TODAY’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Marvitz Made the Weighty Decision to Work His Way Back

It took only a brief phone call for Frank Marvitz to start falling out of shape. But it took months of determination for him to recover.

Marvitz was a stand-out defensive lineman at Marina High School in 1990 and was being recruited by colleges such as Nevada and Colorado State.

He was two days away from a visit to Nevada when he got a call from the college, which had just received his Scholastic Aptitude Test results. He had failed to do well enough to be eligible and the trip was canceled.

“At first it was (depressing),” Marvitz said. “I was bummed. I didn’t lift weights for six or eight months and I gained about 20 pounds.”

Marvitz next played football in the summer of 1991 when he struggled in the Orange County High School All-Star Game because he was so out of shape.

But, after that, he started to work his way back, losing about 15 pounds.

Last season, he won a starting spot at Golden West as a defensive end and went on to have a solid season. He was selected to the second team of the All-Mission Conference.

Golden West plays Palomar at 1:30 p.m. today in a Mission Conference game at San Marcos High School.

His best moment last season came against Rancho Santiago as time ran out in the game. The Dons ran a reverse that fooled most of the Golden West defense, but not Marvitz, who was there to make the open-field tackle that prevented the Dons from scoring the game-winning touchdown.

“Actually,” Marvitz said. “That was one of my worst games, but that made it all worthwhile.”

Marvitz, 6 feet 1 and 235 pounds, was determined not to start this season out of shape. So he and teammate Toon Nguyen spent the spring and part of the summer working out with weights and running six days a week.

“His biggest asset is his quickness,” said Joe McGuckin, who coaches defensive ends at Golden West. “He worked hard at it this year and that’s how he beats those tackles.”

In today’s Mission Conference games:

Cerritos (2-0) at Saddleback (2-0), 7 p.m.--Saddleback is ranked No. 1 in the nation by the J.C. Grid-Wire and Cerritos is No. 17. The game features the top two running backs in the conference in Saddleback’s Marcellus Chrishon (414 yards) and Cerritos’ Darnell Morgan (239). Chrishon had 207 yards and four touchdowns when the teams met last December in the Simple Green Orange County Bowl.

El Camino (1-0) at Fullerton (0-1), 7 p.m.--This is the home debut of Hornet co-coaches Marv Sampson and Glenn Thomas, who hope for better results than in last week’s 28-9 loss at Long Beach. El Camino, ranked ninth by the J.C. Grid-Wire, is coming off a bye. The Warriors beat College of the Sequoias, 26-14, Sept. 12.

Golden West (0-1) vs. Palomar (1-0) at San Marcos High School, 1:30 p.m.--Golden West had a bye last week while Palomar, the co-national champions last season as picked by the J.C. Grid-Wire, beat Mt. San Jacinto, 38-17. Golden West looks for an improved performance from quarterback John Shipp, who was eight of 21 for 111 yards and two interceptions in the 23-10 loss to Cerritos.

Pasadena (2-0) vs. Rancho Santiago (1-0) at Santa Ana Stadium, 7 p.m.--The teams have each beaten San Diego Mesa in the last minute. Pasadena did it, 21-19, a week ago and Rancho Santiago won, 10-7, Sept. 12. Nick Petronis, an all-conference linebacker last season at Rancho Santiago, missed the first game with a knee injury but is expected to play tonight.

Southwestern (1-1) at Orange Coast (1-1), 7 p.m.--Orange Coast’s main goal tonight should be to score. The Pirates were held to a safety in a 13-2 loss to Mt. San Antonio last week and the offense has scored only one touchdown in two games. That came on an 82-yard run by Eric Washington in a 16-14 victory over Long Beach.