Indefatigable Jones Playing No Favorites

Senior Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks High might one day have to choose between track and basketball, but the two-sport standout does not expect to have to make that decision until after she finishes college, according to girls’ track Coach Art Green.

Green said that Jones, the three-time defending state champion in the 100 and 200 meters and a two-time All-Ventura County selection in basketball, plans to compete in both sports at the collegiate level.

“She is very serious about it,” Green said. “She enjoys playing both sports and she wants to continue competing in both of them.”

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FAST FINISH

The World Junior (age 19 and under) track and field championships in Seoul, which started Wednesday and conclude Sunday, mark the end of a long track season for Jones, yet Green says she is raring to go.

“She’s excited about competing there,” Green said. “She’s not burned out at all. She’s really looking forward to running.”

Green said that Jones has avoided the season-ending mental letdown that afflicts most track athletes by not overracing, and by focusing on other endeavors over the summer, such as summer school and basketball.

Jones’ itinerary includes the 100- and 200-meter sprints and the 400 relay in Seoul, and Green said she might run a leg on the 1,600 relay.

“I told her to do that if she got the chance,” Green said. “I still think she’s capable of running a 50-second leg.”

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THANKS, BUT NO THANKS

Newbury Park will play San Marcos tonight in football for the first time since 1978. San Marcos will be taking the place of Ventura, ending the Panthers’ longtime nonleague series with the Cougars.

Ventura has defeated Newbury Park every year since 1986, except in 1989 when the teams played to a 7-7 tie. Last season, Ventura battered Newbury Park, 41-14.

“Last season, we came out with five broken bones,” Newbury Park Coach George Hurley said. “We just got crushed. So, that was that.”

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WHAT I MEANT WAS . . .

In the future, Nordhoff Coach Cliff Farrar might use exact words when explaining what he expects of senior quarterback Steve Saum.

He almost came to regret not doing so in the Rangers’ 10-7 nonleague win over Fillmore last week. With four seconds remaining and Nordhoff holding a three-point lead and in possession at Fillmore’s 20-yard line, Farrar summoned Saum for a conference on the sideline as Fillmore used its last timeout.

Farrar, not wanting to take any chances with another play, instructed Saum--a three-year starter--to take the ball and run toward midfield until time ran out.

Farrar, however, failed to tell Saum that the game would not end until an official signaled that the play was completed, which could have been accomplished by Saum--a second-team all-league selection last season--simply dropping to one knee.

Believing the game over when he saw time expire, an elated Saum threw the ball into the air. Not knowing he could advance it, a Fillmore player fell on the ball and the game ended.

“He put my heart in my throat on that one,” said Farrar, laughing. “I just couldn’t believe it. It was partially my fault for not telling him, but I thought he knew.”

And what did Saum say to Farrar? “He put his arm around me and said, ‘Coach, we won. That’s the main thing.’ ”

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STICK TO FOOTBALL

Mothers, relax. Football can’t be that dangerous. At least that’s the way it looks at Village Christian.

Injuries caused two key players to miss the team’s first game. Starting cornerback Brodie McClain, who will be out until the start of the Alpha League schedule, suffered a wrenched a knee . . . playing volleyball. Safety Darren Campbell, who could be back this week, suffered a shoulder dislocation . . . playing Ultimate Frisbee.

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RUN AND WHAT?

Hoover’s new offense, modeled on the run-and-shoot, made its debut last week. Despite losing, 28-21, to Burbank, the Tornadoes gained 394 yards. The 21 points represented nearly half of Hoover’s total (45) in last year’s dismal 1-9 season. And that has Coach Dennis Hughes smiling.

“I like it,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. I wish we’d started it five years ago.”

One minor problem, though. Terminology.

“We don’t really call it a true run-and-shoot,” Hughes said. “We’re not sure what to call it.”

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NO REHEARSAL

Kilpatrick Coach Glenn Bell learned something from his team’s 35-6 loss to Montclair Prep: His players needed more than practice.

“What we want to do from now on . . . is have a scrimmage (before the first game),” Bell said.

