Gonzales, Orange Coast Reap Rewards From Long-Distance Battle
If it weren’t for the phone company long-distance wars, Orange Coast probably would have been looking for a new inside linebacker this season.
Instead, Steve Gonzales is starting for the second consecutive year for OCC.
Really, there is a clear connection between Gonzales, who came to OCC from Newport Harbor High, and the phone commercials on television.
Gonzales had a strong first year, getting 90 tackles, and was selected as the team’s “Hitter of the Year.”
But toward the end of the season, Gonzales was experiencing car and financial problems and made up his mind to join the Navy in the spring and forgo his sophomore season.
But in early January, he was on a lunch break at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. He accidentally walked through the set of a commercial for the Sprint long distance company being filmed in the food court.
The director spotted Gonzales and offered $10 for him to be filmed talking on the phone for about 10 seconds. Gonzales said at first that he didn’t want to be bothered but figured he could at least buy lunch with the cash. So, he picked up the phone and did what he was told.
Later in January he got a letter saying his line had been selected for a commercial that was about to air.
In the commercial, he was asked “What could you buy with a dime,” and Gonzales, the hard-hitting leader of the Pirates’ defense, answered “A piece of candy.”
Not exactly the most exciting line, but it paid the bills and more importantly gave Gonzales the chance to return for this season.
“Everyone bagged on me for how much I made [about $13,000] for saying that,” Gonzales said. “But the checks just kept coming in.”
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Gonzales had played inside linebacker from the time he started playing at age 9. But at OCC, he was moved to outside linebacker because of his speed and ability to make quick reads. He was only 6 feet, 200 pounds at the time.
The coaches also figured it would be his best position when he moved on to a four-year program. But Gonzales wasn’t enjoying being an outside linebacker.
“I didn’t like sitting out there on the corner,” he said. “I was down on myself. I thought I would be playing better than I was.”
Gonzales believed he would be better inside but never questioned the coaches and instead just tried to do as well as he could.
Finally, about midway through the season the decision was made to move Gonzales inside and suddenly he was performing better.
“It was like a light went on,” OCC Coach Bill Workman said. “It made our unit a lot better.”
The Pirates (0-3) and Gonzales have struggled at times this season. Gonzales’ troubles came from a sprained ankle in the first game that prevented him from practicing for about a week. Still, he played about half the game in a 28-14 loss to Cerritos.
He was healthy last Saturday, but OCC turned the ball over five times in 30-7 loss at Mt. San Antonio.
Orange Coast opens Mission Conference Central Division play Saturday at home against Golden West (2-2).
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Cross-country: The Irvine Invitational, hosted by Rancho Santiago and Orange Coast, is Saturday at Irvine Regional Park.
The men’s race is at 9:30 a.m. and the women run at 10:15.
The race features many of the top teams in Southern California including the Rancho Santiago men’s team, which has won all three races it has entered.
The Dons’ Jose Rangel has also won the individual title in those three races.
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Football poll: El Camino (3-0) remains the top-ranked team in the Southland Poll. Los Angeles Valley (4-0) is second, Long Beach (4-0) third, San Bernardino Valley (4-0) fourth, Mt. San Antonio (3-0) fifth, Hancock (3-0) sixth, Bakersfield (2-1) seventh, Palomar (2-1) eighth, Citrus (3-0) ninth and Rancho Santiago (1-2) 10th.
Mission Conference Central Division play starts Saturday with Riverside (0-3) playing Rancho Santiago at Santa Ana Stadium at 1 p.m. and Golden West (2-2) at Orange Coast (0-3) at 7 p.m.
In non-divisional games, Cerritos takes on Fullerton at Cal State Fullerton at 1 p.m. and Saddleback is at Southwestern at 7 p.m.