Miller Gets the Shrine Password : Football: California coach’s plan to throw plays right into Westlake receiver’s hands.

Billy Miller’s eyes lit up when he heard the offensive game plan for the California team in the 44th California Shrine High School All-Star football game.

Three of his teammates--Steve Wofford (Bakersfield), Daylon McCutcheon (Bishop Amat) and Sirr Parker (Locke)--are among the top running backs in the state, so the former Westlake receiver figured receptions would be few and far between.

Although California Coach Bruce Rollinson (Mater Dei) will utilize his backs, his emphasis for tonight’s 7 p.m. game at Cal State Fullerton against the Texas all-stars will be on a wide-open passing attack, perfectly suited for the 6-foot-3 Miller.

“The organizers want an offensive showcase,” Rollinson said. “They want a lot of points and we’re going to give it to them.”

That’s delightful news to Miller, who enjoyed practicing this week with quarterbacks Chad Hutchinson of Torrey Pines (Stanford) and John Fox of Corona Centennial (USC), two of the nation’s best in the class of 1995.

“These guys are incredible,” Miller said. “I’ve never caught balls like these guys have thrown. I can catch and make a move much faster than I ever did in high school.”

Miller is one of seven area players on the California team. Four of them--Miller, Marvin Powell of Birmingham, Lawrence Larry of Littlerock and Mark Manskar of Canyon--will report to USC’s fall practice next month.

Manskar will anchor California’s offensive line along with Crespi’s Kane Cullum (Colorado). Taft safety DaShon Polk (Arizona) will join Powell and Larry on defense and Notre Dame kicker Chris Sailer (UCLA), a USA Today All-American, gives California a special-teams edge.

Organizers of the game, disturbed by sagging attendance in recent years, changed the format by inviting Texas.

Advance ticket sales are ahead of last year’s pace, and organizers expect a near-capacity crowd of 10,000 at Titan Stadium.

“If the place is full, then we know we did the right thing,” Shrine Chairman Nick Thomas said. “If it’s not, then we are going to be in big trouble.”

The change in formats has motivated the California players.

“We want to show off who has better football,” Powell said. “They think they’ve got the best, we know we’ve got the best.”

Texas is led by running back Andre Bruce, who led the state in rushing with 2,152 yards and scored 35 touchdowns, and will play at Texas Christian. Coaching the Texas team is Ray Overton, who recently retired after a 47-year career at four schools.