Villa Park’s DeVera Adjusting Her Game

Villa Park’s Faye DeVera entered last year’s Southern Section individual singles tournament as a frightened freshman. She played like it too, losing a tentatively played match to Beverly Hills’ Violette Ahn, 7-5, 6-3, in the round of 16.

But DeVera is a year older and a year wiser and her play is showing it as she enters Thursday’s round of 16--to be immediately followed by the quarterfinals--at Huntington Beach’s Lindborg Racquet Club. The semifinals and final will be played Friday.

DeVera didn’t drop a game to Dana Hills’ Margaux Pierog or Sunny Hills’ Dana Rudolph in the first two rounds last week.

“I’ve really been working hard on preparing for this tournament,” DeVera said. “I was really wild last year. I just kind of went out and played. I never changed my game plan no matter what was happening in the match. Now, I think about what I’m going to do before I serve.”

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There are days when Mater Dei’s Bruce Rollinson doesn’t like all the aspects of his job. Take last weekend.

Rollinson was inundated with calls inquiring where the Mater Dei-Los Alamitos semifinal football game would be held, so he let his phone message machine do the talking.

“It’s the long awaited, 12-0 vs. 12-0. But if you’re calling about that, I have no idea where we’re playing the game,” Rollinson’s message said.

Such distractions make Rollinson wish he could just coach football, period.

“I’m letting everyone else worry about the site, and I’ve washed my hands of it,” Rollinson said.

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Newport Harbor, the top-ranked girls’ volleyball team in the nation by USA Today, will play Santa Cruz Harbor tonight in the semifinals of the State Division I playoffs at Newport Harbor.

The Sailors, top-seeded and top-ranked in the state, won the State Division III title in 1992. Santa Cruz Harbor won the State Division II title in 1992 and finished this season ranked fifth in the state.

Huntington Beach plays at Bakersfield Stockdale in the Southern California Regional Division II final tonight. In the Division IV regional final, Tollhouse Sierra plays at Calvary Chapel. All matches begin at 7 p.m.

Winners of tonight’s semifinals and regional finals will advance to the State championship matches Saturday at Cal State Fullerton.

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Los Alamitos football Coach John Barnes was trying to urge on receiver Stan Guyness, who had been tackled for a short gain.

“Stan, you got to go, go go,’ ” Barnes said.

Answered Long Beach Poly defensive end Bruce Carter: “Coach, there’s nowhere to go.”

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How loose are those Trabuco Hills’ football practices?

Last Tuesday, running back Bobby Johnson broke free on a run during an intrasquad scrimmage. The coaches blew the whistles, but Johnson kept going . . . and going . . . and going. He left the football field and circled the softball field’s backstop before returning.

The whole time, offensive lineman Zane Champion was yelling, “Run Forrest, run!”

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Chris Foster and Michael Itagaki contributed to this story.