VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Valencia Expects Big Year by Sapp

Everyone knows the game plan for Valencia High’s football team: Manuel White left. Manuel White right. Manuel White up the middle.

But considering the size of quarterback Zack Sapp, a 5-foot-7, 150-pound junior, Valencia might see more eight-man defensive fronts than any team in the region.

“I think we will and we’re counting on that,” Coach Brian Stiman said. “In fact, we’re looking forward to seeing some eight-man fronts.

“It’s like Hart. Everybody knows they’re going to pass the ball, but you still have to stop it.”

Don’t be misled by Sapp’s size, Stiman warns. The quarterback is a fiery competitor with an accurate arm and quick feet.

“I actually feel really good about our passing game,” Stiman said.

Whether Stiman is bluffing remains to be seen.

But he isn’t the only one in Sapp’s corner.

“I’m confident and Manuel’s confident that he’s our quarterback and he’s the leader of the offense,” said UCLA-bound Ray Cassaday, Valencia’s fullback and inside linebacker.

“He’s an accurate thrower and he puts it there with zip. When he sets up, he can fire it.”

Cassaday has been a Sapp fan since last season, when he played alongside the fireplug at linebacker in all 13 games.

“He’s just a good, hard-nosed player,” Cassaday said.

White acknowledges he had doubts about Sapp in the spring, but he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw during the summer.

“I feel really comfortable with him back there,” White said. “He has heart, the heart of a lion, you could say.”