PREP FOOTBALL ’95 / ALPHA LEAGUE : SOUTHERN SECTION

FACTS AND FIGURES: Village Christian returns 19 lettermen from its 1994 league championship team. Three-year starter Chris Coleman at quarterback and all-league receiver Tony Yousif may have the biggest impact for the Crusaders, who have revitalized their passing game. For the first time they won a summer passing league title. . . .Alex Williams takes over as coach at Kilpatrick. Williams, who was the defensive coordinator for the Mustangs last year, replaces Glenn Bell who is now coaching at Manual Arts. . . .Kilpatrick has only five players with previous high school experience. . . .The Mustang line features six players who weigh more than 200 pounds, including James Latu, a 5-10, 285-pound tackle. . . .L.A. Baptist sends out an experienced team with six offensive starters returning. Second-team all-league quarterback Robin Woo, who last year passed for 963 yards and seven touchdowns, heads the list. . . . All-league linemen Dave Clark and Seth Barkley anchor the Knights’ line on both sides of the ball. Clark has attracted the eye of several Division I college scouts. . . .Marshall features an offense led by Division I prospect Jonathan Chambers at quarterback. Chambers flourished in the option-style offense last year, accumulating nearly 1,100 yards combined rushing and passing en route to being selected to the all-league team. . . .Junior all-league receiver Mike Barr and all-state baseball player Nathan Covey return for Maranatha, but the Minutemen are struggling to find linemen. . . .Western Christian lost 13 players to graduation and has only four players returning.

LAST YEAR: Village Christian defeated Kilpatrick, 9-6, on a 26-yard field goal by Ignacio Brache with three seconds left in the game. . . .Kilpatrick advanced to the Division X semifinals, losing to eventual champion Montclair Prep, 14-6. . . .Village Christian lost to Ontario Christian in the first round, 19-7. . . .Kilpatrick led the region in pass defense, allowing opponents only 479 passing yards. The Mustangs allowed only 128.5 yards per game. . . .Brache, now kicking for California, connected on a state-record-tying 16 field goals and was the league’s player of the year.

KEY RETURNERS: Marshall: Johnathan Chambers, quarterback. Village Christian: Jonathan Brownfield, lineman; Aaron Funk, running back. L.A. Baptist: Dave Clark, lineman; Robin Woo, quarterback. Maranatha: Mike Barr, wide receiver.

OUTLOOK: Village Christian, with its experience and balance, is the favorite. The loss of Brache hurts, but a new passing attack adds balance to the Crusader offense. . . .L.A. Baptist must get solid line play and find a consistent offensive threat. . . .Kilpatrick is a mystery every year, but always manages to contend. It doesn’t have the athletes it has had in the past, but its size alone should be enough to get the team into the playoffs. . . .Marshall enters the season with the league’s most-talented player in Chambers, enough to make the Eagles the best of the bottom-half teams. . . .Maranatha’s line won’t be able to give its talented skill-position players a chance to flourish. . . .Western Christian’s lack of size, strength and speed could doom the Fighting Lancers to a second consecutive winless season.

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1994 IN REVIEW

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League Overall School W L T W L T Village Christian 5 0 0 7 4 0 Kilpatrick 4 1 0 10 3 0 LA Baptist 3 2 0 3 8 0 Marshall 2 3 0 2 8 0 Maranatha 1 4 0 4 5 0 Western Christian 0 5 0 2 8 0

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