

Miles’ moment: Mater Dei sophomore Miles Simon scored 24 points to lead the Monarchs to a 54-48 victory over Compton Dominguez in the section Division I-A semifinals Feb. 29. Earlier, the Monarchs had capped their eighth--and final--undefeated Angelus League season in the past 10 years. Mater Dei moves to the South Coast League next year.

Slippery when wet: Savanna’s basketball team was bumped out of its gym for a section Division II-A first-round playoff game against Los Amigos.

Then the Rebels got knocked out of the playoffs.

The game, which Los Amigos won, 70-58, was moved from Savanna to Cypress High because the floor in Savanna’s gym was too slippery after being oiled earlier in the day.

Injured list: When El Dorado goalkeeper Blayne Leitner went down with a broken leg near the end of the regular season, the soccer team’s championship hopes went with him.

Leitner, a junior, had 12 shutouts before breaking his leg two matches before the end of the season.

The Golden Hawks, playing without Leitner and two other All-Empire League starters, lost to Anaheim, 3-0, in the second round of the section Division II-A playoffs.

QUOTABLE

“It’s a bit weird. But you know kids these days. They get off on the dumbest things.”

--Kerry Krause, El Toro soccer coach, on why he smashed replicas of opponents’ mascots before playoff games.

“We used dummies, too. They’re called JVs.”

--Greg Hoffman, Western basketball coach, when told Estancia’s Tim O’Brien used football blocking dummies to toughen his players.

MARCH

NOTABLE

The winning Trakh: Under Coach Mark Trakh, the Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball team has been a perennial powerhouse.

The team is 324-40 since Trakh took over the program in 1980 and hasn’t been beaten by a county team since Katella accomplished the feat in 1987 (59-56 in the section Division III-A semifinals). Besides the three State titles, Brea also has won five section championships.

On March 21 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, the Ladycats (32-2) capped another banner season by winning the State Division III title with a 47-44 victory over Healdsburg. The Ladycats won the Division II title in 1991.

Senior Jody Anton, The Times’ county girls player of the year, led Brea against Healdsburg with a game-high 19 points and 16 rebounds.

The game marked the end of Anton’s brilliant high school career. A USC-bound guard, Anton scored 1,674 points while marking herself as one of the county’s all-time best.

Not to be: After cruising through the season as the county’s top-ranked team, the Mater Dei boys’ basketball squad reached the State Division I final against Alameda St. Joseph but came up short in their championship quest.

The Monarchs (34-2) took a 19-game winning streak into the game but ran into St. Joseph’s formidable 6-4 guard, Jason Kidd. Kidd, who’ll play at California next season, scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Pilots to a 59-37 victory.

Mater Dei, 286-26 the past 10 seasons under Gary McKnight, was after its third State title. The Monarchs won Division I championships in 1987 and 1990.

It was the last official high school game for Mater Dei point guard Reggie Geary, The Times’ county boys player of the year. Geary will play at Arizona next season.

Aloha: In one of the most creative athletic eligibility cases ever heard by the Southern Section, Tanao Weygand was denied permission to play volleyball at Newport Harbor after transferring from Konawaena High in Kealakeua, Hawaii.

The reason Weygand said he moved from the island to Orange County? Volcano ash aggravated his asthma.

Stan Thomas, the section’s commissioner of athletics, turned down the eligibility request, citing a State CIF rule that limits participation in a sport to one season per school year. The Hawaii boys’ volleyball season is in the fall and California’s is in the spring. Weygand had played in Hawaii in the fall before transferring, volcano ash notwithstanding.

Coming and going: The list of coaches who said hasta la vista, and those who took over programs, was amended in March with a few more names, including:

--Bob Minier, Mission Viejo boys’ basketball coach, resigned after 14 seasons. Under Minier, the Diablos won five South Coast League titles and were 226-139. In 1980, Mission Viejo advanced to the Southern Section 2-A title game, where it lost to Moreno Valley, 41-38. Minier continues to teach honors English courses and coach the school’s golf team.

--Tom Meiss, The Times’ Orange County prep football coach of the year in 1989 while at Orange High, became the new coach at Foothill. Meiss, 50, has coached football for 27 years at Savanna, Santa Ana and Orange high schools, and at Saddleback College. His ’89 Orange team made it to the Southern Section Division VIII title game, but lost to Trabuco Hills, 13-7. It was the first appearance for Orange in a championship game in 60 years.

