One-Track Mind

Kennedy High’s sleek, rapid-transit people mover derailed Sylmar’s old-school steamer last season, bringing the Spartans’ decade-long, 69-game league winning streak to a sparks-flying halt.

Sylmar got back on track after the 21-20 loss and met the Cougars again in the playoffs. But by that time Kennedy was moving at warp speed. There’s no stopping progress and the Cougars had perfected a multi-look, multi-direction offense for the new millennium: Kennedy 69, Sylmar 33.

“When they took away that streak, it was awful,” said linebacker Josh Martin of Sylmar. “Then they came to our field and beat us in the playoffs and took away our dream of making it to the City final.

“That was even worse.”

Sylmar retreated to the drawing board and emerged this season with a more modern mode of transportation. For the first time under Coach Jeff Engilman, the Spartans pass nearly 20 times a game.

Result: A 6-0 record. An average of nearly 40 points a game.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel. But, wait, the light is Kennedy, coming hard from the other direction.

The Cougars, 5-0-1 and averaging 44 points, are glowing from developing even more ingenious ways to reach the end zone.

Tonight in front of a raucous home crowd, Sylmar finds itself on another collision course. All aboard!

“Our offense is so much more complicated than last year,” Sylmar quarterback John Valdez said. “Our offensive coordinator, Dan Kelley, does a great job. We run routes all over the place.

“We’ll have some surprises for Kennedy. This game is for our pride. It’s everything.”

Or, it’s just another game. One that will give the winner a boost in the Valley Mission League race, but just another game.

Ho hum. Kennedy is stifling a yawn.

“We’re just taking it as the big game for the league title,” receiver Efren Lopez said. “We’re excited, but we don’t have the revenge [motive]. We’re gonna have fun at Sylmar.”

After Kennedy’s first victory, the Spartans said a strong wind that played havoc with their kicking game was the difference. The air was quiet during the second game, and afterward, so was Sylmar.

This time, all of Sylmar’s huffing and puffing in preparation might make the wind a factor again. Engilman gave his players a choice Monday of practicing in shorts or full pads. They opted for a four-hour hit-a-thon.

“The bus ride home was terrible after our streak broke,” defensive back Felipe Samano said. “It was very emotional. We let all the alumni down. Then in the second game, we lost momentum.

“It was like getting punched in the mouth twice. Both of them hurt. That’s why this game is so important.”

Kennedy has a little trouble relating. But the Cougars try.

“If I was in their shoes, yeah, I’d be out for revenge,” said Robert Avina, a four-year starter at linebacker. “It’s going to be a hostile environment.”

Visiting teams at Sylmar are kept in a small room near the home stands before games. To reach the field, they must walk a concrete ramp that runs along the edge of the stands.

“Their fans shout at you from the back of the bleachers, they make references to yourself and your family,” Kennedy Coach Bob Francola said. “Their alumni are flashing championship rings. These 30-year-old guys are screaming at you.

“But they aren’t on the field and the kids have to understand that.”

Sylmar employed another intimidation tactic before the playoff game. During pregame warmups, linebacker Mark Sutton approached Kennedy players with a toy Cougar, swung it around and ripped it to shreds.

Ho hum. Kennedy stifled a yawn.

“We certainly weren’t going to let the assassination of a little rag doll have a bearing on the game,” Francola said.

The tactic worked against San Fernando a week earlier--Sutton ripped a toy Tiger--setting the tone for Sylmar’s 31-6 victory. But don’t expect anything like that tonight. The surprise element is gone and Sutton transferred.

Anyway, there’s no reason to wake the Cougars by toying with them during warmups. The emotional edge would seem to favor Sylmar.

“69-33 is a hell of a message,” Engilman said. “I still remember it, I’ll tell you that.”

*

Getting little sleep this week are defensive coordinators London Woodfin of Sylmar and Dion Lambert of Kennedy. They are resigned to devising game plans to slow, not stop, the opposition.

Woodfin and Lambert were teammates at UCLA in 1991 and remain friends. For years, the Sylmar and Kennedy coaching staffs would socialize at off-season coaching clinics.

Last season soured the mood. At a clinic in Las Vegas after the season, Engilman, Woodfin and Kelley nodded politely to the Kennedy coaches but contact ended there.

Of course, there will be plenty of contact tonight, beginning with the opening kickoff. The keys:

* Complex Kennedy. “I’d say they run 20 different formations,” Engilman said. Sylmar sat back in a soft zone last year and got picked apart. Expect a mix of man-to-man and zone coverage, along with blitzes from the outside. Kennedy makes it difficult to blitz the middle because its lineman line up toe-to-toe.

* Air Sylmar. “They are a whole different team offensively,” Francola said. “They have more balance than a typical Sylmar team and have more speed.”

* Sideline emotion. These are the most demonstrative and vocal coaching staffs among area City teams. Their players take the cue. Sylmar is vulnerable to fatigue because nine starters go both ways. Only Avina is a two-way starter for Kennedy.

* Payback. Avenging last year’s losses is powerful incentive.

Said Valdez, the Sylmar quarterback: “They embarrassed us on our field last year. We have to get back at them for that. It means so much to us.”

Said Lopez, the Kennedy receiver: “ I just can’t wait to play.”

MATCHUP

KENNEDY

vs. SYLMAR

Tonight, 7

Sylmar High

GAME DAY

Birmingham High (6-0) can silence its critics with a strong showing against Taft tonight. Page 17