PREP FOOTBALL ’99 : SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

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 South Coast League schools:

Bret Johnson

El Toro, 1986-87

The Charger quarterback was a two-time county back of the year, no small feat considering he was playing in the same league with Todd Marinovich, a national record-setter for passing yardage. Johnson was unbeaten as a starter in leading El Toro to back-to-back Southern Section Big Five championships while passing for 35 touchdowns.

Tim Manning

Trabuco Hills, 1988-89

Manning, the 1989 county back of the year, did it all in leading the Mustangs to two Southern Section Division VIII championships. He intercepted 24 passes in his career, caught 10 touchdown passes as a junior and passed for 17 touchdowns as a senior.

1998 IN REVIEW

The League Race: Mater Dei capped its seven-year stay in the South Coast League with its seventh championship. The Monarchs rolled through their league schedule without allowing an opponent to come closer than 17 points. That was in the season finale, a 38-21 victory over runner-up Trabuco Hills.

Game of the Year: San Clemente rallied for 16 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 26-26 tie with Trabuco Hills in the eighth week. The Tritons tied the score on Andy Coviello’s two-point conversion pass to Chris McCormack with 7:39 to play. The teams finished in a tie for second place.

Play of the Year: Jason Kim’s 55-yard run off a fake punt turned the tide in San Clemente’s come-from-behind victory over Mission Viejo in the ninth week. The Tritons trailed, 21-9, late in the third quarter, when Kim’s run to the Mission Viejo three-yard line set up James Allen’s touchdown run. San Clemente marched 80 yards on its next possession to pull out a 24-21 victory.

The MVP: Matt Grootegoed, the Mater Dei back who led the Monarchs in both rushing and tackles.

Playoff performance: Mater Dei easily advanced to the Division I championship game, routing Los Alamitos, 33-6, in a semifinal. The Monarchs then upset defending champion Long Beach Poly, 33-26, behind Grootegoed’s 244-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance. It was Mater Dei’s eighth section championship and its fourth in the ‘90s. Trabuco Hills knocked off Esperanza in the first round before being eliminated by La Puente Bishop Amat.

League

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Standings W L T Mater Dei 5 0 0 San Clemente 3 1 1 Trabuco Hills 3 1 1 Dana Hills 2 3 0 Mission Viejo 1 4 0 Capistrano Valley 0 5 0

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Overall

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Standings W L T TP PA Mater Dei 13 1 0 439 206 San Clemente 6 4 1 309 215 Trabuco Hills 9 2 1 293 192 Dana Hills 4 6 0 208 279 Mission Viejo 5 5 0 206 207 Capistrano Valley 3 7 0 163 305

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Leaders

Statistics include regular-season games only

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PASSING Att Cp TD Yds Lukash, Mater Dei 165 113 26 1,907 Hudgins, Mission Viejo 110 54 7 1,002 Walker, Dana Hills 115 55 8 892 Coviello, San Clemente 115 62 7 843 RUSHING Att Yds Avg TDs Gandall, Trabuco Hills 241 1,393 5.5 9 Bowling, Mission Viejo 180 971 5.1 12 McCormack, SClemente 102 916 9.0 13 Allen, San Clemente 114 756 6.6 8 RECEIVING Att Yds Avg TDs Millhouse, Mater Dei 42 949 22.7 15 McCormick, San Clemente 39 505 13.0 4 Aguilar, Mater Dei 29 360 12.2 1 Gallups, Dana Hills 24 454 18.9 5 SCORING TD FG XP TP McCormack, San Clemente 17 0 4 106 Millhouse, Mater Dei 15 0 0 90 Bowling, Mission Viejo 12 0 0 72 Heaney, Trabuco Hills 10 2 6 72

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