Paneno Sends Everyone Rushing for Record Book

Sam Paneno isn’t exactly rewriting the record book at La Canada High. It’s more like he’s working on the first edition.

Let the record reflect that Paneno, a senior tailback, set La Canada’s single-season rushing record with a 169-yard performance Friday night in a 20-14, Rio Hondo League loss to Temple City.

Paneno (5 feet 10, 187 pounds), who has rushed for at least 100 yards in every game this season, raised his season total to 1,334 yards, eclipsing the existing mark of 1,230 set by Frank Mendicina in 1979.

“It feels good to have the record,” Paneno said. “People were asking me what it was and I wasn’t sure. I just gave them a generalization of what I thought it was.”

Mendicina, who helped lead the Spartans to a Southern Section championship in 1979, has become a distant memory among La Canada fans.

So too, it seems, has his record.

For weeks, coaches and administrators sifted through dusty files in vain, trying to find the existing rushing standard. This week, the search led to the archives of a local newspaper, which reported Mendicina’s total at 1,230.

Evidently, football has had less than a storied past at La Canada, where last season Jim Clausen became the school’s ninth head coach since 1963. The Spartans (4-3, 1-1 in league play) have not had a winning season or made the playoffs since 1989.

“I guess they just lost interest in it,” Paneno said.

Paneno has drawn interest from Idaho, Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada and Hawaii, and his efforts have had much to do with a resurgence at La Canada. Attendance at games and overall spirit has improved markedly since last season, Clausen said.

“It’s just a matter of having a little success,” Clausen said.

Paneno, who rushed for 841 yards last season, more than likely is the school’s career rushing leader, as well. But enough bothering him with numbers.

“I’d rather get some wins and make the playoffs than worry about statistics,” Paneno said.

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You can’t call Andy Kroneberger all thumbs.

Kroneberger, a junior tailback, returned Friday night for Camarillo after being sidelined for much of the first six weeks because of torn ligaments in his right thumb.

Kroneberger wanted to carry the football. But a splint on his right hand made handling the ball a problem.

The solution was simple: He moved the ball under his left arm. And the results were impressive: He rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns in only five carries.

“It’s a little difficult, but I have to remember to keep the ball in my left arm and not move it,” Kroneberger said. “It’s hard not to switch.”

Kroneberger was a major contributor to a third-quarter eruption that helped power the Scorpions to a 43-12 Marmonte League victory over Royal.

He recorded three of Camarillo’s four touchdowns in a nine-play stretch, scoring on runs of 47 and 39 yards, and again on a 49-yard run on a fake punt.

Kroneberger said his thumb is feeling better, but his ailments continue.

“I have a sprained toe,” he said.

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Basketball season is almost a month away. And Jason and Jarron Collins, Harvard-Westlake’s twin towers, are taller, bigger and stronger. And both have rebounded from ankle injuries suffered during the summer.

Jason (6-11, 258) has grown an inch and gained 20 pounds since last spring. Jarron (6-10, 238) has grown two inches and put on 16 pounds. Both are juniors.

“Both are noticeably bigger,” Harvard Coach Greg Hilliard said. “Teachers who hadn’t seen them all summer have remarked how they look more like men than boys.”

Jason suffered a broken right ankle in June and had his leg placed in a cast. Jarron suffered a severe sprain during a tournament in July. But both have recovered.

The Wolverines, who won the Southern Section Division III-A title and advanced to the state playoffs last season, have beefed up their schedule for 1995-96. Practice begins Nov. 11.

Harvard will be among 24 of the nation’s top teams entered in the prestigious Slam Dunk to the Beach tournament in Lewis, Del., from Dec. 27-30.

Harvard is the only team west of Kentucky invited to participate in the tournament.

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Tom Bonds, former Cal Lutheran and Hart High quarterback, on Friday paid a brief visit to his brother, Jim, also a former Hart quarterback and now an assistant coach at St. Francis.

Very brief, indeed.

Tom Bonds, a stockbroker who lives in Chicago, landed in Los Angeles at 3 p.m. Friday and was scheduled to fly back to Chicago before midnight. Between flights, Bonds roamed the sidelines during St. Francis’ Mission League game against Serra.

“Gonna grab a burger and get back on the plane,” Bonds said.

He might have picked a better time to visit. St. Francis was routed by Serra, 34-9.

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Last-second heroics: For the second week in a row, Ventura’s Jeramie Jackson scored a touchdown in the game’s final minute to lead the Cougars (3-4, 2-2) to a Channel League victory. Jackson scored on a 17-yard run with 51 seconds to play in Friday’s 31-24 victory over San Marcos. The week before, Jackson caught a 24-yard scoring pass with 26 seconds to play in a 31-30 victory over Hueneme. . . .

Harvard kicker Greg Nortman’s 32-yard field goal with three seconds to play Friday not only lifted the Wolverines to a 15-12 Camino Real League victory over Cantwell Sacred Heart, it made up for an earlier miss. Three weeks ago, Nortman missed from 42 yards in the final seconds as Harvard lost to Calabasas, 18-15.

“It felt good to make this opportunity,” Nortman said. “I was able to help the team.”

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Men for All Seasons

Here is a list of active head coaches with the longest tenure at one high school from the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County:

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COACH SCHOOL SEASON John Albee Quartz Hill 28th Joel Gershon Channel Islands 21st Brent Newcomb Antelope Valley 18th Myron Gibford Chatsworth 17th Larry Edwards Calabasas 16th Mike Plaisance Village Christian 16th Kevin Rooney Notre Dame 15th Carl Thompson Camarillo 11th Doug Woodlief Bell-Jeff 11th Bill Foster Grant 11th

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Researched by SEAN WATERS