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After replacing Tom Strickland as St. Bernard High football coach in August, 1993, Mike Noonan promised he would not make any dramatic changes.

“The quick turnover in coaches was not that dramatic,” Noonan said shortly after becoming coach. “We’re not going to change uniforms or the nickname of the school. One or two plays may be different.”

Noonan, however, did make one dramatic change this season.

He resigned.

On Sept. 6, three days before the start of the season, Noonan quit as Vikings coach and history teacher.

Reached at his home, Noonan said: “We had a breaking of the waves. There’s no story in it. It’s something I don’t want to comment about.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out there. It’s a good group of kids.”

Bob Yarnall, the Vikings’ baseball coach, and Tom Burgess will run the team as co-coaches. Both have football coaching experience. Assistant James Swain will do the play-calling.

“It’s a mystery to me why he left,” Swain said. “But he did a nice job while he was here.”

Noonan, who took the Vikings to the Southern Section playoffs, became the second coach to leave abruptly. Noonan’s predecessor, Strickland, left for personal reasons.

St. Bernard lost its opener, 26-12, to Culver City. The Vikings led, 6-0, on a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brandon Pernell to receiver Jason Smith.

Pernell and Smith were two of the most outspoken players after the game.

“Everybody was mad at coach Noonan for leaving,” Pernell said. “He just walked out. We felt the season was over. What were we going to do Friday?”

“I wasn’t expecting (his resignation). Last year when it happened with Strickland, it was during the summer. But three days before game. . . . It disrupted everything we prepared for,” Smith said.

Smith and Pernell said that Noonan had been pressured by St. Bernard administrators, specifically Athletic Director Jim McClune, during practice to submit forms regarding player eligibility.

Noonan declined comment.

UPSET SPECIAL

When Norm Lacy took over as St. Monica football coach in 1991, he fought to get wins. This season, he is fighting for respect.

The Mariners got both after a stunning 25-6 victory against Westchester on Friday.

“It was an awful big win for us,” Lacy said. “People consider us a small parochial school which can’t play quality football. To get respect, you have to play and beat a quality football team.”

The Mariners needed to control the ball to prevent the faster Comets from scoring any breakaway touchdowns. They ran 62 offensive plays compared to 31 for the Comets.

“We did the best we could to keep the ball out of their hands,” Lacy said.

After Mike Bailey forced a fumble at the Mariners’ two-yard line, St. Monica drove 98 yards and scored on Steve Pulley’s quarterback sneak.

Pulley, who played his first game at quarterback, also scored on a one-yard run.

The Mariners also benefited from interceptions by Carlos Casillas and Dwight Carter.

HALTING A STREAK

Hollywood High ended a 19-game losing streak with a 20-16 victory against Los Angeles.

The Sheiks have not won a game since a 24-12 victory against St. Genevieve in the 1992 season opener. It was Coach Bob O’Conner’s first and only win at Hollywood until last week.

“I’ve never had a team play with so much intensity in the first game,” said O’Conner, who has coached football for 41 years. “I have some mixed emotions because I went to Los Angeles. But we needed a win.”

Hollywood quarterback Nguhra “Nuggy” Agungscored two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks.

YOUNG VETERANS

Venice High coaches Tony Chretin and Kirk Alexander feared the worst when they lined up a football squad of mostly sophomores and juniors.

“We expected typical first-game jitters,” Chretin said. “Off-side penalties and other mental mistakes.”

As it turned out, the Gondoliers played like a veteran team in shutting out Huntington Park, 14-0.

Venice (1-0) took advantage of two Huntington Park turnovers and were penalized only three times for 15 yards.

Linebacker Gerardo Gomez had 10 unassisted tackles and two quarterback sacks. Safety Tony Gomez had an interception and a fumble recovery.

Running back Ronnel Jamar and Demetrius Posey each scored on 15-yard runs.

“We played a team we knew little about,” Chretin said. “We kept things pretty basic and it worked out.”

PAYING THE PRICE

Palisades Coach Russ Howard has had trouble getting his players to practice. The Dolphins paid dearly during Friday’s 31-13 loss to Van Nuys.

“We never had all 11 players on offense or all 11 players on defense together for practice,” Howard said, whose team has 40 players bused to school. “Our defense, especially the defensive line, got killed. They ran counters and sweeps and the entire sidelines were left open. Our linebackers were terrible.”

To make matters worse, linebacker Sheldon Smith left the game with a separated left shoulder and offensive lineman Cesar Alvarez did not play because of a laceration on his right hand.

The Dolphins have an off week before playing host to Gardena Sept. 23.

By then Howard expects to have his squad in order.

“I got rid of the guys who didn’t want to make a commitment to the team,” he said.

NEW TRACK COACH

Longtime track coach Claudius Shropshire has been hired to run the men’s cross-country and men’s track and field programs at West L.A. College, the school announced Monday.

Last season, Shropshire coached the men’s cross-country team and men’s track and field team at Santa Monica College and has been working with those programs as an assistant or head coach since 1985. His part-time teaching and coaching position at Santa Monica was recently eliminated because of budgetary reasons.

Shropshire, 42, began his coaching career at Jordan in 1975 where he worked with Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith Joyner. He also has coached at Gardena High (1980-84) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (1983).

JC FOOTBALL

West Los Angeles College hopes to cut down on mistakes and find a quarterback when the Oilers play host to Valley College at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Oilers showed their inexperience last week in a 38-0 loss to Ventura College.

West L.A., which has 40 freshmen on its 54-player squad, had seven fumbles, three interceptions and was penalized 10 times for 75 yards.

The Oilers used three quarterbacks and each struggled. Albert Saldana completed three of eight passes for 71 yards and had three interceptions. Ron Peebles replaced Saldana and connected on six of 14 attempts for 76 yards. Ennis Powell finished up, completing three of seven passes for 41 yards.

All-American running back Michael Black gained only 68 yards in 20 carries.

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Santa Monica College opens its football season at 3 p.m. Saturday at Rio Hondo.

Robert Taylor makes his debut as the school’s first black football coach. He replaced Owen Hahn last spring.

The Corsairs’ strength is at quarterback with Jorge Blanco, who has improved his fundamentals and his conditioning during the off-season. John Houston, an all-City Section 4-A Division player at Carson, and former Venice standout Robert Hayes give the Corsairs speed in the backfield. Offensive line and linebackers are also a strong point.

The Corsairs were 3-6-1 last season.