Notebook : Woodbridge Likes Chances This Season

Woodbridge easily handled Mater Dei in a girls’ basketball scrimmage before the season began, and Mater Dei Coach Mary Hauser said the Warriors are “better this year than last year.”

Hauser’s not the only one who thinks that way.

So does Melanie Pearson.

Pearson is the Woodbridge forward who hopes to lead the Warriors (6-0) to a second straight state basketball title and third straight state championship appearance.

“I thought last year we weren’t going to be as good as we were,” said Pearson, who is averaging 14 points and 6.8 rebounds. “This year, I think we can be better. We’re more athletic, more agile.

“Last year we had a great inside game, but I think we’re two different teams [between this year and last] and you can’t compare them.”

That doesn’t bother first-year Coach Pat Quinn, who’s trying to do one better than last year’s 33-1 season under Eric Bangs.

“I’m trying to get them to do things they’re not used to--I’m giving them a lot of rope,” he said. “They’re used to running to a certain spot on the floor; I’m not that way.

“I think we can be more devastating; they’re not used to going with reckless abandon. Right now, they’re believing in me and that’s what I wanted. Hopefully, we’ll be as good as everyone’s expectations. We’re only about one-third of the way to where I want to be.”

Pearson said that despite the differences between this and last year’s teams, one thing is consistent.

“They’re two awesome teams,” she said. “Our future is bright.”

The Warriors could play Oregon City, the top-ranked team in USA Today’s national poll, Wednesday in the semifinals of the Lady Wolves Invitational in Henderson, Nev.; Woodbridge is No. 10 in the same poll.

Edison and Brea Olinda are also in the tournament, which takes place in a Las Vegas suburb.

*

Even though Orange Lutheran fell 13 seconds short of winning the Division X football title on Saturday, running back Che Holloway ended his Lancer career in style.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior rushed 21 times for 120 yards, giving him 1,964 yards on the season, the county’s third-highest total. Holloway set school single-season records in rushing yardage, all-purpose yardage (2,911) and points (140), and finished his two-year career at Orange Lutheran with 3,157 rushing yards. Junior receiver Mike Crawford’s six catches for 105 yards helped him set school single-season records for receptions (42), yardage (856) and touchdown catches (nine). Crawford is already the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards (1,387) and catches (73) with another year to play.

That removes some of the sting of Orange Lutheran reaching the championship game for the second consecutive season, and coming away empty-handed, losing to Cerritos Valley Christian, 21-17.

“We’re remaining positive,” Coach Jim Kunau said. “The kids weren’t picked to be anywhere where we ended up, so that is a tribute to their commitment and hard work.

“This game was difficult to swallow, as it is any time you lose a close game. If anyone is to blame for the loss, it’s me; that will motivate me to work harder in the off-season. And the seniors are going on to college, they will become leaders in society and lead productive lives. That is the most important thing.”

*

A guy who went from rags to riches this season was Tim Ellis, wide receivers coach at El Toro. Ellis was 4-16 coaching two years at Tustin, but lost that job after accepting a position at Trabuco Hills. Then Trabuco Hills reneged on its offer and Ellis was left without a team.

El Toro went 12-2 and won the Division V championship. Meanwhile, Tustin (4-6-1) lost in the first round of the playoffs and Trabuco Hills went 3-7.

“A lot of people forget that before I got there, Tustin went 4-6 with a team that had 19 starters back from a team that played for the division championship,” Ellis said. “A lot of things we inherited when I got there were already in motion.

“It hasn’t been my style to bad-mouth the other schools, but I’m very happy where I’m at.”

*

Marina is the top-seeded girls’ soccer team in Foothill’s prestigious Excalibur tournament, which will be held Dec. 27-29 on four fields at Foothill High.

Marina (2-4-1) was top-seeded because it is the two-time defending tournament champion and three-time defending Southern Section Division I champion. The Vikings are having a rebuilding season, however, and are not currently ranked among the top 10 by the Orange County Coaches’ Assn.

Santa Margarita (8-0), top-ranked by the OCCA, is second-seeded in the tournament.

The tournament features 32 teams from Orange County, San Diego and Ventura in a single-elimination bracket. The semifinals will be at 10 a.m. Dec. 29 and the final will follow at 3 p.m.

“It’s going to be a really tough tournament because we have really good teams, so anybody can knock anybody out,” Foothill Coach John Bovetas said.

*

After 26 consecutive losses, La Quinta has won two of its last four girls’ basketball games. The end came with a 61-51 victory over Cypress in a nonleague game.

“The girls were crying, I was crying,” first-year Coach Joe Stern said. “Our first two games, we had trouble establishing ourselves. I think we can only get better off this win.”

Stern, whose team is led by Tina Shum, was right. The Aztecs added a 43-37 victory over Santiago on Friday.

Staff writers Mike Terry and Wendy Witherspoon contributed to this story.