--Charlie Brande and Dave Mohs were named co-coaches of the Edison boys’ volleyball team. Brande was an assistant to Mohs on the Edison girls’ team last season. He is one of the winningest club and high school coaches in county history. Brande led the Newport Harbor boys’ team to the Southern Section title in 1980 and the Corona del Mar boys’ squad to the 1989 Division 4-A championship. His Corona del Mar girls’ team won the State Division I title in 1984.

QUOTABLE

“James Taylor and Cat Stevens. Remember, I grew up with three older brothers. There’s no head-banging in the Edson house.”

--Joe Edson, Estancia basketball guard, on the music he listens to before games.

TEAM HONOR ROLL

Southern Section champions: Boys’ basketball--Capistrano Valley (I-AA), Mater Dei (I-A), Trabuco Hills (II-A). Girls’ basketball--Brea-Olinda (III-AA), Rancho Alamitos (III-A). Boys’ soccer--Ocean View (4-A), Los Alamitos (2-A). Girls’ soccer--Mater Dei (4-A).

State champions: Girls’ basketball--Brea-Olinda (III).

APRIL

NOTABLE

Sneak preview: On the second Saturday of the month, Edison’s Shelley Taylor gave a preview of what would be a successful girls’ track season.

At the Arcadia Invitational, a meet that draws top athletes from around the nation, Taylor, a senior, held off Fillmore’s Nikki Shaw, winning the 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes 51.98 seconds, which was a personal best. Shaw was second in 4:53.85. Taylor’s time was the fastest in the nation.

An hour and 45 minutes later, Taylor came back in the distance medley relay, running Edison’s anchor 1,600 leg. When Taylor got the baton from her teammate, Jennifer Formosa, she was in sixth place and 50 meters behind Amy Skiersz of Agoura. Taylor nipped Skiersz at the tape, winning by two-tenths of a second. Taylor ran 4:53 on the anchor.

Said Taylor: “A little more work, and I think I can break 4:50.” The work would be finished by the State meet in June.

Add Track: Mission Viejo’s Heather Sterlin broke a longstanding school record, spanning 19 feet 6 inches in the long jump in a South Coast League dual meet. She broke the record of 19- 1/2, set in 1978 by Sabrina Pendleton.

The end: Several longstanding streaks ended.

--The Dana Hills boys’ tennis team was twice a victim. First, the Dolphins lost to El Toro, something that hadn’t happened in 15 years. Then they were beaten, 10-8, by San Clemente, ending their hopes for an eighth consecutive South Coast League championship.

--After 15 years and 73 meets, Foothill lost a league girls’ swim meet for the first time in the program’s history.

Fancy seeing you here: Three Rancho Alamitos’ boys’ volleyball players had something in common: they all came from Romania. Peter Pantis, Gheorghe Talos and Teofil Tifrea, whose families did not know each other before the three emigrated, became teammates and friends at Rancho Alamitos. They rated eating M&Ms;, watching cable television and buying Nike sneakers on sale as their favorite American pastimes.

How about those Angels? Century pitcher Tom Reimers was eager to get a Pacific Coast League game over. Reimers was scheduled to be at Anaheim Stadium for his first day on the job as a clubhouse attendant. Afterward, Reimers couldn’t contain his excitement about his new job.

“I’ve watched the Angels on television, and now I’m going to be in the clubhouse working for them,” he said. “It’s like a dream come true.”

Big plans: Woodbridge swimmer Derya Buyukuncu, 15, who plans to swim for Turkey in the summer Olympics at Barcelona, has it all figured out.

“I will make the final at the Olympics this time,” he said. “In 1996, I will win a gold medal. I will set the world record in 1994, maybe 1995.

“If I win a gold medal (in the Olympics), I’ll get flowers and kisses.”

QUOTABLE

“His seeing-eye dog ran away today.”

--A local golf coach after calling in a score of a match, which included one player who shot 133 for 18 holes.

MAY

NOTABLE

May Day: The month opened in fine fashion.

