Rancho Alamitos Invited to the Dance : Division VII: Against all odds, Vaqueros have advance to title game against Manhattan Beach Mira Costa.

Although it was a simple oversight, John Frank couldn’t blame the Rancho Alamitos student league for scheduling the winter formal dance on the night of the Southern Section Division VII championship football game.

“I don’t think anyone gave us much of chance,” Frank said. “The big three (Jeff Byrd, Leon Vickers, and Marshall Brown) were gone, there’s a new coach and there’s a sophomore starting at quarterback. They probably thought, ‘He’s going to get killed, and Rancho doesn’t have a chance to make the finals again.’ ”

But here it is Dec. 10, the day of the big dance, and all anyone can talk about is . . . the football team? The dance will go on, but attendance probably will be down drastically.

Most of the student body of 1,060 will be at El Camino College, where the football team will play Manhattan Beach Mira Costa at 7:30 tonight for the section title.

The dance would have probably been a bigger draw had it not been for the exploits of Frank, the sophomore quarterback who was supposed to have been battered and beaten by now.

Frank not only has survived but has thrived behind his mammoth offensive line and the new passing offense implemented by first-year coach Doug Case. In 13 games, Frank has thrown for 1,801 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, including 415 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs. The Vaqueros were almost exclusively a running team under former Coach Mark Miller, but Case has opened up the offense by using the skills of Frank and three big-play receivers, Jeff Turbarg, Richard Allen and Manny Metcalf.

The running game is still king at Rancho Alamitos--tailbacks Kevin Allen and Moukda Choulamany have run for more than 2,000 yards--but Case acknowledged that the Vaqueros would all be dancing tonight if not for the passing game.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Case said. “We wouldn’t have the balanced attack, and without that, there’s no way we’d still be playing.”

However, the offense probably would have been unbalanced if Frank had not won the starting job. The other two quarterback candidates, Ed Mulipola and Manny Metcalf, were running quarterbacks and Case said an option offense was a distinct possibility.

But Case changed his mind during the summer when he saw Frank perform during a passing league tournament in Irvine.

“John completed about 90% of his passes that day,” Case said. “He was hitting crossing patterns beautifully and he did everything right. From there, he just took over.”

Frank said he was as surprised as anybody when he was named the starter.

“I remember sitting up in the stands last year watching the varsity and trying to think who would be the quarterback this year--Manny, Ed, Mario (Ramirez),” Frank said. “I was the last person on the list.”

Still, Case said that had Metcalf not suffered a knee injury he might have started the season at quarterback.

“I think the team was still not sure I could take a hit when we started the season,” Frank said.

Then, when Rancho Alamitos began the season by winning only one of its first four games, Frank even began to doubt himself.

“I kind thought they’d replace me when Manny came back,” he said.

Frank said the low point came in a 25-7 loss to Mission Viejo, when he fumbled a snap and threw an interception. But even then, Frank said, neither Case nor his teammates lost faith in his ability to lead.

“The guys were telling me as I’d walk off the field, ‘You’re going to bring this team back. Don’t worry about it.’

“And Coach Case kept telling me, ‘You’re the starting quarterback for the season.’ He saw something in me that I didn’t even see.”

Case’s confidence in Frank has paid off. Not only has Frank improved physically, but he is a much smarter quarterback than he was even a month ago.

A testament to how far Frank has come was evident in Rancho Alamitos’ 24-14 victory last Friday over Arroyo Grande. Frank’s audible call in the second half resulted in a 38-yard touchdown pass to Turbarg that iced the victory.

“I don’t know if I’d have had the confidence or the thought process to do that earlier,” Frank said. “I never even used to look at the defense. Now, I know what to look for.”

Occasionally, Frank said, his coach has almost too much confidence him.

“Every week coach will put in something else and tell me, “You ready to air it up this week?’ ” Frank said. “Sometimes, it even surprises me that we pass in certain situations. I get the play in the huddle and I’ll think, ‘We’re going to pass now?’ ”

If Frank thinks he’s passing a lot now, wait until next year.

“His future looks bright,” Case said. “We’ll probably build our packages around him the next two years.”

