El Modena to Appeal Suspension

El Modena’s Kevin Dykes won’t be playing this weekend against Foothill. Dykes was ejected in last week’s game against Fullerton because he was penalized twice for unsportsmanlike conduct, and must sit out this week as a result.

Coach Jason Hitchens said he will try to appeal the ruling, though his team will prepare to be without Dykes, a linebacker, receiver and return specialist.

“He ran out of bounds and one of their [Fullerton’s] kids threw him over the training table--we have that on video,” Hitchens said. “Kevin said a couple things as he walked back to the field, and that’s where he got the penalty.

“I’m going to appeal it under the pretense that a more fair recourse would be, ‘Why don’t you sit him down for a play.’ It’s the first time I’ve ever had a player ejected for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. I’ve never seen that.”

The second unsportsmanlike penalty--and the one that got Dykes ejected--was for taunting while returning a kickoff for a touchdown.

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The Catholic Athletic Assn. approved a proposal Monday that will create a new “super Division I” Angelus League for football that would be made up of Mater Dei, Santa Margarita, Servite, Los Angeles Loyola, Bellflower St. John Bosco and La Puente Bishop Amat.

Several schools, including Servite, objected to the proposal, fearing they would have trouble making the playoffs. The last incarnation of the Angelus League--in 1991-92, the year before many private schools joined public school leagues--featured the same lineup of schools, minus Santa Margarita.

The 46 schools that form the CAA have until Friday to appeal Monday’s vote. A final CAA vote would be taken Oct. 21 if any school appeals. The new alignments would be for three years, beginning in the fall of 1999.

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Getting upset by El Dorado last Friday was not just another loss for the juniors on the Brea Olinda football team.

According to Wildcat Coach Jon Looney, it was the first time his juniors had lost a football game at the school. Their freshman team was 10-0, their sophomore team was 10-0, and they won their first four varsity games this season.

“It will be interesting to see how they react in practice this week,” Looney said.

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Ocean View heads into its Golden West League football opener at Tustin with a 3-2 record, its best nonleague mark since 1990, when the team finished 5-4-1 overall. The Seahawks are 17-68-1 this decade.

Harold Eggers, a 10-year veteran at Cerritos High who is the third Seahawk coach in the last four years, cracks a smile when talking about the team’s better-than-usual fortunes this season. Sure, he admits, Ocean View hasn’t played the top echelon of county teams en route to its winning record, and it is going to have a rough time making the playoffs.

But Eggers is just pleased to have this team. He was hired in late July. “We had eight or nine players when I got here. That’s it,” he said. “There were a few families who wondered if we would even have a team, I got here so late.”

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Nikki Lee, a 6-foot junior forward and a key starter on the Marina I-A girls’ basketball championship team, abruptly joined the Vikings’ volleyball team Wednesday and got her first start a day later in a three-game sweep of Fountain Valley, contributing several blocks and kills.

Although second ranked in Division I-A volleyball, Marina has been beset by injuries and illnesses. At one point the Vikings had only six active players on the roster, which forced Coach Darrick Lucero to go hunting for players from other teams at the school.

Enter Lee, who played on the junior varsity team two years ago, but decided to quit the sport in order to concentrate on basketball.

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One of the nice things that has happened this season is certain football teams have shown some risk-taking in trying to win. Some examples:

* Esperanza went for the first down on fourth and seven at the Bloomington 47 (and eventually scored) in the first quarter of its 49-32 victory Friday over Bloomington. The Aztecs also went for it on fourth and five from their 43 (and eventually scored) midway in the second quarter while trailing, 24-13. Bloomington went for it on fourth and six from its 24 midway in the the fourth quarter and trailing, 42-24.

* Trabuco Hills, rather than punt on the first play of the fourth quarter and try to pin fifth-ranked Fountain Valley deep in its territory, went for the first down on fourth and one at the Barons’ 39 (and eventually scored) in the Mustangs’ 24-7 upset Friday. “It broke their spirit,” quarterback Brandon Heaney said.

* Mission Viejo, with 3:29 left in the game Thursday and the score 35-34, went for a two-point conversion against Marina. The Diablos didn’t get it, and lost. But they went down trying to win.

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Trabuco Hills’ upset of previously unbeaten Fountain Valley, 24-7, was an eye-opener. The Mustangs were 3-1 against a schedule that was hardly stirring. Fountain Valley is the only opponent that hasn’t lost at least two games. Laguna Hills (3-2) defeated Trabuco Hills, 19-13, in Week 2.

“This [victory] definitely exceeded my own expectations, for sure,” said Al Gandall, who rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown.

Said Coach Bill Crow: “I told the kids, we’re fighting for respect and with a win tonight, people will sure take a look. When kids believe what you tell them, anyone can get beat on a given night.”

The result: Trabuco Hills moved into the top 10, at No. 8.

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The 31st Orange County Cross-Country Championships take place Saturday at Irvine Park. Last year’s event was canceled because of a forest fire, and the park was used as a base for firefighting crews.

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Times staff writers Paul McLeod, Eric Sondheimer and Mike Terry contributed to this report.