Esperanza Fans Go the Distance
Now here’s dedication to a team.
A group of eight Esperanza parents piled into a sport utility vehicle and made the 1 1/2-hour trek to Bloomington.
“We did it so we could take the Fasttrak,” said Karen Johnston, one of the boosters. “It was the first time any of us had taken it. It was pretty cool zooming by all those people on the 91.”
Zooming too fast, apparently.
Thinking the game was a 7 p.m. start instead of the actual 7:30, they arrived nearly an hour before kickoff.
No problem. The group, which included Johnston, Vicki Depsky, Jan Parks, Cathy Dyla and their husbands, camped in the parking lot and tailgated high school style.
The group brought sandwiches, butter toffee peanuts, hot tamale candies and bottled water.
Don’t recognize any of the last names as Esperanza players? Check elsewhere in the program.
All are parents of Aztec cheerleaders.
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Jason Whieldon couldn’t praise his Orange Lutheran defense enough after it shut down Woodbridge running back Shane Harris and helped the 10th-ranked Lancers upset the fourth-ranked Warriors, 20-17, Thursday night.
“They showed a lot of character,” said Whieldon, the Lancers’ quarterback. “Our defense doesn’t get enough credit. Holding the No. 4 team in Orange County to 17 points is an accomplishment.”
More impressive was holding Harris to 104 yards in 21 carries. The one time Harris broke free--for 48 yards on his 20th carry--it didn’t hurt the Lancers because they recovered a fumble on the next play at the two-yard line.
Orange Lutheran forced three Woodbridge turnovers (one an interception by Scott Ausmus), and made the most of its two quarterback sacks, the last by Mark Staake in the final minute for a seven-yard loss. Ethan Williams, who recovered the goal-line fumble, also knocked away a pass at the goal line in the second quarter that forced Woodbridge to kick a field goal.
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After the game, Whieldon sought out Woodbridge Coach Rick Gibson and said, “I have so much respect for you.”
Whieldon later expanded on his thought: “I have so much respect for their team, which had the biggest losing streak in the county [a 25-game winless streak going into 1997] and came back like that [to win a section title in 1998]. I have more respect for them than any team in the county.”
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Huntington Beach lineman Jordan Connolly was back in the lineup Friday. Connolly, one of the Oilers’ best two-way players, missed last week’s game because of a spider bite.
According to Oiler Coach Tony Ciarelli, Connolly also missed two games last year. The reason? A spider bite.
The Oilers have had five players miss games this season, only two for football-related injuries. The most serious? Carlos Adame, who had just won the starting fullback position, was lost for the season this week after suffering a whiplash-type injury in a car accident. He was hit from behind by another car--driven by another football player.
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At halftime of Thursday’s Los Alamitos-Kennedy football game at Long Beach Veterans Stadium, the PA announcer invited all Los Alamitos graduates to attend the school’s upcoming homecoming festivities.
“And we hope to see Mitch Olson, Class of 1978, at the party,” the announcer said.
Olson, Kennedy’s football coach, was one of the best running backs in Los Alamitos’ football history. He still holds the school records for single-game rushing yardage (280), career rushing yardage (2,474) and career rushing touchdowns (27).
It’s doubtful Olson heard the invitation. He was in the locker room, getting his Fighting Irish team ready for the second half of the game eventually won by top-ranked Los Alamitos, 13-7.