MIDWEEK REPORT / High School Football Update : Proud Panther Pedigree

As a child, Eddie Patterson only had to look across the street at the Newbury Park High football field to find his destiny. The son of Newbury Park graduates Terry Patterson and the former Nancy Muscarella was bred to be a Panther.

And he takes after both sides of the family.

On defense, he’s all Patterson, a bone-rattling tackler like his father, a Panther linebacker from the early ‘70s whose licks are legendary.

On offense, he’s all Muscarella, a glue-fingered receiver like his uncle, Steve Muscarella, a record-setting Panther receiver from the mid-1980s.

Newbury Park’s game against Westlake two weeks ago was typical. There was a pregame barbecue for his family at his house and about 50 relatives attended the game.

“My mom reserved a third of the stands,” Patterson said. “It was funny. I could look up and they all were cheering. It was a good feeling.”

Patterson gave them plenty to cheer about, making five receptions and flattening a Westlake receiver with a tackle that resounded into the stands. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior has 33 catches for 547 yards and six touchdowns, and he plays free safety on a defense that allows only 174 yards a game.

“I’ve felt like I had something to live up to,” he said.

Patterson was a Newbury Park ballboy in the ‘80s, so he witnessed Steve Muscarella’s exploits. And his father recently converted some old 8-millimeter film of his games to videotape, enabling Eddie to see for himself why a “Terry Patterson Hitter Award” is given each year at the team’s banquet.

Terry hands out the award, and last season it went to his son. Eddie could make it two in a row. “I’m shooting for it,” he said.

Heroines in Waiting

The rough-and-tumble battle for Marmonte League supremacy could produce a heroine Thursday night rather than a hero: Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, which are tied for first place, both have female kickers.

Chrissy Sanford of Newbury Park was six for six on extra-point tries last week and is 32 of 38 in two seasons.

Nicole Starky of Thousand Oaks is seven for eight on extra-point attempts and made her only field-goal attempt.

Sanford, a senior, made two field goals last year, but none this year. Newbury Park has lined up for three field-goal tries, but twice the snap was bad and one kick was blocked. Still, Coach George Hurley will not hesitate to call on Sanford.

“She has a much stronger leg than she did last year,” Hurley said. “She can make a 42-yard field goal. I wouldn’t be afraid to do it with the game on the line.”

Starky, a junior, was the backup until a back injury sidelined Jack Wilson three weeks ago. Wilson, who is 13 for 13 on extra-point attempts and has five field goals, is questionable against Newbury Park.

“This is not tokenism, Nicole is a legit kicker,” Thousand Oaks assistant Bob Shoup said. “The other players really root for her.”

Rivalry Renewed

Glendale and Hoover meet Friday night at Glendale High for the 67th consecutive year, renewing what is one of the longest-running high school football rivalries in the United States.

Glendale (3-5-1, 1-3 in league play) can clinch the Pacific League’s third playoff berth with a victory, along with victories by Muir over Pasadena and Arcadia over Crescenta Valley. Hoover (3-4-2, 0-3-1) is playing for pride.

But pride has much to do with this storied rivalry.

The Dynamiters and Tornadoes have played every year since 1929 for the city championship. Throughout the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, the game was played in the Rose Bowl to accommodate huge crowds. The teams also compete for the “Victory Bell,” a perpetual trophy that is retained by the victor for one year.

“When we get it, we paint it purple. When they get it, they paint it red,” said Kirt Kohlmeier, Hoover’s boys’ basketball and softball coach and a 1971 Hoover graduate. “It has about 100 coats of paint on it.”

Glendale holds a 37-27-2 lead in the series. The Dynamiters defeated Hoover last season, 21-14. Hoover has not defeated Glendale since 1989.

Friends and Foes

When L.A. Baptist Coach Mark Bates leads his team onto the field Saturday night at Kennedy High to play Village Christian, he should bring his playbook.

Having this year’s version probably wouldn’t hurt, but the one Bates used from 1980 to ’82 as Village Christian’s quarterback might be even more valuable.

Bates and David Washburn, L.A. Baptist’s defensive line coach, both played for Village Christian and Coach Mike Plaisance, heightening an already intense--but friendly--annual game known as the “Bible Bowl.”

This year, for the fourth season in a row, the game will decide the Alpha League championship.