A Los Angeles County youth correctional facility, Kilpatrick annually has no returnees and many players who have never played football.

“We can’t afford to go into our first game against a senior team with veterans without having some kind of contest before,” Bell said.

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DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Things turned out to be not as serious as they looked for Simi Valley’s Dave Fein, a senior two-way lineman who suffered a dislocated elbow during the first quarter of Friday’s game against Ventura.

Fein, the Pioneers’ best lineman, according to Coach Stan Quina, lay sprawled across the 35-yard line for more than 15 minutes while paramedics tended to him. Finally, Fein was placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a hospital for X-rays.

“I didn’t expect that for an elbow,” Quina said. “But these days, they’re getting more and more careful with these things.”

Too careful for Fein, who returned to the sidelines before halftime with his arm in a sling. He is expected to return in a few weeks.

“It took them so long,” Fein said. “The guy from the ambulance said, ‘You’re going to be down a long time.’ I said, ‘No way. I gotta get back to the game.’ ”

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PROMISES, PROMISES

Ventura has a good thing going with running backs Derek Swafford, Devon Passno and Jake Kochel alternating taking handoffs. And the going could get better.

Last week against Simi Valley, Swafford rushed for 139 yards and one touchdown, Passno rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown, and Kochel added 40 yards. Tonight, Ventura will play Westlake, the team that last week gave up 415 yards to Buena’s George Keiaho.

“We’ll probably total 400 yards,” Swafford said.

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NEVER A DOUBT

How about these statistics?

Offense: A touchdown pass, a touchdown run, 160 yards rushing in 17 carries.

Defense: A 55-yard interception return for a touchdown, a 10-yard return after a fumble recovery.

These were the accomplishments of Poly junior quarterback-free safety Anthony Muse against Belmont last week. He also had two 50-yard touchdown runs called back because of penalties.

“He is a very explosive person--extremely quick,” Poly Coach Fred Cuccia said. “Just a very gifted athlete, the most gifted I’ve ever had.”

Cuccia probably considers Muse as much a gift as a gifted player. Muse transferred from Kennedy in February. This is his first year of high school competition.

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WELCOME HOME

Adjusting to a new school and a new volleyball program has been difficult for former L.A. Baptist standout Michelle Pistone, but she felt right at home last weekend when her Torrey Pines squad competed in the California Classic volleyball tournament at Westlake High.

Pistone helped L.A. Baptist to the Southern Section Division 1-A championship last year as a junior, but she transferred to the Del Mar school after her father started a commercial printing business in the San Diego area.

“It was difficult leaving my friends, but it has turned out pretty well,” she said.

Pistone, a 5-foot-9 setter-outside hitter who is being recruited by San Diego State and USC among others, found the move was made easier by the family’s decision to relocate in the district of Torrey Pines, a school that has won back-to-back San Diego Section Division II titles.

Pistone quickly adjusted to a new system. “The team is very good and they have been very accepting of me,” she said.

Torrey Pines Coach Jim Harrah said Pistone has been a pleasant addition. “She’s stepped right in and become a real solid part of our team. She complements our team very well.”

Pistone made an impact last week when Torrey Pines beat San Diego Section powerhouse Poway. “She served them right off the court,” Harrah said.

Pistone helped Torrey Pines finish seventh in the 16-team California Classic.

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BACK ON TRACK

Thousand Oaks demonstrated that it is back among the elite girls’ volleyball teams in the state in the California Classic tournament.

Led by the setting of Gretchen Gulbranson and the all-tournament play of outside hitter Niki Hagen, Thousand Oaks defeated Sacramento Hiram Johnson, last year’s Sac-Joaquin Section runner-up, and Torrey Pines on the way to fourth place.

“It gives us a good idea of where we are in the state,” Coach Ron Beick said. “We were shooting to finish in the top four . . . and we were able to accomplish it.”

David Coulson and staff writers Jeff Fletcher, Vince Kowalick, John Ortega and Jason H. Reid contributed to this notebook.