VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW : Pierce Trying to Bag Its Losing Ways : Behind new Coach David Banuelos and an influx of players, the Brahmas are prepped for a turnaround.

Paper or plastic.

That should have been the offer made the last few years to Pierce College football fans entering the stadium.

As in what to throw over their heads.

For most of the 1990s, the Brahmas have been a laughingstock. They have a 4-46 record the last five seasons and in October snapped a 31-game losing streak, the longest in the state.

Then they promptly started a six-game skid and wrapped up a 1-9 season, 0-6 in Western State Conference play, with only 26 players.

The Brahmas were a football funeral procession.

But there’s new hope and enthusiasm at Pierce these days, preached and practiced by first-year Coach David Banuelos, an energetic former Moorpark College assistant.

Banuelos, 29, was hired in February to replace Bill Norton, who resigned after eight seasons. Norton is now an assistant at Antelope Valley College.

“If we win some games, we can turn this program around quickly,” Banuelos said.

The top priority for Banuelos was recruiting. Pierce’s track record and proximity to other junior colleges with steadier programs and better facilities didn’t make it easy, but he’s happy with the results.

At one point, Pierce had 83 players in camp, but Banuelos weeded out the pretenders and pared down the roster to about 65.

“We actually ran out of gear,” Banuelos said. “We had to turn guys away.”

Those who made the cut include linebacker Tyler Brennan, an All-WSC Northern Division second-team selection, and freshman wide receiver Damon Coleman, like Brennan a former Taft High standout, who sat out last season at Eastern Arizona.

Banuelos also expects significant contributions from freshman quarterback Jamaal Washington, freshman linebacker Eric Harris and wide receiver Aaron Lewis, a transfer from Moorpark.

Washington passed for 854 yards and six touchdowns at Reseda in 1996, the last year he played football.

Harris, from Chatsworth, was a Times’ All-Valley second-team selection.

“We’ve got a good group,” Banuelos said. “Recruiting wasn’t so bad. We let people know they were going to get an opportunity [to play] right away.

“Kids don’t always go for [fancier] facilities. They go where they think they can play.”

Banuelos hopes this bunch can play. He’ll get his first look Saturday when the Brahmas play at San Diego Mesa.

“There’s optimism,” Banuelos said. “There are positive vibes.”