But the teams play for more than just first place. In 1990, Plaisance and Bates pooled together $105 to purchase a perpetual trophy.

If the series plays to recent form, L.A. Baptist, which lost, 16-3, last year at home, will win. Since 1990, neither team has won back-to-back games and the road team has been victorious four games in a row.

What Rivalry?

Robert dos Remedios has been on both sides of the Burbank-Burroughs game, as a player at Burbank and now the second-year coach at Burroughs, and fears the rivalry is fading.

“I’m excited about the game. I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time,” dos Remedios said. “There’s so much to this rivalry. But this year it’s dead.

“Traditionally, this is one of those rivalries where both schools pull pranks on each other. Last season we had [manure] all over our sidelines. But nothing’s happened this year. You would think by now someone would have tried to paint our pool blue.”

Well, let this be the first prank: Burbank quarterback Bryan Ling is guaranteeing a victory.

“I’d definitely bet on it,” Ling said.

An extraordinary comment, considering Burbank is 1-8, its victory courtesy of a Crescenta Valley forfeit, and averages only 9.5 points a game.

The low point of this dismal season was a 43-26 loss to Valencia, the first victory for the new school that has no seniors and is in its first year of varsity competition.

Off the field, the Burbank program is being investigated by its school district and the Southern Section for recruiting violations and illegal transfers.

Burroughs’ season has been nothing to write home about. The Indians (3-5-1) are 0-3 in Foothill League play and will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Outside of Burbank, this clash won’t generate much passion. But dos Remedios is more concerned about the waning passion in Burbank. Part of the problem, he said, is that Burbank has so many new players from out of the area.

“You always knew the guys on the other team, because you grew up in the same town,” he said. “You played Little League together. You’d see them at the hamburger place and all that.”

If this rivalry needs a spark, dos Remedios doesn’t mind providing.

“If you look at comparative scores, Burbank and us are pretty even,” he said. “The only one that was different was Valencia. [Burbank] got pummeled.”

Familiar Footwork

Jason Anderson, a sophomore tailback for Monroe, invoked images of former Crespi star Russell White by exploding for 227 yards and three touchdowns in only four carries last Friday in a 34-21 victory over Reseda.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise: Anderson and White, who is the state’s No. 2 career rusher with 5,998 yards, are distant cousins. Anderson also is related to former USC tailback Charles White, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1979 and went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams.

Russell White burst into the limelight as a sophomore in 1986, rushing for 2,339 yards while leading Crespi to a Southern Section championship.

Anderson has never witnessed in person either of his famous relatives run with the football. “I’ve only seen them on TV,” he said. “I don’t really know them that well. Charles, he came by our practice once during summer.”

Unfortunately for Anderson, his big game against Reseda had a disappointing finish. He limped off the field with a sprained left ankle after making a fumble recovery in the third quarter. He is questionable for tonight’s game against Sylmar.

Home on the Road

Littlerock and Palmdale battle tonight for third place in the Golden League and a berth in the Southern Section Division II playoffs. Littlerock has been designated the home team, but that doesn’t mean the Lobos enjoy a home-field advantage.

Littlerock plays its home games at Palmdale.

“We’ll be dressed in our road uniforms,” Palmdale Coach Jeff Williams said, “and that’ll be weird.”

AROUND THE LEAGUES / CITY SECTION

EAST VALLEY

Sylmar is the unanimous choice in a poll of six conference coaches to defeat Monroe tonight. Sylmar hasn’t played its best football lately, but Coach Jeff Engilman said the Spartans have three big reasons to be fired up: An undefeated season, a league championship and a probable No. 1-seeded spot in the playoffs. . . . Canoga Park is on the fence in terms of earning a 3-A Division playoff berth. An upset victory over Reseda probably would clinch an invitation. “We want to go after Reseda and earn our berth by winning,” Coach Rudy Lugo said. . . . Reseda saw a 21-20 lead over Monroe evaporate with four second-half turnovers. “You can’t fumble and expect to win the game,” said Coach Joel Schaeffer, whose Regents lost, 34-21. “It was a comedy of errors.”

MID-VALLEY

If North Hollywood defeats Van Nuys, the surprising Huskies would be 5-2 in conference play and possibly headed for the 4-A playoffs. “I’d be flattered if they put us in 4-A,” Coach Gary Gray said. . . . Grant played fairly well in the first half against Sylmar, but was outscored, 21-0, thereafter. “We played in spurts, like we’ve done all year,” said Coach Bill Foster, whose Lancers lost, 42-7. Grant plays tonight at Poly. Neither team has won a conference game.