Who would have thought you’d hear a Rancho Alamitos coach say he was going to build an offense around a quarterback? Those who can’t believe it are probably the same ones who thought the section title game wouldn’t conflict with the winter formal.

Division VII Facts and Figures

MIRA COSTA

Starting Lineup OFFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. QB 9 Ryan Barnes 5-8 150 Sr. TB 27 Ronnie Hand 5-6 170 Sr. FB 22 Phil Fonua 6-2 265 Jr. WR 10 Dino Rossi 5-8 150 Jr. WR 5 Matt Guerrero 5-6 150 Jr. TE 41 Casey Glynn 6-0 185 Sr. OT 72 Matt Norkin 6-1 255 Sr. OG 76 Tate McCallister 6-4 265 Sr. C 55 Ruben Goussen 5-11 245 Jr. OG 56 Miguel Prieto 5-11 230 Sr. OT 79 Stuart Sellars 6-5 270 Jr. PK 16 Julio Rosales 5-9 150 Jr.

DEFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DT 56 Miguel Prieto 5-11 230 Sr. NG 22 Phil Fonua 6-2 265 Jr. DT 76 Tate McCallister 6-4 265 Sr. OLB 54 Charlie Bree 5-11 170 Jr. OLB 33 Dennis Hughes 5-10 170 Jr. ILB 37 Isaac Marin 5-7 165 Jr. ILB 41 Casey Glynn 6-0 185 Sr. CB 5 Matt Guerrero 5-6 150 Jr. CB 12 J.J. O’Neil 5-10 150 Sr. S 16 Julio Rosales 5-9 150 Jr. S 10 Dino Rossi 5-8 150 Jr. P 54 Charlie Bree 5-11 170 Jr.

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SEASON RESULTS (12-1)

21: El Segundo: 2

46: Bishop Montgomery: 0

31: Santa Monica: 0

26: Torrance: 9

34: North Torrance: 7

20: Inglewood: 7

30: Morningside: 0

40: Beverly Hills: 7

20: Culver City: 21

10: Redondo Union: 7

Playoffs

28: Pomona: 7

15: Lompoc: 8

23: Kennedy: 19

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RANCHO ALAMITOS

Starting Lineup OFFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. QB 11 John Frank 6-0 155 So. FB 26 Mario Ramirez 6-0 185 Sr. HB 25 Kevin Allen 5-8 155 Jr. WR 5 Richard Allen 5-8 155 Sr. WR 2 Jeff Turbarg 5-8 150 Jr. WR 22 Manny Metcalf 6-1 175 Sr. LT 77 Jeremiah Ross 6-5 285 Sr. LG 56 Adam Maldonado 6-0 225 Sr. C 50 Steve Perez 5-10 175 Sr. RG 59 Jose Castro 6-1 200 Jr. RT 70 Nestor Alvarez 6-0 315 Jr. PK 6 Tony Luce 5-10 170 Sr.

DEFENSE

Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 86 Joe Baron 6-9 190 Sr. DT 75 Jose Bolanos 6-0 220 Sr. DT 58 Justin Volkmann 6-2 255 Sr. DE 1 Jimmy Chun 6-1 190 Jr. MLB 56 Adam Maldonado 6-0 225 Sr. OLB 23 Chris Timothy 6-0 200 Sr. OLB 44 Robert Meza 6-0 190 Sr. CB 5 Richard Allen 5-8 155 Sr. CB 24 Tom Navarro 5-9 155 Jr. S 22 Manny Metcalf 6-1 175 Sr. S 26 Mario Ramirez 6-0 185 Sr. P 6 Tony Luce 5-10 170 Sr.

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SEASON RESULTS (9-3-1)

27: Troy: 17

20: Costa Mesa: 20

7: Mission Viejo: 25

12: Los Amigos: 14

23: Garden Grove: 6

21: Pacifica: 7

49: Bolsa Grande: 24

12: Kennedy: 27

27: La Quinta: 6

42: Santiago: 14

Playoffs

24: Troy: 14

28: Sierra Vista: 13

24: Arroyo Grande: 14