FOOTBALL ’92 : El Camino Goes Back to the Drawing Board : Preview: After a disappointing 6-4 season, Coach John Featherstone has redesigned the football program.

The El Camino College football team had an uncharacteristic season in 1991.

Although the Warriors finished with a winning record (6-4, 5-3 in the Mission Conference), they failed to earn a bowl invitation for the first time in five seasons.

El Camino Coach John Featherstone and his staff spent the off-season trying to figure out what went wrong with a program that has won a mythical national championship, won two bowl games and a league title in the past seven years.

“We’ve gone back to really redesigning our program to where we were during those championship seasons,” said Featherstone, who has a 54-19-1 record at El Camino. “We’ve spent a lot more time with the kids on and off the field just to get refocused. Every team is gunning for us. . . . We’re like the Miamis and Notre Dames of our level.”

One of the Warriors’ biggest problems in 1991 was at quarterback. Rod Anderson and Jerry Singleton shared playing time, but neither player could distinguish himself.

“One of the reasons we slipped a little last year is that we didn’t get the production out of the quarterback that we should have,” Featherstone said.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Singleton will start Saturday’s opener at College of the Sequoias. Freshmen Brian Jurado, who passed for more than 4,000 in three years at North Torrance High, and Larry Roberts (Gardena High) are battling to be the backup. As a freshman, Singleton completed 87 of 145 passes for 1,177 yards and nine touchdowns.

“Jerry’s progressed well this summer,” Featherstone said. “He’s strong and seems to be getting stronger every day. Larry Roberts has a natural throwing motion and great feet. He’s been impressive in fall workouts. Brian knows the offense real well, but he doesn’t have the physical capabilities Larry has.”

Singleton has three returning wide receivers: Latario Rachal, Jon Cummins and Mario Smith. Rachal, a 5-11, 180-pound sophomore from Carson High, caught 36 passes for 804 yards and five touchdowns in 1991.

The Warriors, who are ranked third in the state in the preseason JC Athletic Bureau poll, also have three returning players in the backfield: Tony DaCosta, Ivan Wilson and Mike Phillips, a Morningside High graduate.

DaCosta, a Torrance High graduate, was an all-league selection for the Warriors in 1990 who sat out last year because of the birth of his son. Wilson was sidelined because of a broken collarbone.

The offensive line returns four starters: Art Donnel (6-3, 285), Brandon Himelwright (6-3, 270), Taumaoe Tauilo (6-2, 260) and Robert Sale (6-0, 265).

Although El Camino’s defense will miss community college All-American strong safety Donovan Gallatin, who is attending UCLA, the secondary is expected to be strong.

Shawn Parnell, Brian Malinofsky, who led the league with seven interceptions in 1991, and Tim Trahan return to the secondary and will be joined by Demitrius Boykins, a converted wide receiver.

“We moved Demitrius because it may be a more natural position for him,” Featherstone said. “We also have too many receivers coming in. So far it has worked out great.”

The defensive line has returning starters Ken Talanoa (6-5, 250), Bob Tuitau (6-0, 245), Keith Jones (6-3, 290) and Robert Marsmon (6-1, 258). The Warriors also have all-conference kicker Tom Dallen and all-conference punter Bryon Hammons.

Featherstone is also looking for help from the freshman class. The newcomers on offense include running backs Koury Clark (Bishop Montgomery), John Hogrelius (Redondo) and tight ends Damon Terrell (Serra), David Snakenborg (West Torrance) and Jason Jassmann (North Torrance). The wide receivers are Tony Knox (Carson), Hitoshi Ono (Palos Verdes) and Derek Hobson (Inglewood). The offensive line will benefit from the addition of Fitu Toomalatai (Banning), Erik Donnelly (Leuzinger) and Kyle Houck (Redondo).

The newcomers on defensive include linemen Mike Thomas (North Torrance), Sebastian Beers (Redondo), Marc Afoa (North Torrance) and Kevin Dawson (Inglewood). The linebackers are Shermont Harrison (Inglewood) and Eran Taulua (Carson) and defensive backs Jermaine Ferguson (Serra) and Ken Birdine (Morningside).

“At this point we’re more experienced on both sides of the ball,” Featherstone said. “This team is also much more determined during summer than we have been in the past. . . . If we can get past our first four games and become settled as a football team, there’s no telling what we can do.”

Saturday’s opponent, the College of the Sequoias, is the state’s top-ranked team, according to the JC Athletic Bureau. The Warriors’ first home game is on Oct. 3 against second-ranked Saddleback College.