NORTH VALLEY

The third time might have been the charm for Kennedy Coach Bob Francola in his search for a consistent kicker. Sophomore Ramiro Esqueda has made all six extra-point tries, plus a key 27-yard field goal against Taft after being called up from the junior varsity two weeks ago. . . . Taft Coach Troy Starr isn’t worried about quarterback Nick DiPadova, who fumbled a snap, ending a potential game-winning drive against Kennedy. “He a tough kid,” Starr said. “He’s still having an All-City year.” DiPadova leads City Section quarterbacks in the region with 981 passing yards. . . . Quincy Wright of El Camino Real is among the top sophomore running backs in the region. Wright rushed for 183 yards against Birmingham last week and 188 against Chatsworth two weeks before that. Wright helps take pressure off fullback J.D. Sumlin, who starts opposite standout Jeff Macrea at linebacker. “Teams run at him so much he gets tired for offense,” El Camino Real Coach Bob Ganssle said. . . . Kennedy tailback Antwane Smith touched the ball on 33 of Kennedy’s 45 offensive plays against Taft. . . . Keijuan Douglas and Brandon Campbell generate most of the yardage for San Fernando, but Coach Sean Blunt is just as impressed with junior Derrell Daniels, leader of the Tigers’ defense. “It’s like having another coach on the field,” Blunt said. “I could talk about him all day. He just puts a smile on my face.”

WEST VALLEY

Birmingham is among the region’s most-improved teams and Coach Dave Lertzman is using last season’s postseason success as motivation. The Braves were the 16th and final seeded team last year but reached the championship game.

NORTHWESTERN

Verdugo Hills senior Alex Trevino showed his versatility in the Dons’ victory over Hollywood. Trevino intercepted three passes, caught a touchdown pass and kicked an extra point.

AROUND THE LEAGUE / SOUTHERN SECTION

DEL REY

Alemany not only recorded its first league victory since 1992 with a 6-3 decision over St. Paul, the Indians gave Coach Pat Degnan his first victory over his former high school coach, Marijon Ancich. Degnan was a member of St. Paul’s 1972 Southern Section championship team. Quarterback Gary Nieto’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Jose Gonzalez was Alemany’s first touchdown pass of the season. Crespi Coach Tim Lins, also a St. Paul graduate, has guided the Celts to three consecutive victories over his alma mater.

FOOTHILL

Add punting to the list of Mike Barrett’s specialties. The Burroughs all-purpose player last week punted five times for an average of 41.6 yards against Hart. . . . Perhaps Canyon should have done this earlier. The Cowboys moved Ahjeron Palmer from quarterback to receiver and he caught two passes for 78 yards--including a 32-yard touchdown. . . . Hart’s Ted Iacenda won’t schedule any recruiting trips until after the season, but Penn State, Stanford and Notre Dame reportedly are his favorites. . . . Saugus has discovered a new weapon. Anthony Smith has eight receptions for 154 yards and three touchdowns.

GOLDEN

Marcus Prevost, a junior from Highland, had two carries for no yards before gaining 114 yards in 13 carries against Littlerock. He also caught his first five passes of the season for 34 yards. Last year, he was an all-league defensive back.

PACIFIC

Crescenta Valley needs a victory tonight against Arcadia and a victory by Muir over Pasadena on Friday to make the playoffs. . . . Glendale Coach Steve Pinkston has been blitzed with suggestions for trick plays ever since the Dynamiters defeated Pasadena, 30-29, with the help of several deception plays. “I’m getting notes left in my mailbox,” Pinkston said. “Janitors, secretaries . . . everyone has an idea for me.”

