A LITTLE HISTORY

1958--Orange County’s third oldest league, and the first to be created to handle the county’s growth of the 1950s, the Freeway League opened with five schools: Buena Park, La Habra, Orange, Rancho Alamitos and Western. Orange won its first league championship in 22 seasons by sweeping the competition.

1983--La Habra’s meeting with Sunny Hills in the Southern Section Central Conference championship game held great promise: Only six weeks before, La Habra had defeated the Lancers, 14-12, when Will Segovia passed for a touchdown with three seconds to play. The victory sent the Highlanders on to the Freeway League championship, but Sunny Hills turned the tables in the section final. Sparked by Mike Muras’ 165 yards and two touchdowns rushing, and aided by six La Habra turnovers, Sunny Hills won, 29-0, for its first section championship.

1999 IN REVIEW

After losing its first four games, La Habra won its next six, including all five of its Freeway League games. The Highlanders defeated Troy, 16-15, in Week 7, in what proved to be the decisive game, as Josh Herrera scored on a seven-yard run with less than five minutes to play to give La Habra the come-from-behind victory. . . . Herrera was named the league’s most valuable player, after rushing for 2,088 yards in 11 games and scoring 15 of the Highlanders’ 19 touchdowns in league play. . . . La Habra was surprised by Western, 27-7, in the first round of the Division IX playoffs. Troy defeated Savanna in the first round before falling to eventual champion La Verne Bonita in the quarterfinals.

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League Overall STANDINGS W L T W L T TP PA La Habra 5 0 0 6 5 0 270 246 Troy 4 1 0 9 3 0 331 229 Sonora 3 2 0 5 6 0 228 263 Buena Park 2 3 0 4 6 0 208 242 Fullerton 1 4 0 5 5 0 272 172 Sunny Hills 0 5 0 2 8 0 113 297

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Leaders

Statistics include regular season games only

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PASSING Att CP TD Yds Parker, Buena Park 288 122 17 2,118 Oliver, Troy 138 74 9 1,214 Echaves, Fullerton 168 81 11 1,119 Parra, La Habrady 116 36 8 613

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RUSHING Att Yds Avg TD Herrera, La Habra 289 1,910 6.6 23 Murray, Troy 271 1,680 6.2 23 Shepard, Sunny Hills 198 1,070 5.4 4 Lopez, Fullerton 144 805 5.6 9

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RECEIVING Rec Yds Avg TD Rivera, Buena Park 45 916 20.4 7 Flamenco, Buena Park 37 700 18.9 7 Ahlberg, Troy 33 507 15.4 4 Welch, Troy 22 500 22.7 3

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SCORING TD FG XP TP Herrera, La Habra 27 0 2 164 Murray, Troy 24 0 6 150 Ross, Sonora 8 4 20 80 Lopez, Fullerton 10 0 4 64

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NOTEBOOK

Why in these label-sensitive times is Fullerton’s nickname still the Indians? “It’s been the Indians for over 100 years and some guys would probably chase us down and bury us if we ever changed it,” said Coach Julian Smilowitz, who is 50% Apache. “Being a Native American myself, I don’t have a problem with it if it’s shown in a proper way and not made fun of. There has been talk about changing it, but that comes at the district level, not us.” . . . Long-time Orange County prep coach legend Dick Hill brings his 40 years of coaching experience to the Fullerton staff this season. . . . Fullerton junior varsity player Alan Valdiserri is a world-class Frisbee golf champion. . . . For the 22nd consecutive year, Fullerton faces Anaheim in a season opener. . . . La Habra will run a version of the 4-3 defense made famous by Jimmy Johnson at the University of Miami. . . . Frank Saiz is Buena Park’s new head coach, replacing brother, Manny (16-27 with the Coyotes), who accepted a position at Diamond Bar High. . . . Troy’s record-setting quarterback Jordan Oliver spent some time in Costa Rica over the summer, surfing. . . . Two-time all-league and one-time All-Southern Section selection Nick Ross returns to Sonora at quarterback. Ross spent part of the summer at a camp near the Notre Dame campus. . . . Sonora fullback and defensive end Eric Davis brings a 4.65 GPA into this school year.