THE COUNTY’S TOP 10 FOOTBALL TEAMS : Recharged Offense Helps Shoot Los Alamitos Up to No. 1

The idea came to Los Alamitos High School football Coach John Barnes while he was watching Esperanza’s 38-35 victory over Newhall Hart in the Southern Section Division III semifinals two seasons ago.

“That year, I thought teams were overpowering us, and I was looking for a change,” he said. “I watched Hart almost beat Esperanza with the run-and-shoot, and that was the year Esperanza was shutting everybody out.

“I liked the way Hart spread the offense from sideline to sideline. The game was like a track meet. That’s when I decided to make the change to the run-and-shoot with a few modifications.”

A year later, Los Alamitos was passing its way to the Division III championship. It took quarterback Tim Carey about nine games to learn the offense but by playoff time, the junior had perfected the system beyond Barnes’ wildest dreams.

“We spent our first five games trying to learn the offense,” Barnes said. “When we beat a very good Hawthorne team in the second round of the playoffs, I knew we had come full circle.

“Last year, we had problems putting teams away. That will change this year.”

Los Alamitos enters the 1992 season as The Times’ top-ranked team in Orange County. The Griffins have 12 returning starters from the team that ended Esperanza’s 27-game winning streak with an 8-0 victory in the Division III championship game.

If the Griffins slip, look for Irvine or Esperanza to unseat them as the county’s No. 1 team in a season when the area’s Division II teams should be stronger than its Division I teams.

Six county schools--Mater Dei (Division I), Irvine (Division II), Los Alamitos (Division III), Valencia (Division VI), Laguna Hills (Division VII) and Southern California Christian (Division X)--are defending champions. Irvine, now competing in Division IV, appears to be the best bet to repeat.

Here’s a closer look at the county’s top 10 teams:

1. LOS ALAMITOS

COACH: John Barnes

12-2 in 1991

Carey passed for 2,491 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, and Barnes expects him to improve on those numbers this season.

“He’s incredible,” Barnes said. “He makes all the right reads. At 6 feet 4, he has the ability to look over the field and make decisions. Offensively, we’re very good.

“We’ve got five receivers (led by George Sagen) who could be all-league at any other school. Our running back (Marchant Wright) is as good as any running back we’ve ever had here.”

2. IRVINE

COACH: Terry Henigan

12-2 in 1991

If someone had asked Henigan two years ago which season would be “the year” for Irvine, the coach would have pointed to this season. Never mind that the Vaqueros won the Division II title last year.

“This class (‘93) has had more success on all levels in all sports than any we’ve ever had at Irvine,” Henigan said. “Of course, I didn’t know (last year’s quarterback) Jason Minici was going to move to Irvine.”

Minici is now playing baseball at Rancho Santiago College and has been replaced by Aron Garcia. Garcia last played quarterback on Irvine’s freshman team.

Running back Scott Seal was the county’s best running back as a junior and Henigan says of his prized player, “He’s a step faster, a little stronger and I’m glad I’m not a defensive back.”

3. ESPERANZA

COACH: Gary Meek

13-1 in 1991

Esperanza held the section’s longest winning streak with 27 victories before being upset by Los Alamitos last year. The Aztecs figure to get defensive this season with the return of tackles Travis Kirschke and Matt Stewart, end Jim Stewart and linebackers Travis McCullough and Tom Pellicer.

Jon Aed and Garrett Campbell are competing for the quarterback position, and Darrin Footman, Bill Ross and Tom Joyner are the top candidates to replace Garrick Emry and Marcus Tayui, last year’s star running backs.

Kirschke, the best lineman in Southern California, should help prevent opponents from passing against the Aztecs. Here’s a date to circle: Oct. 30, when Los Alamitos plays Esperanza.

4. TUSTIN

COACH: Marijon Ancich

12-2 in 1991

Tustin has advanced to the Division VI championship game the past two seasons but has come up empty each time, losing to Sunny Hills in 1990 and Valencia last season. Ancich has the talent to reach the final a third time, but it won’t be easy competing in the county’s best league.

Jason Reynolds, who played running back and defensive back last season, will be counted upon heavily this year at quarterback. “He’s the key to our survival,” Ancich said.

The Tillers also have a potent weapon in Zach Matthews, who kicked 13 field goals as a sophomore last season.

5. MATER DEI

COACH: Bruce Rollinson

13-1 in 1991

No team lost more talent than Mater Dei when Division I player of the year David Knuff and Glenn Davis award-winner Billy Blanton graduated last spring.

Still, the Monarchs have some excellent players returning, including wide receiver Brian Barajas, defensive back Ray Jackson and linebacker/fullback Nicky Sualua.

“We have a foundation of some pretty good players,” Rollinson said. “But we’re a young team and I don’t know what to expect. We’ll have our share of mistakes early but (quarterback) Derek Uhl is throwing the ball well.”

6. EDISON

COACH: Dave White

7-5 in 1991

The combination of some good skilled-position players and two-way linemen Kyle Murphy and George Roberts should help Edison keep pace with Huntington Beach and Servite in the race for the Sunset League title.

Chet Van Horn, an all-league strong safety, will be the team’s top running back, but the Chargers’ best receiver, Lucas Bader, will miss the first three games because of a broken leg suffered in a soccer match.

Much of the Chargers’ success will depend on newcomer Geoff Bell, who replaces the league’s offensive player of the year, Jon Khamis, at quarterback.

7. VILLA PARK

COACH: Pat Mahoney

8-4 in 1991

A solid running game led by Ryan Tsui and Grant Pearsall and quarterback A.J. Strapp give Villa Park a solid offense to go along with a strong defense that allowed an average of 11.4 points last season.

Tsui rushed for more than 1,000 yards and figures to improve on that total this year with four returning starters on the offensive line. Strapp, sporadic last season, figures to improve under new offensive coordinator Mark McMahon.

8. TRABUCO HILLS

COACH: Bill Barnett

8-5-1 in 1991

Trabuco Hills’ stock rose last week when running back Serge Gudowski, a 6-1, 190-pound junior running back, transferred from Capistrano Valley. A good running back was the missing ingredient in what otherwise figured to be a potent offense, and Gudowski should help.

Quarterback Pat Barnes, who passed for 2,920 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior, will be highly recruited this season. Barnes’ favorite target is wide receiver Cordell Graham, who had 38 receptions for 623 yards last season.

9. RANCHO ALAMITOS

COACH: Mark Miller

9-2-1 in 1991

There isn’t a team in the county that has had more talent at the skilled-positions over the past two seasons than Rancho Alamitos. But somehow the Vaqueros have failed to win the Garden Grove League championship, losing to La Quinta in 1990 and Garden Grove last season.

Look for “The Ranch” to finally claim a league title with county rushing champion Jeff Byrd, rugged fullback Leon Vickers and quarterback Marshall Brown returning.

10. SUNNY HILLS

COACH: Tim Devaney

6-5 in 1991

Bobby Sunderland and Brian Willmer, the only two remaining players from Sunny Hills’ Division VI championship team in 1990, figure to play key roles as the Lancers try to regain the Freeway League title from Buena Park.

Sunderland moves from wide receiver to quarterback and remains in the secondary. Willmer, the Lancers’ best college prospect since quarterback Jim Karsatos, will double at tight end and linebacker.

Others to watch: Dana Hills, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Santa Margarita, Servite and Valencia.