CHANNEL

Ventura has won four in a row but still hasn’t secured a playoff berth. The Cougars need an upset over league champion Santa Barbara. Meanwhile, Buena, a team that has won two in a row only once, could sneak into the postseason for the seventh time in Coach Rick Scott’s eight seasons. Buena faces Oxnard, and a victory coupled with losses by Ventura and San Marcos would put the Bulldogs in third by virtue of their victory over Ventura. . . . In the case of a four-way tie for second between Ventura, Buena, San Marcos and Dos Pueblos, league principals would meet tonight and vote for the second- and third-place playoff representatives. . . . T.J. Stafford, a junior, has moved into second place on Buena’s single-season receiving list with 45 catches. The record of 58 catches was set by Jim Collins in 1988. . . . A week after Abundio Marin rushed for 157 yards for Ventura, teammate Jeramie Jackson rushed for 132, more than doubling his season total. Ventura has compiled nearly 40% of its 1,115 rushing yards in the past two games. . . . Tailback Ronney Jenkins and quarterback George Jones, four-year starters for Hueneme, will finish their careers having never made the playoffs. The Vikings, however, have posted more victories (four) than any season since 1987. . . . Rio Mesa is winding down a losing season, but Coach George Contreras believes it has been a success. “The essence of coaching is making kids better at the end of the year than they were at the beginning,” he said. “We haven’t had a kid miss practice in a month.”

MARMONTE

Scott McEwan, a junior second-year starter for Thousand Oaks, already has set school career and single-season passing records for completions and yardage. McEwan’s 90 completions and 1,319 yards this season have bettered records of 85 and 1,298 set by Dan Nagelmann in 1985, and McEwan’s 148 career completions and 2,039 career yards have eclipsed the totals of 130 and 2,012 set by Scott Peterson in 1989-90. . . . Newbury Park fullback Brock Diediker has scored 11 touchdowns for the second consecutive season. . . . Christian Broussard of Royal returned after missing two games because of a toe injury, but he played receiver instead of tailback. Broussard, a senior, made six receptions, a Royal season high, in a 24-7 victory over Agoura. Sophomore Bryant Phipps rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries. . . . Sophomore defenders Chad Troxler and Rick Fenner have been bright spots for Simi Valley, which has had 26 players miss at least one game because of injury. The Pioneers will try to defeat crosstown rival Royal tonight for the third consecutive year. Royal leads the series, 14-10-2. . . . Westlake fullback Jonathan Weems is only 5 feet 5, but he has provided an excellent complement to tailback Jamal Harris, rushing for 431 yards in 58 carries. Harris has tied Gary Wellman’s career school record of 24 rushing touchdowns. He needs 119 yards to set a single-season yardage mark. . . . Jose Murillo made a reception for 33 yards last week, but his season-long contribution to Channel Islands has been as a tackle. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound senior came from Mexico to the United States only two years ago. He quickly learned to speak English and is nearly a straight-A student.

MISSION

Friday’s Notre Dame-Chaminade game is expected to draw an overflow crowd to Chaminade’s 2,900-seat stadium. Chaminade last defeated Notre Dame in 1992 and went on to win the league title. Notre Dame, defending Division III champion and winner of 18 in a row, is vying for its second consecutive league crown. Who’s going to win? Who better to ask than St. Francis Coach Bill Redell, whose team was walloped by Notre Dame (42-10) and Chaminade (42-0) in consecutive weeks. “To me, it’s a tossup,” Redell said. “But if I had to pick one, I’d lean toward Notre Dame.” Notre Dame’s 35-7 victory over St. Bernard last week was Coach Kevin Rooney’s 100th career victory at the school. Rooney, in his 16th season, has a record of 100-69-4. . . . St. Francis can only hope for an at-large berth--but the outlook is promising. With a victory over St. Bernard on Friday, the Golden Knights would have a 7-3 record. St. Francis, which started 6-0 and shut out four opponents, has lost three in a row by a combined 118-19 margin.

RIO HONDO

La Canada needs a victory tonight over second-place Monrovia to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1989. The Spartans will need to rebound from a 41-0 loss to first-place San Marino that “hurt our feelings,” Coach Jim Clausen said. “I have never been associated with a team that has been beaten 41-0,” Clausen said. “And let me tell you, it ain’t gonna happen again.” Running back Sam Paneno, held to 55 yards against Monrovia, fell to second among rushers in the region. Paneno had rushed for at least 100 yards in every game.

