PREP FOOTBALL ’94 / SUNSET LEAGUE : A Little Means a Lot to Spunky Marina : Football: Keim must play a larger defensive role in the Vikings’ bid to win the league.

Most fans outside of the Sunset League don’t know about Tom Keim, Marina’s little big man.

At 5 feet 11, 175 pounds, Keim enjoys his anonymity. And if Marina Coach Dave Thompson and assistant Larry Doyle have their way, opposing offenses won’t be able to find Keim this season . . . until it’s too late.

Keim, a second-team all-league selection at safety last season, has moved to linebacker to spearhead the defense.

But Keim, who led the team with 81 tackles last season, admitted he wasn’t completely comfortable with his new surroundings.

“At first, I wasn’t too fond of playing linebacker,” Keim said. “I wasn’t positive that I could make the switch, but I’ve been practicing there for the whole off-season, and I think I can handle it.”

That’s good news for the coaching staff.

“We made a big gamble moving him to linebacker,” Doyle said. “He has a skinny frame and you might laugh when you look at him knowing he’s a linebacker for us.

“But he can find the football and knock people down. I hope we can hide him enough so he’s able to hold up for a whole season.”

Keim’s physique won’t intimidate many in the re-aligned Sunset League, regarded as one of the county’s most physical leagues.

Linebackers Bill Nix of Fountain Valley (6-3, 220) and Chris Jalandoni (6-1, 210) of Esperanza, both all-league selections last season, are more typical examples of the league’s top linebackers.

“Guys will look at me and think, ‘He might not be much of a challenge,’ so that actually helps me,” Keim said. “But I don’t think the size matters at all.

“Everyone has always looked at me and said that I’m too small to play football. It makes me play harder. I’ve held up OK and when you’ve been knocked down, you’ve got to learn how to get right back up.”

Although Keim also enjoyed a solid junior season, college recruiters are not beating down his door.

“I haven’t received one letter,” Keim said. “But that hasn’t bothered me either way. I’m happy being able to play and not worry about trying to impress people. There’s no pressure.”

That low-key profile--the little team in the big, bad league--is something the Vikings hope will allow them to sneak up on the competition.

“We need some breaks,” Doyle said. “We’re not big for the Sunset League, but everyone on our defense runs well. Our defense will have to hit-and-run . . . hit, get off the block, then run and make the play.

“But looking at the teams coming into this league, I picked us fifth.”

Los Alamitos, which has won three consecutive Southern Section championships, joins the league after dominating the Empire League with Esperanza, also a new Sunset member. Esperanza tied Los Alamitos for the Division II championship in 1992.

And the three other holdovers from last season’s Sunset League--Huntington Beach, Edison and Fountain Valley--finished ahead of fourth-place Marina, which missed the playoffs.

“We need to develop an offense that can control the ball and score,” Thompson said.

The running game could be productive with Josh Cormany (6-2, 270), Richard Bustamante (6-0, 285) and Tim Cardona (6-2, 240) paving the way for the running backs, including last season’s leading rusher, Micah Harrison (87 carries, 469 yards).

Junior Mike Williams will add punch after rushing for 990 yards in five sophomore games last season.

Said Keim: “Hopefully, we’ll make some noise this season. We’ve never had the size, and we don’t have it on defense this year. But we have the heart.”