Football Players Get Transferential Treatment

Football practice begins today and a number of players are wearing new uniforms.

In fact, transfers this season substantially dot the county horizon.

“I think you will see [more] transfers because parents want to give their kids the opportunity to play with the best,” said Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson. “I won’t judge if it’s right or wrong; I don’t have a solution.”

Here are some interesting ones:

David Doomey, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior wide receiver and defensive back who was an All-Sea View League pick at Irvine in 1998, and Jimmy Herzog, a 5-10, 185-pound senior running back who was an All-Pacific League selection last year at Costa Mesa, join former Bishop Amat quarterback Chris Rix, a senior, as key transfers at Santa Margarita, according to a team spokesman.

Tommy Cullinan, a 6-4, 225-pound All-South Coast League senior tight end from Dana Hills, and junior Billy Hart, a 6-2, 190-pound quarterback from Foothill, intend to play at Mission Viejo this season, according to Diablo Coach Bob Johnson. Johnson indicated both could be impact players in the South Coast League.

First-year Los Amigos Coach David Olson said the Lobos can be a Garden Grove League contender. One reason, he believes, is 6-2, 240-pound junior fullback/defensive end Tui Soifua, a transfer from Hawaii. Olson says that Soifua could be the top newcomer in the county.

Estancia Coach Dave Perkins lists senior running back/defensive back Marshall Hendricks, formerly of Edison, as having all-county potential.

And at 6-3, sophomore Brian Gaeta is one of the county’s top underclassman volleyball players, but he will try to earn a spot at quarterback on the Newport Harbor football team after playing at Edison last year.

NOT JUST FOOTBALL

Transfer mania isn’t confined to football. August is the month when the basketball rumor mill runs wild.

“It’s nuts,” said Villa Park boys’ basketball Coach Kevin Reynolds. “Every year at this time it gets out of hand. There are no boundaries anymore.”

Reynolds said that Tony Bryant, a 6-3 junior point guard, has enrolled at Villa Park. Bryant, who finished the last two weeks of summer camp with the Spartans, played on the junior varsity at Marina last season, but Reynolds says he could earn a starting role at Villa Park.

Roger Hogan, a two-time All-Century League guard who as a junior helped lead Canyon to the Century League title, is transferring to Servite, according to his father, Roger Hogan Sr.

Hogan Jr. averaged 17.5 points for the Comanches. An older brother, Stephen, graduated from Servite in 1997 and a younger brother, Kyle, will be a freshman at Servite this fall.

Steve Henderson, a reserve swingman at Mater Dei, plans to transfer to Edison after playing for the Chargers this summer, according to Edison Coach Corey Kelly. The senior joins three returning starters at Edison.

“He’s definitely a plus for us,” Kelly said. “He will bring the ball up sometimes. He’ll play in the post. He’ll do a little bit of everything.”

Henderson is also expected to play baseball.

Incoming freshman Trevante Nelson, a 5-10 guard, said earlier this month that he expects to enroll at Fontana after spending the summer fighting for playing time at Mater Dei.

“Nowadays, no one has patience,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “Everyone wants to start as a freshman.”

Nelson played for the Southern California All-Star team that won the AAU national championship in Orlando, Fla., in July. Two of his highly touted AAU teammates, Trayvon Williams and Westley Washington, also intend to play at Fontana, and Nelson has been quoted as saying that he feels Fontana can be a title contender with the trio intact.

Ocean View Coach Jim Harris said he expects 6-3 guard Marcus Crane, who was a sophomore at perennial power Lakewood Artesia last season, to transfer to Ocean View. Crane played with the Seahawks during the summer.

CLOSING POINTS

Courtney Young, a sophomore All-American basketball player at Santa Monica Crossroads last season, had considered transferring to Brea Olinda or Marina over the summer, but instead decided on Ventura Buena, a perennial Southern Section title contender, earlier this month. . . . Erin Droeger, the starting center-midfielder for the Ocean View girls’ soccer team, said she intends to transfer to Marina. Droeger will be a sophomore.

Staff writer Dave Desmond contributed to this story.