PREP FOOTBALL ’99 : SEA VIEW 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 Sea View League schools:

Grant Gelker

Newport Harbor, 1969-70

The 6-foot, 210-pound Gelker was chosen as a junior on the first-team defensive line, then was an offensive line selection as a senior in helping the Sailors to a Sunset League title.

Bob Hamelin

Irvine, 1985

Hamelin was an outstanding pass rusher and the South Coast League defensive player of the year, but gained greater fame as a baseball player. He was American League rookie of the year in 1994 with Kansas City.

Michael Jones

Laguna Hills, 1996

Jones had the second of his three seasons with more than 2,000 yards rushing and made his only appearance on the first team. He finished his career with 7,190 yards rushing.

1998 IN REVIEW

The League Race: The Woodbridge-Irvine game in the sixth week didn’t seem likely to settle the championship, particularly after the two teams played to a tie. But each then swept the rest of its league schedule, including upsets of defending champion Santa Margarita, to share the title.

Game of the Year: Trailing by eight points in the fourth quarter, Woodbridge rallied to tie Irvine on Scott Barlow’s 12-yard pass to Zach Foster and a pass for a two-point conversion. The Warriors then took the lead on Steve Terwiske’s 26-yard field goal with 3:16 to play, but Irvine came back to earn a 17-17 tie, driving 56 yards to set up David Ignash’s 32-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining.

Play of the Year: Eric Jenson’s interception late in the fourth quarter blunted a Santa Margarita drive and set up Terwiske’s clinching field goal in Woodbridge’s 20-12 victory during the 10th week, giving the Warriors a share of the title.

The MVP: Sean Van de Merghel, the Irvine quarterback who spread his 18 touchdown passes among eight receivers, was the league’s offensive MVP. Woodbridge’s Rael Berkowitz, who had 11 sacks and three fumble recoveries, was selected on defense.

Playoff performance: The league produced a section champion for the seventh consecutive season with perhaps its most dominant performance: nine of the 15 Division VI playoff games were won by a Sea View League team. Santa Margarita avenged an earlier loss to Irvine with a 17-0 victory in the semifinals before losing the championship game to Woodbridge, 27-24, on Terwiske’s 37-yard field goal on the last play of the game.

League

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Standings W L T Irvine 4 0 1 Woodbridge 4 0 1 Santa Margarita 3 2 0 Corona del Mar 2 3 0 Newport Harbor 1 4 0 El Toro 0 5 0

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Overall

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Standings W L T TP PA Irvine 10 2 1 359 213 Woodbridge 13 0 1 382 137 Santa Margarita 10 4 0 334 276 Corona del Mar 6 5 0 246 201 Newport Harbor 6 4 0 288 145 El Toro 2 8 0 172 239

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Leaders

Statistics include regular-season games only

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PASSING Att Cp TD Yds Barlow, Woodbridge 173 105 16 1,545 Van de Merghel, Irvine 163 98 18 1,494 Orlando, Santa Margarita 164 96 12 1,463 Gorman, Newport Harbor 189 102 18 1,366 RUSHING Att Yds Avg TDs Peredia, Newport Harbor 225 1,109 5.1 14 Switzer, El Toro 167 1,084 6.8 13 Lemmerman, CdM 180 924 5.1 5 Doomey, Irvine 143 881 6.4 10 RECEIVING Att Yds Avg TDs O’Gorman, SMargarita 45 806 19.1 7 Garcia, Newport Harbor 38 462 12.2 10 Little, Irvine 31 580 18.6 6 Lightner, El Toro 30 237 7.8 1 SCORING TD FG XP TP Peredia, Newport Harbor 15 0 2 92 Switzer, El Toro 14 0 2 86 Garcia, Newport Harbor 10 0 2 62 Doomey, Irvine 10 0 0 60

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