PREP FOOTBALL ’99 : GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE : FACTS AND FIGURES

A LITTLE HISTORY

With The Times All-Orange County football team marking its 40th anniversary this season, here is a selection of prominent all-county choices from Garden Grove League schools:

Mau Kalati

Los Amigos, 1970-71

Perhaps the county’s top defensive player of the ‘70s, Kalati was an outstanding tackler who had 42 unassisted tackles, 128 assisted tackles and eight sacks as a senior for a 4-5 team. The Lobo linebacker went on to play at San Diego State.

Ricky Lepule

Bolsa Grande, 1987

A member of a storied backfield, Lepule sparked the Matadors to a Southern Section championship as a junior in 1986, the only such title ever won by a Garden Grove League team. As a senior, he ran for 1,504 yards, teaming with Travin Lui and Damon Fisher for 3,959 yards rushing and leading Bolsa Grande to the county’s top ranking, before an upset loss to Saddleback in the second round ended their shot at a second consecutive section title.

1998 IN REVIEW

The League Race: In a watershed season in which four teams won seven or more games, Pacifica took charge early, winning its first five league games to clinch a tie for the championship. The Mariners defeated Los Amigos, 43-19, in a key game during the seventh week, but shared the championship with the Lobos after falling to Santiago, 28-14, in the final week.

Game of the Year: Knowing a victory over Rancho Alamitos in the 10th week would clinch a tie for the championship, Los Amigos quickly fell behind, 17-3, and still trailed after three quarters. Andrew Niumata’s 54-yard touchdown run gave the Lobos the lead for good, and they held on for a 33-31 victory.

Play of the Year: La Quinta’s Ben Fredrickson stripped Santiago’s James Thomas of the ball and defensive lineman Benny Soto returned it 20 yards with 1:24 to play during a matchup of unbeaten teams during the fourth week. Luis Saavedra’s run for a two-point conversion gave La Quinta an 8-7 victory.

The MVP: Niumata, the record-breaking Los Amigos running back, was the offensive MVP; his best effort was an eight-touchdown, 416-yard performance in a 71-46 victory over Bolsa Grande. Fredrickson was named the defensive MVP after anchoring the La Quinta line and helping the Aztecs to their best record in eight seasons.

Playoff performance: After its banner season, the Garden Grove League disappointed in the Division IX playoffs, with a 1-4 record. Pacifica posted the lone victory, 31-6, over San Dimas, before falling in the second round to Western.

League

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Standings W L T Pacifica 5 1 0 Los Amigos 5 1 0 La Quinta 4 2 0 Santiago 4 2 0 Rancho Alamitos 2 4 0 Garden Grove 1 5 0 Bolsa Grande 0 6 0

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Overall

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Standings W L T TP PA Pacifica 8 4 0 349 173 Los Amigos 7 4 0 315 277 La Quinta 8 3 0 256 170 Santiago 8 3 0 386 140 Rancho Alamitos 4 6 0 279 288 Garden Grove 3 7 0 77 312 Bolsa Grande 0 10 0 173 417

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Leaders

Statistics include regular-season games only

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PASSING Att Cp TD Yds Baughman, Bolsa Grande 311 150 18 2,301 Gonzalez, Rancho Alamitos 136 67 15 1,350 T. Huyhn, La Quinta 164 91 5 1,258 Crippen, Garden Grove 159 73 3 1,081 Pilkington, Santiago 117 62 12 995 RUSHING Att Yds Avg TDs Niumata, Los Amigos 203 2,042 10.1 31 J. Thomas, Santiago 228 1,704 7.7 26 Ha. Du. Nguyen, La Quinta 184 1,506 8.2 13 Faletoi, Los Amigos 73 621 7.5 6 RECEIVING Att Yds Avg TDs Jenks, Bolsa Grande 54 1,061 20.3 7 Simpson, Pacifica 52 715 14.3 6 Huynh, Bolsa Grande 44 496 11.2 6 Fredrickson, La Quinta 35 576 16.4 3 SCORING TD FG XP TP Niumata, Los Amigos 36 0 4 220 J. Thomas, Santiago 26 0 2 158 Bertelson, Rancho Alamitos 14 0 0 84 Weber, Pacifica 5 5 35 80

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