Quezada, Orta Have Displayed All-Star Attitude

Everybody on a summer all-star roster makes sacrifices.

Jobs, girlfriends, vacations, parties--it all takes a back seat to practice, often in high temperatures.

But few face the obstacles Brian Orta and Rolando Quezada of Moorpark High have overcome to play for the East in the Ventura County All-Star football game.

Orta, a kicker and punter, was in an auto accident about three weeks ago and is undergoing therapy for neck and back injuries. He also had a concussion.

Yet he has missed only one practice and will suit up tonight.

Quezada, a 5-foot-10, 230-pound lineman, has asthma and nearly collapsed at one of the East’s first practices.

“We had to pull him out because he wouldn’t come out on his own,” Coach Dick Billingsley of Oak Park said. “He goes as hard as he can on every play.

“Coaches always teach going hard until the whistle blows, but Quezada absolutely does it on every play.”

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West practices have been anything but hum-drum. Mike Kohr sings and teammates hum along.

The lineman from Camarillo has broken into “Amazing Grace” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” during drills.

“It’s funny because he really can sing,” Coach Larry Miller of Hueneme said. “We say give us a tune and he does.”

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The battle of the all-star games should have been avoided.

Both scheduled for tonight, the Ventura County and Valley games were supposed to be on different days.

“It was a mix-up,” Billingsley said. “We told the Valley people our game was on June 10, and later the person taking those notes saw the date and believed it meant that day was clear.”

Players from the East end of Ventura County are affected because they could have played in the Valley game.

The Ventura County Coaches Assn. voted to have all players participate in the Ventura County game.