Caringella Prefers the Dangerous : Football: Ocean View graduate badgers receivers as a defensive back at Golden West.

Scott Caringella, a defensive back at Golden West College, has a somewhat skewed sense of danger.

But it’s hardly a surprise considering his hobbies are bungee jumping off bridges, balloons and cranes, and single coverage of fleet-footed wide receivers.

But which scares him more?

“Neither is crazy,” he said. “But single-coverage, there’s no question.”

Caringella was a standout football and baseball player at Ocean View before graduating in 1990. He considered playing football the next fall at Golden West but was burned out, so he took some time off. He helped coach the freshman football and baseball teams at Ocean View.

Through another assistant coach, Caringella got a job with a bungee-jumping company. He worked there for about two months before making his first jump.

That was all it took to get him hooked.

He has since jumped in various places in the United States and New Zealand. One of his jumps, off a bridge near the Arizona-Utah boarder, appeared on MTV.

“No matter how many times I jumped, just before, my heart would pound and the adrenaline would rush like crazy,” he said. “That is the greatest feeling in the world.”

Although he was having the time of his life--he said he never feared for his life because of the extensive safety checks--he knew he couldn’t do it forever.

The only thing Caringella found that was a similar thrill was the start of a football game.

So in the spring of 1992, he came to Golden West. He had a strong spring and summer and started every game last season. He played almost every down on defense and finished with two interceptions.

He was a preseason J.C. Grid-Wire All-American this season and had an interception Sept. 10 that helped Golden West upset El Camino, 30-23.

“He’s as fast as any (wide receiver),” Golden West Coach Ray Shackleford said. “He can really jump well. He just has such a good grasp of the game.”

In tonight’s 7 o’clock Mission Conference games:

Long Beach (1-0) vs. Golden West (1-0), Orange Coast--Neither team was ranked in the top 20 in the nation, but Golden West has moved to 13th and Long Beach to 20th after each won last week. Long Beach beat Fullerton, 28-14. Golden West will have to overcome a series of minor injuries to defensive players.

Orange Coast (0-1) at El Camino (1-0)--Both teams started this season with high expectations and now each is trying to avoid an 0-2 start. OCC had two fumbles, an interception and a punt blocked in the third quarter of a 32-13 loss to Mt. San Antonio.

Pasadena (0-1) vs. Fullerton (0-1), CS Fullerton--Fullerton’s Ryan Roskelly had 10 catches for 112 yards and returned eight punts for 84 yards in the 28-14 loss to Long Beach. Fresno beat Pasadena, 29-25.

Saddleback (1-0) at Cerritos (0-0-1)--Saddleback had a 20-game winning streak and is ranked sixth in the nation in the J.C. Grid-Wire poll. The Gauchos displayed a solid running game and strong passing attack in the 37-7 victory over Santa Monica.