Notre Dame, Fargas and Away

Notre Dame High football Coach Kevin Rooney sees his team’s mission this season as winning one game at a time. But the long-range forecast has his Knights in the Southern Section Division III championship game for the second consecutive year.

“Notre Dame is the team to beat in [the Mission League] and in our division,” said St. Francis Coach Bill Redell, whose team is the Knights’ most likely challenger for league supremacy.

“Any time you have a running back of that caliber . . . you’re going to be favored.”

Redell speaks, of course, of senior tailback Justin Fargas, who rushed for 2,945 yards and 34 touchdowns last season and is regarded as the region’s best player. Only five other starters return for Notre Dame--two on defense--but the consensus is the Knights are reloading, not rebuilding.

Notre Dame is top-ranked in the Southern Section Division III poll. St. Francis is No. 7.

In typical fashion, Rooney has nothing even faintly boastful to say about the upcoming season.

“I think this will be a good team and it has a chance to be a very good team,” Rooney said. “It’s great that so many people think so highly of us but you don’t really know how people are going to perform when you’re only competing against each other in practice.”

One cause for optimism is that Fargas (6 feet 1, 195 pounds), a highly-touted Division I college recruit, spent the off-season getting stronger and faster, winning the state 100 meter title in the spring.

Further encouragement comes from the return of senior tackle Brandon Woods (6-1, 260) and senior guard Craig Johnson (6-0, 240). They will combine with senior tight end and three-year starter Joe Aragno (5-11, 230) to pave Fargas’ way.

Senior Dave DeMartinis (6-3, 195) is the starting quarterback after backing up Jorge Piedra last season. He is regarded as a better passer than the graduated Piedra, who threw 19 touchdown passes.

But DeMartinis is not as athletic and his ability to make smart decisions and well-thrown passes will be crucial to stopping teams from stacking the line of scrimmage to defend Fargas.

“We have to be able to throw effectively on early downs,” Rooney said. “Teams will blitz us and go man-to-man on our receivers until we prove we can throw the ball.”

DeMartinis also starts in the secondary. The only other defensive returnee is senior linebacker Ryan Karapetian (5-9, 195). Rooney said final decisions are still being made on starters at most other defensive positions.

At St. Francis, Redell returns 14 starters and benefits from the transfer of promising quarterback-kicker Kjell Nesen and two-way lineman Mike Scheper, both seniors.

A defensive starter and the backup quarterback at Westlake last year, Nesen (6-2, 185) will start at quarterback and safety.

Scheper (6-1, 265) was an all-county player in Indiana last year and will start at center and defensive end.

The offensive line is a strength, featuring senior returnees Brian Abraham (6-1, 235), Jason Cervantes (6-3, 250) and Taylor Ketchum (6-2, 275), and junior Ariel Bellofiore (6-3, 305). They will block for senior tailback Darius Brown (5-9, 170), who rushed for 602 yards and six touchdowns last year in a supporting role to graduated Robert Milton.

A strong secondary is mixed with some inexperience among the linebackers and linemen. Nonetheless, Redell feels his fifth St. Francis team will give Notre Dame a run for the title.

“If we compete well with them, it will bode well for the playoffs,” Redell said.

The league’s other local entries, Harvard-Westlake and Chaminade, will likely battle with Gardena Serra for third place and a guaranteed postseason bid.

Harvard-Westlake is led by seniors Erik Carlson (6-4, 255), one of the region’s best linemen, and quarterback John Terzian, who passed for 1,247 yards with six touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season.

Chaminade switches to a veer option attack featuring returning quarterback Ray Rodriguez and running back Matt Markis. Lineman Brian Mundy, linebacker James Webber and safety Mark Merrill are the only returning defensive starters.

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AT A GLANCE

* THE PROVEN: Who hasn’t heard of Notre Dame senior running back Justin Fargas after he rushed for 2,945 yards and 34 touchdowns last year? Senior offensive linemen Brandon Woods (6-1, 260) and Craig Johnson (6-0, 240) team with senior tight end Joe Aragno to block. Ryan Karpetian returns as a starting linebacker. . . St. Francis running back senior Darius Brown rushed for 602 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. He will run behind a veteran line featuring seniors Brian Abraham (6-1, 235), Jason Cervantes (6-3, 250) and Taylor Ketchum (6-2, 275) and junior Ariel Bellofiore (6-3, 305). . . At Harvard-Westlake, seniors Erik Carlson (6-4, 255), a two-way lineman, and quarterback John Terzian are top performers. Terzian passed for 1,247 yards, six touchdowns and 11 interceptions last year. . . Chaminade is led by senior quarterback Ray Rodriguez and running back Matt Markis on offense and defensive lineman Brian Mundy, linebacker James Webber and safety Mark Merrill on defense. . .

* THE PROMISING: Senior quarterback Kjell Nesen, the backup at Westlake last year, is the starter at St. Francis, and will play defensive back and do the kicking. Senior OL-DL Mike Scheper (6-1, 265) arrives from Indiana, where he was an all-county selection. . . Notre Dame senior quarterback David DeMartinis is a first-year starter at that position, but returns as a starting defensive back. Wide receivers Julian Maurel, Matt Boyd and Tony Arredondo will be part of a six-man rotation. . Chaminade junior John Perry will have an impact at running back-linebacker. . . Harvard-Westlake has been bolstered by the arrival of sophomore transfer Alex Holmes (6-3, 265), a starting tight end-nose guard.

* FAST FACT: The 1997 season will be the last in the Mission League for Notre Dame, winner of the last four titles. Next year the Knights move up to a Division I league with Bishop Amat, Loyola and St. John Bosco.

* 1996 STANDINGS: 1. Notre Dame, 5-0 league, 12-2 overall; 2. St. Francis, 3-2, 8-3; 3. Harvard-Westlake, 3-2, 6-5; 4. Chaminade, 2-3, 4-5; 5. Serra, 2-3, 6-4; 6. Bishop Montgomery, 0-5, 2-8.