PREP FOOTBALL ’95 / PACIFIC LEAGUE : SOUTHERN SECTION

FACTS AND FIGURES: As usual, mounting a challenge against defending league champion Muir is on every coach’s mind. Last season the Mustangs vanquished all league opponents, including the Valley-area triumvirate of Crescenta Valley (17-7), Glendale (29-0) and Hoover (37-10). Muir should be even better with the addition of running back Michael Graham, a transfer from Charter Oak who last season rushed for 2,360 yards and 34 touchdowns and was selected Division IV player of the year. . . .Pasadena, with several skill-position players returning, is a consensus pick to repeat as runner-up, but the race appears wide open from there. . . . Crescenta Valley, Southern Section semifinalist in 1992, will attempt to rebound under third-year Coach Alan Eberhart, who has switched to a run-oriented offense. Carrying the load will be senior Dion Higuera and sophomore Kenneth Pritchett, who last season rushed for 930 yards on the sophomore team. . . .Crescenta Valley will play Thousand Oaks in a nonleague game, the first meeting between the teams. The Falcons arranged to play the Lancers after area rival La Canada bowed out of the schools’ annual nonleague matchup. . . .Hoover, with seven starters returning on both sides of the ball, might no longer play the role of league doormat. Winless in all but one game in 1992 and ‘93, Hoover made strides last season and figures to challenge for a playoff berth. “If we stay healthy, we’ll have the best team we’ve had in a while,” Coach Dennis Hughes said. . . .Hoover, however, must do without two-way tackle Oshin Honarchian (6 feet 5, 240 pounds), an all-league selection who transferred to Crescenta Valley. . . .New coaches take over at Arcadia and Glendale, where Steve Pinkston, 28, a former assistant at Simi Valley, Hoover and Glendale College, replaces Ted Clarke, who resigned after one season.

LAST YEAR: Crescenta Valley jumped to a 4-0 start, including shutouts over La Canada (28-0) and Blair (31-0). The Falcons then dropped a nonleague game to Burroughs before losing their first three league games--including a 34-20 decision to Hoover. . . .Hoover’s three victories were the Tornadoes’ most since 1987. . . .Glendale escaped a winless season by virtue of a 21-14 season-ending victory over Hoover.

KEY RETURNERS: Glendale: Jeremy Callister, quarterback; Andrew Johnson, tight end. Crescenta Valley: Dion Higuera, running back; Oshin Nonarchian, two-way tackle. Hoover: Jin Hur, linebacker; Emre Ozgur, running back.

OUTLOOK: Muir always seems to have the edge in talent and league coaches say this year is no exception. The Mustangs’ running ways should continue with Graham shouldering the load. Improvement is to be expected from Hoover and, probably, Crescenta Valley. Glendale might be in for a long season.

1994 IN REVIEW

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League Overall School W L T W L T Muir 5 0 0 8 3 0 Pasadena 4 1 0 7 4 0 Arcadia 3 2 0 9 3 0 Crescenta Valley 1 4 0 6 4 0 Hoover 1 4 0 3 7 0 Glendale 1 4 0 1 9 0

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