CAMINO REAL

Harvard-Westlake can clinch a playoff berth with a victory Saturday over St. Monica. The Wolverines will finish in a three-way tie for first if they win and Cantwell Sacred Heart defeats Verbum Dei. Playoff seedings would then be decided by a series of coin flips. Harvard will finish in a three-way tie for second if St. Monica and Verbum Dei are winners. Again, coin flips would take place, with one of the three second-place teams getting eliminated. “If we lose, we don’t deserve to go,” Harvard Coach Dave Bennett said. Running back Abed Abusaleh is 94 yards rushing shy of 1,000. Abusaleh, who plays quarterback for the Wolverines’ scout team, put his skills to use against St. Anthony by lobbing a 40-yard touchdown pass to Lew Roberts. Backup running back Sam Hornblower filled in for injured Steve Durbin by rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown in seven carries. Kicker Greg Nortman’s 52-yard field was the longest of his career.

FRONTIER

Santa Clara co-Coach Dan Dolby Jr. says his team remains enthusiastic despite having only one victory. “We don’t have the horses to pull the cart every week,” Dolby said. “We get into the second half and get winded because too many guys are going both ways. It’s hard to recover from nagging injuries when you’re on the field every play of the game.” . . . After qualifying for the Division IX title game last season, Nordhoff plays host to Santa Paula on Friday with the league’s third and final playoff berth at stake. . . . Should Santa Paula win, it would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1992. The Cardinals preserved last week’s 15-13 victory over Fillmore when Ernie Bautista intercepted a pass in the final minute. Freddy Sanchez, a junior, carried 12 times for 118 yards and a touchdown in his first start at tailback. Sanchez played in place of senior Victor Meza, who did not dress after injuring his neck Oct. 27 against Moorpark. . . . Moorpark senior Pat Tate, in his first year of football, has nine receptions for 212 yards and three touchdowns in the Musketeers’ past two games. Linebacker Jeff Martin had 16 tackles in a rout of Nordhoff, a week after returning from a severely sprained ankle. . . . Twelve different Calabasas players handled the ball on offense against Santa Clara. Quarterback Scott Quigley played after missing two games because of a hyperextended knee.

TRI-VALLEY

Topi Sanchez of St. Bonaventure (1,495 yards, 24 touchdowns) set school single-season rushing and scoring records with a 160-yard, two-touchdown effort against Oak Park. Former record-holder Toby Noblin set the previous marks in 1991. David Bernal, a 6-foot-1, 294-pound junior, will make his 30th consecutive start at defensive tackle for the Seraphs in Friday’s game against Bishop Diego. Bernal, who also starts at tight end, made seven tackles, had two sacks and recovered a punt he blocked against Oak Park. He also carried once as a fullback, gaining 24 yards. Defensive back Andrew Montenegro, recovering from a hairline fracture of his left fibula, dressed but did not play. He might be ready for Bishop Diego. . . . Oak Park has been shut out four times--three in the past four weeks. Josh Nicassio has thrown eight interceptions. . . . After losing quarterback Chris Goodenough because of a separated shoulder two weeks ago, Fillmore promoted sophomore Martin Morales from the junior varsity four days before playing Santa Paula. Morales completed five of nine passes for 108 yards and a touchdown in a 15-13 loss. The Flashes will be without injured starters Goodenough, tailback James Cummings (chest) and linemen Jeremy Klein (strained Achilles) and Eddie Gonzalez (knee) Friday against league-leading Carpinteria.

ALPHA

L.A. Baptist was outscored, 146-66, while losing all five nonleague games but is 4-0 and has outscored opponents, 115-40, in league play. . . . Village Christian has allowed only 46 points in five league games.

HIGH DESERT

Strange but true: Paraclete routed Desert, 57-0, but held only a 223-217 yardage advantage.

SANTA FE

Bell-Jeff quarterback Matt Stanley was hospitalized after suffering a pinched nerve in his back during the Guards’ 26-6 loss to Murphy. He might play Saturday against Cathedral. Miguel Segura replaced Stanley and completed five of 10 passes, including the Guards’ second touchdown pass of the season. . . . St. Genevieve has been outscored, 160-20, and shut out four times in its past five games.

FREE-LANCE

Montclair Prep is relatively injury-free--and well it should be. The Mounties have gone a whole game with their first string only once--during a 21-0 victory over Van Nuys in Week 3. Coach George Giannini last week started pulling starters midway through the second quarter after building a 41-0 lead against Southwest. . . . Donavan Calhoun (106 points), Kenny Taylor (56) and Caleb Willis (29) are the only players to score for Valencia.

Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Dana Haddad, Steve Henson, Vince Kowalick, Michael Lazarus, Tris Wykes, Peter Yoon.