On the first day, Tyson DowDell, standout pitcher/outfielder for El Dorado, pitched a one-hitter in beating Loara, 11-1. He also homered and drove in three runs.

His teammates were not quite as sharp. They made six errors, which allowed an unearned run.

DowDell closed the month with one of the odder comments. Asked if he and teammate Shawn Holcomb had a rivalry, DowDell said: “I don’t think we’d admit to it, but we definitely do.”

Good thing he didn’t fess up.

Adios: May brought an end to the Angelus League, as well as the county’s dominance in girls’ swimming.

On May 7, La Puente Bishop Amat beat Mater Dei, 5-1; Santa Margarita beat, Bellflower St. John Bosco, 7-2; and Servite beat Los Angeles Loyola, 2-1; to finish the Angelus League baseball season. It was the final chapter in a tale of superiority and intensity.

For 31 years, it was one of the top athletic leagues in Southern California, if not the nation. In all, teams from that league won 30 section titles--11 in football.

The high profile of the league wasn’t always matched with high ideals in terms of sportsmanship. Fights--some that bordered on riots--accusations of recruiting and name-calling were as much a part of the legacy as the competition.

“The say it’s a Catholic league, but the way we played was anything but Catholic,” former St. Paul quarterback Greg Willig said.

Also coming to an end was the string of success girls’ county swim teams had enjoyed. Starting in 1972 with Foothill, county teams had won every section 4-A championship. Mission Viejo won 12 titles, including 11 consecutive from 1976-86.

The run came to an end May 15, when Ventura Buena edged Capistrano Valley, 173-169.

Hello again: On the same evening that Buena was making history, the Mission Viejo boys’ swim team was repeating it.

The Diablos, who won 14 consecutive 4-A titles from 1975-88, reclaimed the title, routing their competition. Mission Viejo, runner-up the previous three years, scored 179 points, 48 more than second-place Buena.

Chad Carvin of Laguna Hills set 2-A records in the 200 and 500 freestyles. Natasha Kohne of Rancho Alamitos won the 200 individual medley, making her only the fifth swimmer in section history to win an event four consecutive seasons.

Memorable victories: Edison’s Shelley Taylor won the 800 and 1,600 at the 3-A track and field finals.

Sunny Hills’ Carrie Garritson not only won the 3,200 at the Master’s track and field meet, she broke a county record that had stood for 10 years, finishing in 10:28.20.

Forgettable losses: Huntington Beach’s baseball team rolled through the regular season. The Oilers finished 22-3 and were the county’s No. 1-ranked team. They were also the only team to beat Diamond Bar, the nation’s No. 1 ranked team according to USA Today.

But the end came quickly. Cypress, the third-place team from the Empire League, bounced fourth-seeded Huntington Beach from the 5-A playoffs, 9-0. Micah Stovall pitched a one-hitter for the Centurions, out-dueling Jon Ward, who entered the game with a 9-0 record.

Slightly more of a shocker was the play of Cypress golfer Tiger Woods in the section championships.

Woods, the defending section and CIF-Southern California champion, was followed on the course by the largest gallery, which included a television crew. He shot a five-over 76 to finish three shots off the lead.

Mater Dei’s hopes of a boys’ trifecta ended when it was bashed, 13-3, by El Dorado in the quarterfinals of the 5-A baseball playoffs. Mater Dei previously won section titles in football and basketball.

Long day’s journey into night: It took six days, but the Pacifica softball team finally got to the 5-A quarterfinals. The Mariners had to endure a 26-inning game against Cerritos before advancing.

The two teams played 20 1/2 scoreless innings on May 21, with the game interrupted by darkness. It was continued on May 26.

Finally, Kristina Carlson’s infield single scored Amber Barazso to end the marathon. Pacific pitcher Jennifer Surface went the distance, extending her scoreless-inning streak to 56 innings.

She threw 10 more in the quarterfinals against Mater Dei, but gave up a run in the 11th and lost.

Tux luck: The Huntington Beach boys’ volleyball team was all dressed up with nowhere to go.

The Oilers were scheduled to play in the quarterfinals of the section 4-A playoffs against Loyola on the same night as the school prom. Huntington Beach school officials asked that the match be moved up a night, to allow the kids to dance. Loyola officials refused.

