BIG SHOES TO FILL

Greg Orlando knows all eyes are on him this season, not because he was one of the county’s best receivers last year, but because he will play quarterback this season at Santa Margarita.

Orlando is succeeding Carson Palmer, who led the Eagles to a second consecutive Southern Section football title last season.

While Palmer starts fast at USC, Orlando suits up at Santa Margarita, the county’s winningest high school football program (.768) during its first nine seasons.

When it comes to following a player of distinction this season, Orlando isn’t alone.

Three Tustin players in a new offense will try to compensate for the loss of tailback DeShaun Foster, who set a state record for scoring. The legacy of Michael Jones--the county’s all-time leading rusher--looms over Ryan Johnson at Laguna Hills.

It’s their job to ease the transition between Superman and Clark Kent, between a superhero and a mild-mannered alterego.

“I’m not Carson and I’m not trying to be,” Orlando said. “I’m going to do my thing--which I’ve done my entire life--go where my legs take me.”

That might be the biggest difference between Orlando and Palmer, the classic strong-armed-drop-back quarterback. Orlando might not throw bullets, but he can still slice defense like a dagger. He accounted for 19 touchdowns last season, passing for six, running for five and catching passes for eight.

Rather than risk an interception, Orlando has been given the green light to create something with this footwork.

There is no doubt his best position is slotback. There is no doubt he helps the Eagles most at quarterback.

“Me and [Coach Jim] Hartigan talked after the season about the possibility of playing receiver [this year], which is what I really wanted to do,” Orlando said. “Then, one day it hit me: ‘Greg, you have to play quarterback.’

“I want to play quarterback this year. It might be my last time playing quarterback. The team needs me to play quarterback.”

At stake are the Eagles’ back-to-back section titles and 25 consecutive victories. The county record is 32 in a row, set by Edison from 1979 to 1981.

“We know he can run our offense,” Hartigan said. “He’s the key to us defending our championship.”

Orlando broke his wrist the third day of spring practice and didn’t throw any passes during the summer. He says the only pressure he really feels is from being a perfectionist, though he has noticed Hartigan’s lofty expectations.

“If I make a bad throw in practice, he’ll get a little upset,” Orlando said. “[Offensive coordinator Jim] Barnett has to remind him that most quarterbacks don’t have golden arms.”

Palmer threw for 31 touchdowns with only four interceptions, and completed 63% of his passes for 2,607 yards. That’s a lot of gold.

“Greg knows at quarterback, he could be one of the best in the county, but with his height [he’s listed at 5 feet 10 but admits being 5-9], he’s not a Division I college quarterback,” Hartigan said. “That’s not his forte. His forte is getting open, catching balls and making great runs after the catch. But his athleticism at quarterback should really concern any defensive coordinator.”

It does.

“The game-and-a-half I watched Orlando play, they didn’t miss a beat having Orlando run the offense,” said defensive coordinator Wally Grant of Tustin, the team that figures to challenge the Eagles for the section’s Division VI title.

“They weren’t as high-powered, but [Orlando] did things Palmer couldn’t do, like run the option. That’s a very interesting scenario.”

Orlando’s definitely a triple threat. He caught 37 passes last year, his 19.6 yards per reception the fourth-best total among the county’s top 35 receivers. He rushed for 303 yards, averaging 6.7 per carry.

He is not an inexperienced varsity quarterback, either. He started four games because Palmer had a stress fracture in his foot, and played often in other games because of the lopsided score. His quarterback rating, 191.9, would have been second only to Palmer’s 207.9 had Orlando had a minimum of 100 passing attempts. He completed 29 of 51 passes.

By comparison, Mater Dei’s John Leonard’s rating was 181.0, and Los Alamitos’ Zach Blazek’s 164.6.

Orlando even returned punts last season and blocked two kicks.

“His versatility is his best asset,” Hartigan said. “If he does play quarterback, you won’t see every aspect of Greg Orlando.”

Tustin’s Trio

Foster was such a special athlete that Tustin won’t even try to replace him with a single player. Coach Myron Miller turned his playbook back to 1996, when he ran the double wing offense and had three runners (including Foster) rush for more than 1,000 yards apiece. The Tillers went 11-2 and lost to Santa Margarita in the semifinals. Last year, they lost to the Eagles in the final, 55-42.

Unlike last season, when Tustin usually lined up in an I-formation and let Foster run rampant, Miller said, “I don’t think anybody’s going to feel the brunt of the pressure,” of replacing Foster. But if they did, they would be replacing the county’s all-time single-season (and section’s second all-time) rushing leader (3,398 yards) and the nation’s second-leading single-season scorer in history (59 touchdowns, 362 points).

