Long-Time Partnership Helps Put Savanna in Championship : Division VI: Quarterback Paul Waldrop and receiver Rani Kahouch work well together.

Maybe Mike Fitch has been calling the Psychic Friends Network.

After seeing Savanna High School’s Paul Waldrop and Rani Kahouch play once, the Whittier High football coach made an educated guess about Orange County’s top quarterback/receiver combination.

“I’ll bet they’re best friends,” Fitch said. “They’ve got that non-verbal communication between them that they do really well and they look like they’ve been playing together forever.”

Bingo, Coach. Dionne Warwick, celebrity pal to the Psychic Friends, would be proud.

It hasn’t actually been forever--just since fifth grade--that quarterback Waldrop and receiver Kahouch have been hanging out and playing football and doing all the things that best friends do. But it has been long enough for the duo to find themselves on the same wavelength throughout their senior season with the Rebels.

On Saturday night at Glover Stadium, Waldrop and Kahouch lead Savanna into the Southern Section Division VI championship game against Whittier. That’s a long way from the neighborhood Nerf football games in Anaheim where the Waldrop-to-Kahouch connection got its start.

“When we were kids, I was always the quarterback and Rani was always the receiver,” Waldrop said. “The funny thing is, I was a better receiver than he was back then but he couldn’t throw.”

Waldrop remained a better receiver through his sophomore year at Savanna, when he led the Rebel varsity with six touchdown receptions. But during the summer before his junior year, Savanna Coach Fred DiPalma decided to move Waldrop to quarterback.

Waldrop was less than thrilled.

“I didn’t want to make the switch because I liked making the big plays at receiver,” he said. “I wasn’t very good last year.”

But DiPalma knew that, given time, Waldrop would become comfortable at quarterback.

“He just didn’t know the ins and outs of the position last year, and it showed at times,” DiPalma said. “But he stuck with it and he learned.”

And learned well. This year, Waldrop finished the regular season as the county’s top passer, completing 99 of 150 attempts for 1,529 yards and 14 touchdowns. His favorite target, Kahouch, tied for the county lead with 53 receptions, good for an average of 16.2 yards per catch and nine touchdown receptions.

Including playoff games, Waldrop has thrown for 1,891 yards and 18 touchdowns and Kahouch has 69 receptions and 12 touchdown catches. Those numbers reflect the hours the two spent the last two years playing catch and also how well they know each other.

“He knows where I’m going to be and I know where he’s going to throw it,” Kahouch said. “For some reason, when he gets pressured and has to scramble, I end up running a stop route and turn and the ball’s there. We’ve gotten six touchdowns doing that this year.”

As a junior, Kahouch had 37 receptions. He has nearly doubled that this season, which DiPalma said is the payoff for his physical development.

“He got bigger and stronger and matured a lot physically,” DiPalma said. “He’s 6 feet and 185 pounds now, and that’s tough for a lot of those 160-pound cornerbacks to handle.”

Fitch is worried about how his 160-pound cornerbacks will handle Kahouch and 6-foot-3 Savanna receiver Mike Hynes. “Kahouch is awesome, but you can’t single him out because Waldrop does a great job getting the ball to the other guys, too, especially the tall one (Hynes),” he said.

Like all smart offensive skill position players, Waldrop and Kahouch credit Savanna’s offensive line for giving the pass patterns time to develop and for opening holes for the Rebel running game.

“I have to say nice things about those guys because they’re the ones who protect me,” Waldrop said, laughing. “But they really have done a great job all year.”

Waldrop and Kahouch would like to play together in college, but for now, they’re not looking past Saturday night. And should the Rebels need a big play in the closing moments to win the title?

“I’ll be looking for No. 80,” Waldrop said.

Kahouch, No. 80, will be expecting it.

Division VI Facts and Figures

SAVANNA

Starting Lineup OFFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. QB 15 Paul Waldrop 6-0 175 Sr. TB 25 Daven King 5-9 160 Jr. FB 33 Canhhuy Nguyen 5-10 186 Jr. WR 80 Rani Kahouch 6-0 185 Sr. WR 21 Mike Hynes 6-3 190 Sr. TE 86 Scott Bevan 6-3 215 Sr. OT 77 James Wight 6-0 230 Jr. OG 55 Tom Cho 5-11 200 Sr. C 65 Weston Blaine 5-10 180 Sr. OG 52 David Davis 5-7 190 So. OT 67 Aaron Woolsey 6-0 240 Sr. PK 24 Mike Flores 5-11 160 Jr.

DEFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DT 73 Curtis Larsen 6-1 225 Sr. NG 52 David Davis 5-7 190 So. DT 67 Aaron Woolsey 6-0 240 Sr. OLB 54 Omar Perez 6-0 190 Sr. ILB 43 Alex Carbajal 5-11 180 Jr. ILB 55 Tom Cho 5-11 200 Sr. OLB 85 Anthony Galvan 5-11 185 Jr. CB 82 Dedrick Ennis 5-10 165 Jr. CB 24 Mike Flores 5-11 160 Jr. SS 42 Dustin Dahl 6-0 145 Jr. FS 80 Rani Kahouch 6-0 185 Sr. P 21 Mike Hynes 6-3 190 Sr.

SEASON RESULTS (11-2)

28: Garden Grove: 0

35: Katella: 31

27: Cypress: 13

28: Buena Park: 21

48: La Habra: 19

16: Western: 28

51: Magnolia: 7

14: Valencia: 48

35: Brea-Olinda: 7

48: Anaheim: 20

Playoffs

41: Hacienda Heights Los Altos: 22

21: Covina: 17

20: Valencia: 0

WHITTIER

Starting Lineup OFFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. QB 12 Bryan LaVigne 6-5 190 Sr. TB 4 Kourtney Dean 6-2 195 Jr. FB 31 Greg Ford 5-11 240 Sr. RB 5 Marcus Vivian 5-11 200 Jr. WR 82 Victor Zapata 5-9 160 Sr. TE 89 James Vasquez 6-1 175 Jr. LT 66 James Sherman 6-4 265 Jr. LG 50 Michael Rodriguez 5-8 198 Sr. C 55 Michael Jones 5-11 220 Sr. RG 52 Leo Garcia 5-7 230 Sr. RT 75 Joey Lojero 5-9 210 Jr. PK 1 Steven Olivas 6-0 170 Jr.

DEFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DT 66 James Sherman 6-4 265 Jr. NG 31 Greg Ford 5-11 240 Sr. DT 72 Telly Trujillo 5-10 240 Jr. OLB 68 Rashad Hogans 5-10 203 Jr. ILB 40 Gustavo Sanchez 6-0 210 Jr. ILB 50 Michael Rodriguez 5-8 198 Sr. OLB 42 Adrian Garcia 6-0 210 Sr. CB 20 Kamron Honore 5-7 160 Sr. CB 49 John Lanza 5-7 160 Jr. SS 3 Michael McQuarrie 5-10 195 Jr. FS 82 Victor Zapata 5-9 160 Sr. P 1 Steven Olivas 6-0 170 Jr.

SEASON RESULTS (9-4)

36: La Puente: 7

15: Rosemead: 14

8: Baldwin Park Sierra Vista: 22

16: West Covina: 19

13: Covina Northview: 14

43: Whittier California: 12

10: Whittier Pioneer: 13

34: Whittier La Serna: 13

28: Pico Rivera El Rancho: 6

14: Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe: 7

Playoffs

28: Charter Oak: 6

14: Anaheim: 0

24: Western: 12