Taft, Van Nuys Shoot for Top : Wolves Hungry for Pass

Van Nuys and Wilson high schools offer something for everyone in the City Section 3-A Division football final.

If it’s a ground game you prefer, Van Nuys can oblige.

Have a passing fancy? Wilson features a crew ready to soar.

Van Nuys (9-4) and Wilson (9-4), both 4-6 in 1995, meet at 5 tonight at the Coliseum. Both teams finished tied for second in conference play--Van Nuys in the Valley Pac-8 and Wilson in the Northern.

Van Nuys, making its third championship-game appearance since the school began competing in football in 1919, has won seven of its last eight games. The durable legs of running back Carlos Mack and an opportunistic defense, which has tilted the team’s turnover ratio to a whopping plus-14 in the last eight games, are the reasons the Wolves have kept winning.

Wilson, which won four consecutive 3-A titles from 1975-78, is vying for its fifth. Coach Eddie Martinez was a wide receiver at Wilson for three of those title-winning teams.

“Everyday at practice they see [pictures of] these four championship teams,” Martinez said of his players. “I want them to cast their own shadow.”

So far, the longest shadow has been cast by one of the smallest players on the team--quarterback Julio Briones, a 5-foot-8, 160-pound senior.

Briones, who passed for 322 yards against North Hollywood last week, is poised to set a school record for yards passing in a season. He is 174 of 312 for 2,936 yards and 27 touchdowns. Another 311 yards and Briones breaks the record set by Ron Cuccia in 1976.

Van Nuys Coach Mark Pomerantz knows nothing of the record, but he knows the objective of tonight’s game.

“Stop the pass,” Pomerantz said. “Get to Briones and don’t let him have all the time in the world to throw the ball.”

Briones is also elusive and can throw on the run. He scored three touchdowns on short runs against North Hollywood.

Senior receivers Carlos Diaz and Brandon Clay have caught 66% of Briones’ passes, combining for 20 touchdowns.

The Mules have been an explosive team, averaging 37.3 points in three playoff games.

Van Nuys, with a ball-control offense, is not a scoring machine. The Wolves have scored more than 30 points only twice this season. They have averaged 21.3 points in the playoffs.

Common opponents are Monroe, North Hollywood and Verdugo Hills. Van Nuys beat each of those teams. Wilson only beat North Hollywood, 36-34, last week.

Other than Mack, who has 1,351 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing, there is no obvious game-breaker for Van Nuys.