“If I do my job this year, you won’t know who’s going to get the ball in a pressure situation,” Miller said. “There’s going to be three guys.”

The three likely to be among the county’s rushing leaders are left wingback Branden Malcom (5-10, 165), right wingback James Sargent (6-0, 195) and deep single back Mike Rogers (5-7, 185), though Tustin will use others too.

Malcom was a starting varsity long snapper as a freshman, starting cornerback as a sophomore, and is a quick, slashing runner. Sargent, a transfer from Santa Ana Valley, is a powerful runner who will rarely go down one-on-one. Rogers is a cross between the other two, combining blazing speed with good power.

To hear Miller talk about his threesome, it’s easy to understand why he has gone back to the double wing:

* Sargent: “Was at a school [Valley] that threw the ball last year . . . he’s just waiting to prove what he can do.”

* Malcom: “Could have started for 80% of teams in Orange County but played behind DeShaun. He’s excited and he’s ready.”

* Rogers: “A spectacular athlete.”

“It’s unlikely they can step up to the standard of DeShaun, but they all want to be that guy,” Miller said. “I think we’ve showcased running backs the last two years better than anyone else in the county.”

That’s one of the many reasons Sargent transferred, he said. Bothered by an ankle injury and inconsistent at running back, he carried the ball only 34 times (for 173 yards) last season for the Falcons. He could do that in one game with Tustin.

“There’s a little bit of pressure here,” Sargent said. “I remember when I first got here, I overheard a couple of linemen [Derek Johnson and Matt Vega] talking, saying ‘Thirty-four hundred yards of offense is missing,’ and they were looking at me, sizing me up, figuring if I could do it.

“I told them I was up to the challenge--I couldn’t make guarantees, but I’ll give it 110%.”

Sargent, actually playing the position last occupied by Foster in the double wing formation, will also start at free safety on defense.

“I know I’ve got the chance to prove to everyone I can play the game,” Sargent said. “I know I wouldn’t be able to run the ball as much at Valley.”

Malcom, a junior, was Foster’s backup last year.

“I don’t feel any pressure, really,” Malcom said. “It’s not just me--we have more than one running back, so it’s not me carrying the whole load.

“I feel as long as everyone does their job, we should be as good or better than last year.”

But Malcom, like Sargent, is eager to fill the void left by Foster, who’s at UCLA.

“I’m looking forward to getting the ball and showing what I can do with it,” he said. “I think a lot of people think because DeShaun is gone, we’re not going to be that good. I’m more excited for people to see how good we are this year.

“I think we can be better than last year.”

Each is aware of one other thing too: They can win the section title that Foster didn’t.

Finding the Best Athlete

No one expects Laguna Hills to be better than last year. The Hawks won the Division VIII title behind Jones, the county’s all-time leading rusher (7,190 yards). Jones, who has moved on to Idaho State (but will miss this season as a Proposition 48 candidate) is being replaced by Ryan Johnson.

Johnson has never played tailback.

First-year head Coach Bruce Ingalls, the defensive coordinator the last 12 years, decided to replace last year’s best athlete with this year’s best athlete, arguably the league’s best player.

Johnson (6-2, 205) was one of two starting tight ends last season.

“He’s ready to step up to the plate as the successor to Michael Jones,” Ingalls said. “He’s one phenomenal athlete. . . . The difference in the two is that Michael has carried the ball since he put pads on.”

The one prevailing similarity though, is the speed. If Johnson can get into the secondary--and that’s a question--he has the tools to finish in the end zone.

“I don’t feel any pressure to fill Mike’s shoes,” Johnson said. “He was so great. That would be like my wildest dreams, doing some of the things he accomplished.”

Johnson, the Pacific Coast League’s most valuable player and a Times all-county player in soccer, probably will play college baseball. He was a second-team PCL tight end last season. He won’t shirk from an athletic challenge.

In fact, he wanted this job.

“I wanted to play running back because I knew that Mike was gone,” Johnson said. “When they confronted me, I was real excited.”

Still, it provides some awkward moments, like when he’s asked what type of runner he is, and he can’t give a definitive answer: “I’m not sure if I’m a slasher or a bulldozer. Hopefully, a combination of both of those.”

Ingalls and former coach Steve Bresnahan agreed Johnson was the choice to move to the backfield in this transition season. The Hawks are rebuilding, and are moving from a run-oriented offense to one of greater balance.

But Johnson says he doesn’t feel the specter of Jones looming over his locker.

“We have only three guys back from last season,” Johnson said. “What’s done is done.”