Lack of Depth May Put All-Star Coaches in a Difficult Position : Football: West and East squads will be scrambling for a qualified replacement should either team lose its quarterback.

Clearly, baseball has not been very good to Dan Robbins.

“I hate that sport,” the Hawthorne High football coach said.

Robbins’ distaste for the national pastime is understandable. Because of baseball, he was nearly left without a quarterback for tonight’s 26th annual West Torrance Lions All-Star game.

The game, featuring recently graduated South Bay prep standouts, starts at 7 at El Camino College.

Robbins, who is coaching the West team, originally had three quarterbacks on his roster. But because Ted Silva of Redondo and Steve Sarkisian of West Torrance participated in the American Legion baseball playoffs last week and missed the first week of Lions practice, both decided to skip the football game, Robbins said.

That left the West with one quarterback--Greg Gilmer of Mira Costa. The most qualified backups are Keith Reed, a defensive back from St. Bernard, and Kenny Henderson, a wide receiver from Hawthorne.

“It should be interesting,” Robbins said of the team’s quarterback situation.

If it’s any consolation to Robbins, the East is also suffering from a lack of depth at quarterback. Larry Roberts of Gardena will start, but his backups are running back Jesse Swayze and wide receiver Ronald Tatum of Morningside. Swayze and Tatum were backups last season to Morningside quarterback Stais Boseman, The Times’ South Bay back of the year.

East Coach Ron Tatum of Morningside said his team was left with only one quarterback because Rino Marconi of San Pedro was unavailable. “He went to Italy,” Tatum explained.

Despite being thin at arguably the most important position, both coaches are confident the quarterbacks they have can get the job done.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Roberts passed for 1,150 yards last season playing in the competitive Southern-Pacific Conference against such opponents as City Section 4-A Division champion Dorsey, runner-up Banning and Carson. Roberts has the ability to pass or run, but he has been slowed because of a groin injury.

Moreover, Tatum considers the versatile Swayze a more than capable backup quarterback.

“He played behind Bose,” Tatum said. “He knows what to do.”

The 6-4 Gilmer also has strong credentials. He ranked seventh among South Bay quarterbacks last season by passing for 1,514 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“Gilmer is looking all right,” Robbins said. “He’s catching on.”

But if Gilmer falters or is injured, it could send the West coaching staff scrambling for a replacement. Little wonder, then, that Robbins says his team will emphasize the running game after showing the East a few gimmicks in the early going. Top running backs for the West include Hawthorne’s Morell Ollis, who rushed for 1,765 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1991, and Bishop Montgomery’s Koury Clark, who rushed for 1,612 yards and 18 TDs.

“We have a surprise offense for them,” Robbins said. “We’re going to start off with something they are not expecting.”

Robbins expects a track meet from the East.

“They have a lot of speed, but I think we can keep up with them,” Robbins said. “If it came down to a flat-out footrace, we might be in trouble. But I think we can keep away from that.”

Tatum acknowledged that the East has several exceptionally quick players. Among the swiftest are running backs Theron Hill of Carson and Montres Gords of Morningside and wide receiver Tony Knox of Carson. Knox and Torrance’s Ralph Martinez, another East wide receiver, combined for 118 receptions totaling 2,177 yards and 20 touchdowns last season.

Others who have looked impressive in practice, Tatum said, are linebackers Corey Long and Chris Long of Serra and Louis Page of Gardena, tight end Mike Coppola of San Pedro and offensive linemen Erik Donnelly of Leuzinger and Steve Davis of Torrance.

For the West, Robbins has been impressed by the play of receiver/linebacker Cameron Kissel of Mira Costa, offensive lineman Ryan Buxton of Peninsula and Clark, the small (5-9, 160) but quick running back from Bishop Montgomery.

Robbins also is partial to his own players from Hawthorne. There are seven Cougars in the game, the most from any school.

WEST ROSTER

Wide receivers--Twan Garrett (Hawthorne), Kenny Henderson (Hawthorne), Hubert Rush (Westchester), Jason Shamaly (Mira Costa).

Tight ends--Victor Glusac (Peninsula), Jeremy Veasey (Redondo).

Offensive linemen--Adan Torres (Hawthorne), Sam Ward (El Segundo), Ryan Buxton (Peninsula), Jake Howard (El Segundo), Jesse Herrera (Hawthorne), Matte Zovich (Bishop Montgomery), Cory Yamaguchi (West), Rich Salvador (Bishop Montgomery), Phillip Swart (Redondo).

Quarterback--Greg Gilmer (Mira Costa).

Running backs--Morell Ollis (Hawthorne), Koury Clark (Bishop Montgomery), Brian Durbin (Peninsula), Darnell Rubin (Westchester), John Hogrelius (Redondo), Al Jones (Westchester).

Defensive linemen--Allan Estabillo (Redondo), Solomon Kapu (Hawthorne), Andre Storey (Westchester).

Linebackers--Matt Mohon (West), Jim Hurley (El Segundo), Jabari Magnus (Westchester), Cameron Kissel (Mira Costa).

Defensive backs--Damon Sewell (Hawthorne), Keith Reed (St. Bernard), Marcus Thompson (St. Bernard), Smiley Sanchez (Peninsula).

EAST ROSTER

Wide receivers--Tony Knox (Carson), Ralph Martinez (Torrance), Ronald Tatum (Morningside).

Tight ends--Mike Coppola (San Pedro), Jason Jassman (North Torrance).

Offensive linemen--Eric Walker (Morningside), Art Arizpe (Mary Star), Erik Donnelly (Leuzinger), Fitu Toomalatai (Banning), Ernesto Gamboa (Banning), Steve Davis (Torrance).

Quarterback--Larry Roberts (Gardena).

Running backs--Theron Hill (Carson), Jesse Swayze (Morningside), Montres Gords (Morningside), Mike Baker (Mary Star), Scott Hagerman (Torrance).

Defensive linemen--Eric Taulua (Carson), Naeem Mills (Banning), Jimmy Irby (Banning).

Linebackers--Marvin Brooks (Morningside), Eran Taulua (Carson), Chris Long (Serra), Corey Long (Serra), Louis Page (Gardena), Mac McKinnie (Chadwick), Stacy Boyce (Carson).

Defensive backs--Darren Johnson (Narbonne), Chris Smith (Banning), Shawn Hollyfield (Banning), Keith Long (Morningside).