FACTS AND FIGURES / 1997 IN REVIEW

Calvary Chapel completed one of the biggest turnarounds in the county, going 7-3-1 after a winless 1996 season.

Much of the credit went to quarterback Dan Murrietta and running back Keith Short, who led the Eagles to a tie for third place in the Olympic League. Murrietta threw for 1,191 yards and eight touchdowns, and Short rushed for 1,583 yards and 23 touchdowns, both of which ranked among the top 10 in the county.

The Eagles didn’t lose in the first six games. The closest they came was in the third week of the season, when John Linzey kicked a 32-yard field goal with 3 minutes 13 seconds remaining in the game, tying Estancia, 22-22.

After losing consecutive games to Ontario Christian and Cerritos Valley Christian, Calvary Chapel produced its biggest upset of the season, a 24-23 victory over Orange Lutheran.

Although the loss forced Orange Lutheran to settle for the wild-card berth in the Division X playoffs, the Lancers were the only Olympic League team to survive the first round.

Orange Lutheran, which gained attention by going undefeated against five nonleague opponents that were in higher divisions, pounded Los Angeles Verbum Dei (35-7) and Santa Barbara Bishop Diego (35-6) in rounds 1 and 2. The Lancers were then defeated by Santa Monica St. Monica, 33-7, in the semifinals.

Capistrano Valley Christian had a losing record during its final season in the Victory League, while Southern California Christian gave up the 10th-highest point total in Southern Section history in an 82-0 loss to Redlands Arrowhead Christian in its final Christian League game. St. Margaret’s completed its final season in the Freedom League with a 44-12 loss to Lucerne Valley.

Standings

League

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OLYMPIC LEAGUE W L T Ontario Christian 4 1 0 Valley Christian 4 1 0 Calvary Chapel 3 2 0 Orange Lutheran 3 2 0 Brethren Christian 1 4 0 Whittier Christian 0 5 0

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Overall

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OLYMPIC LEAGUE W L T TP PA Ontario Christian 5 6 0 199 313 Valley Christian 5 6 0 235 240 Calvary Chapel 7 3 1 286 221 Orange Lutheran 9 3 1 365 230 Brethren Christian 3 7 0 163 191 Whittier Christian 4 6 0 220 225

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CHRISTIAN LEAGUE: Redlands Arrowhead Christian 5-0-0, 11-3-0; Temecula Linfield 4-1-0, 8-3-1; Anza Hamilton 3-2-0, 8-3-0; Western Christian 2-3-0, 5-5-0; Hesperia Christian 1-4-0, 1-8-0; Southern California Christian 0-5-0, 1-9-0.

FREEDOM LEAGUE: Lucerne Valley 5-0-0, 12-1-0; St. Margaret’s 3-2-0, 4-7-0; Riverside California School for the Deaf 3-2-0, 5-6-0; Downey Calvary Chapel 3-2-0, 6-4-0; Twin Pines 1-4-0, 4-5-0; Sherman Indian 0-5-0, 2-8-0.

VICTORY LEAGUE: Fontana Ambassador Christian 7-0-0, 9-1-0; Bloomington Christian 6-1-0, 9-3-0; L.A. Ribet Academy 5-2-0, 7-4-0; Capistrano Valley Christian 4-3-0, 4-6-0; Riverside Bethel Christian 3-4-0, 4-6-0; Heritage Christian 2-5-0, 3-6-0; Sherman Oaks Buckley 1-6-0, 1-8-0; La Verne Lutheran 0-7-0, 0-10-0.