Worse yet, the Oilers were on the verge of elimination, after losing the first two games of the match. They rallied to win and then reveled in the revenge.

Afterward, Huntington Beach fans raised a sign toward the Loyola bench: “You ruined our prom . . . We ended your season.”

Play it again: Of course there had to be a meeting to discuss the formation of an Orange County Section. Why should May be any different?

But finally, after nine months of votes and recommendations, the State Federated Council voted by a margin of nearly 2-to-1 against those forming a new section, ending the ordeal once and for all . . . for now.

Stay tuned next September for OC Section II, the sequel.

QUOTABLE

“I tell you, it may have been only three or four years since we won, but it felt like 80.”

--Mike Pelton, Mission Viejo swim coach, after his team claimed its first section boys’ title since 1988.

TEAM HONOR ROLL

Southern Section champions: Badminton--Estancia (4-A). Boys’ swimming--Mission Viejo (4-A). Girls’ swimming--Brea-Olinda (3-A). Boys’ volleyball--Whittier Christian (2-A).

JUNE

NOTABLE

Life’s a pitch: El Dorado pitcher Shawn Holcomb came into the section 5-A semifinal against Diamond Bar with a haunting memory: giving up the winning home run in the seventh inning of a 5-4 playoff loss to Diamond Bar in 1991.

This year, Diamond Bar tagged Holcomb again, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win, 5-4.

Holcomb, The Times player of the year, still had plenty to be proud of. Not only had he led his team throughout the playoffs, in pitching and at the plate, he also was a fourth-round pick of the Angels in the free-agent draft the day before the Diamond Bar game.

We’ll always have Williamsport: Just before playing in their section 4-A title game against South Hills--which they lost, 6-5--Irvine baseball players said they were sick and tired of being reminded of the Little League World Series.

Specifically, they meant the 1987 series, when the Irvine Northwood All-Stars--several of whom played for Irvine this year--made it all the way to the final. The Vaqueros, in fact, pledged never, ever to talk about it again. So we won’t bring it up.

See ya, Shelley: If you’ve read through the other months to this point, you’ve noticed that Shelley Taylor’s name has appeared quite a bit.

Four years ago as a wide-eyed Edison freshman, she ran scared each time she set foot on a track or cross-country trail.

At this year’s State meet, she capped a remarkable career by winning the 1,600 meters in 4:48.52, a school record.

Said Taylor: “I was just staring at that clock saying, ‘Get me there in time! Come closer, finish line.’ ”

Other State meet individual winners from the county: Esperanza freshman Kristy Kierulff (high jump), Marina’s Tony Parrish (triple jump) and Saddleback’s Charlie Davidson (110-meter hurdles).

Hall of Hawks: El Dorado might have been smarting after its loss to Diamond Bar, but the free-agent draft gave Golden Hawk fans plenty to cheer about. Two former Hawks were selected in the first round: Cal State Fullerton third baseman Phil Nevin, the top draft choice overall, was picked by the Astros, and UCLA pitcher Pete Janicki was chosen by the Angels.

Bowling for $$$: After nearly two decades of discussion, a football game between the Southern Section Division I and City Section 4-A champions was approved. Presenting . . . the CIF/Reebok Bowl. The game--scheduled for Dec. 18, possibly at Anaheim Stadium--will be televised by station KCOP (Channel 13) and guarantees each team $12,000.

Axed tax: A bill that might have raised an estimated $7 million for sports in public schools, grades K-12, was defeated by a State Senate committee. AB 694 called for a 3% tax on tickets to professional sporting events costing $5 or more. Detractors said the tax wasn’t fair as it did not benefit programs such as music, arts, etc.

QUOTABLE

“I think the bubonic plague set in or something, and we needed a second baseman bad.”

--Irvine baseball Coach Bob Flint, on why senior shortstop Chad Baker once was called up for a varsity game as a 5-foot-1, 100-pound freshman.

TEAM HONOR ROLL

Southern Section champions: Softball--Cypress (5-A), Foothill (4-A), Woodbridge (3-A).

Times Staff Writers Martin Beck, Fernando Dominguez, Chris Foster, Tom Hamilton, Barbie Ludovise, Mike Reilley and Elliott Teaford and correspondents Michael Itagaki, Kim Kutcher and Mark Spinn contributed to this story.