SIDELINES : Spirit of Che Guevara Lives On in Ventura College Forward Lugo

No matter where Ventura College forward Che Lugo goes, people who know Latin American history pop the inevitable question:

Is he named after Ernesto (Che) Guevara?

The answer is yes.

Lugo, a 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman from New York, says he likes the name.

“It’s cool, especially when I got to know about [Guevara],” Lugo said.

Lugo’s Puerto Rican father, Angel, admired Guevara, the Argentine doctor-turned-rebel who was a key figure in Fidel Castro’s Cuban revolution. Guevara was killed by Bolivian soldiers in 1967 while leading guerrillas against the government.

Lugo apparently has been influenced by Guevara in more than just name.

“I write poetry and I’m really outspoken, especially about the government,” Lugo said. “I write about how they try to hide things from the people.”

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Outmanned: Joel Schaeffer, Reseda High’s football coach, believes in downsizing his staff and has only one assistant: Mike Stone.

Imagine Schaeffer’s surprise when he looked across the field during last Friday’s City Section 3-A Division playoff game against Roosevelt. Schaeffer said the Roughriders had 15 assistants.

“You talk about getting to the ridiculous,” Schaeffer said. “I don’t know if I was supposed to be intimidated or what. I was going to ask if they had a left-tackle coach, a right-tackle coach or what.”

Neither Schaeffer nor the Regents were fazed. Reseda won, 35-14.

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Going Hollywood: The Valley College football team might be all business on the field, what with a 10-0 record and a bowl game in the wings Dec. 2 for the mythical national championship, but the Monarchs still can find time for a little fun.

Twenty-six Valley players turned TV extras last week during a taping of the sitcom “Coach” at Monarch Stadium. They portrayed members of the fictitious Orlando Breakers, a hapless NFL team that snapped an 0-9 streak with a last-second victory in the episode, scheduled to air on ABC in late December.

None of the Monarchs apparently picked up bad vibes from the Breakers. Last Saturday, the Monarchs dismantled Santa Monica, 70-32, to win the Western State Conference South Division title and remain top-ranked in the state and in one national poll.

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Bad break: An official’s error might have cost Moorpark College’s Eleazar Hernandez a victory in the State junior college cross-country championships at Fresno’s Woodward Park last Saturday.

Hernandez, the pre-meet favorite, was among the lead pack of eight runners when race officials directed them the wrong way near the 2 1/2-mile mark. The officials quickly realized their mistake, but by the time Hernandez and another runner had worked their way back onto the four-mile course, they had fallen about 10 to 12 seconds behind the front-runners, according to Moorpark Coach Manny Trevino.

That time proved crucial. Hernandez finished second, four seconds behind winner Bashir Hussain of Riverside.

“[Hernandez] was very, very disappointed,” Trevino said. “He said to me, ‘Coach, they told me to go that way.’ All I could say was, ‘I know.’ ”

Honors

Receiver Tim Hilton, defensive lineman David Mori, linebacker Teddy Mack and defensive back Doug Varner were the only Cal State Northridge players to make the All-American West Conference team.

Cal State Sacramento defensive lineman Jason Sandel of Camarillo also was a first-team selection.

Seven Matadors made the second team: receiver Chris Love, quarterback Clayton Millis, offensive linemen David San Vicente and Paul Sauter, defensive back Bryant Eubanks and punter Joe LaFirenza.

Tight end Jesse Rafanan, defensive lineman Dan Lazarovits and defensive back Jim Rose were honorable-mention picks.

Valley College (10-0) finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the junior college football state poll and Moorpark (7-3) finished 20th. Both will play in bowl games Dec. 2.

The Monarchs received 13 of 16 first-place votes and 255 points to stay ahead of Long Beach (10-0), which received 246 points.

Valley and Long Beach, the only undefeated teams in the state, will meet in the Strawberry Bowl at Cerritos College for the mythical national championship. Valley is top-ranked in one national poll and Long Beach is top-ranked in another.

Moorpark will play host to El Camino (7-3) in the Western State Conference Bowl. El Camino had been ranked No. 1 in the nation for several weeks.

Quotebook

“Some of our players wore the same uniform and the same socks as when we beat them earlier in the season. For good luck.”

--Cal Lutheran outside hitter Tara Thomas, on the team’s attire during a victory over UC San Diego on Nov. 11 in the NCAA Division III Western regional volleyball championship match.

Things to Do

Ventura College (4-0), the defending men’s basketball state champion and 1995-96 preseason top-ranked team, travels to Santa Monica (4-0) for a Western State Conference interdivisional game tonight at 7:30. Santa Monica was 14th in the preseason poll.

Compiled by Fernando Dominguez. Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Jeff Fletcher, Irene Garcia, John Ortega.