PREP EXTRA: SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : SCORECARD: COUNTY HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 8

THE GAME GOES ON

Foothill and Tustin will play each other in football at least two more years.

The game, which has been played since 1966, was put in doubt when Foothill Coach Tom Meiss said the rivalry had become unhealthy and too much of a distraction.

The Tustin Unified School District conducted a community survey and the final response was 306-14 in favor of keeping the cross-town game going.

The teams agreed to a two-year contract for the 1996 and ’97 seasons earlier this week.

The Foothill-Tustin game will be the season opener for both schools next year.

Foothill leads the series, 18-9-2, including a two-game winning streak.

A COMPLIMENT?

At the conclusion of Trabuco Hills’ halftime homecoming festivities Friday, a student announcer concluded his list of thank-yous by saying, “Oh, and let’s thank Dana Hills for making our football team look good for once.”

The Mustangs, who won their second game in eight tries, led by 17 at the half and defeated the Dolphins, 24-20.

ON THE RECORD

‘The kids played this game with all of their heart and soul. I just wished they would have a win to show for it.’

--Rick Gibson, Woodbridge coach, after a 7-6 loss to Irvine.

LOOKING AHEAD

Western, undefeated yet unranked in the county sportswriters’ poll, gets what many believe is its first real test of the season Thursday, when the Pioneers meet Savanna at Glover Stadium. The Rebels, who lost to Brea Olinda, 40-34, Friday, are looking to defend their Orange League championship.

Mater Dei plays host to No. 4 Capistrano Valley Thursday at Santa Ana Stadium. The Monarchs, since joining the South Coast League in 1992, had lost only one league game before Friday’s 23-17 loss to San Clemente. Capistrano Valley’s only setback this season occurred in Week 3, when second-ranked Esperanza rallied for a 17-14 victory.

Speaking of Esperanza, on Friday, the Aztecs face their final major obstacle in the way of their first Sunset League championship. Esperanza travels to Huntington Beach High, where it will tangle with sixth-ranked Fountain Valley.

FIGHTING MAD

If Los Alamitos coaches were looking for more intensity after the loss last week to Esperanza, they found it on the practice field.

According to quarterback Kevin Feterik, there were 10 fights between offensive and defensive first-team players Monday, and four more Tuesday. Feterik even got in one.

Coach John Barnes was determined his players recapture their will and desire, but might have preferred they not take it out on each other. “I hate to use the word ‘complacent,’ but maybe we had gotten that way,” he said. “Maybe we had started to think all we had to do to win was show up.”

Feterik agreed. “We had gotten used to winning, and kind of lost that ‘eye of the tiger,’ as we call it.”

‘THE SEVENTH SEAL’--REVISITED?

Covina, the top-ranked team in the Southern Section Division VII, boasts an 8-0 record after beating Rancho Alamitos, 37-7, Thursday. The Colts have a famous name on their roster: Ingmar Bergman, a sophomore running back/linebacker.

He gained 30 yards in limited action Thursday. Rumor has it he’s already trying to get the attention of college coaches by sending out videotapes. Problem is, they’re kind of conceptual and nobody really understands them without subtitles.

LONG GONE

The longest run of the year by the shortest player? Might well be that of El Dorado’s Ryan Long in the second half of the Golden Hawks’ 42-7 victory over Cypress Thursday. The 5-foot-3, 165-pound senior took his only carry of the game 69 yards up the middle for a touchdown.

RUNNING DOWN

Irvine’s PA announcer found a new way to motivate one fan Friday by announcing: “There is a Mercedes with license plate number . . . your lights are on and they are dimming.”

A CROWDED FIELD

Saddleback Coach Jerry Witte had the option of facing Servite at SantaAna Stadium on Saturday afternoon or look for somewhere else to play. He decided to play at Tustin Friday night because “high school games belong at night. It would feel too much like a practice in the afternoon. Besides, many players work weekends.”

Saddleback shares Santa Ana Stadium with Century, Santa Ana, Rancho Santiago College--who all had home games this weekend--and Mater Dei and Santa Ana Valley, who were on the road.