A LITTLE HISTORY
1920--Orange County’s oldest league began play with a small roster. Only four schools were members in the inaugural season: Anaheim, Fullerton, Orange and Santa Ana. But competition got off to a memorable start as Fullerton and Santa Ana both went unbeaten, tying, 7-7. In that era, ties for league position were played off, and Fullerton won the rematch, 10-0, to claim the first title.
1987--After more than 40 years largely spent in the second division of the Orange League, Valencia finally broke through in the 1980s under Coach Mike Marrujo as the league’s dominant team. But it wasn’t until after the Tigers had won their fifth consecutive league championship that they were able to break through on the section level. Valencia won an all-Orange League final in the Central Conference, a 13-0 decision over Anaheim.
1999 IN REVIEW
A banner season for the Orange League culminated in a Week 10 showdown for the championship. However, the anticipation exceeded the event: Brea Olinda capped an unbeaten regular season with a 41-7 victory over Valencia. The Wildcats had only a 21-21 tie with Western keeping them from a perfect record. . . . Kenny Washington, who led the league in rushing and scoring for Brea and gained 2,132 yards in 14 games, was named the league’s most valuable player. . . . Anaheim ended a 24-game losing streak by defeating Estancia, 21-12, but went winless in league. . . . Four Orange League teams advanced to the Division IX playoffs, with Brea taking a four-point lead into halftime of the championship game before falling to La Verne Bonita, 24-14. Western, a wild-card selection, advanced to the semifinals before falling to Brea Olinda, but not before the game had to be postponed a day when the game officials failed to show up.
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League Overall STANDINGS W L T W L T TP PA Brea Olinda 4 0 1 12 1 1 490 179 Valencia 4 1 0 9 3 0 321 141 Savanna 3 2 0 5 6 0 235 226 Western 2 2 1 7 5 1 432 294 Magnolia 1 4 0 2 8 0 93 362 Anaheim 0 5 0 1 9 0 95 290
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Leaders
Statistics include regular season games only
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PASSING Att CP TD Yds Br. Bartczak, Valencia 194 107 18 1,629 Hicks, Western 102 47 14 1,061 Thompson, Savanna 158 74 4 1,057 Moye, Magnolia 143 72 2 885
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RUSHING Att Yds Avg TD Washington, Brea Olinda 147 1,485 10.1 20 Parker, Valencia 203 912 4.5 6 Lopez, Anaheim 178 907 5.1 3 Jimmerson, Savanna 160 823 5.1 12
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RECEIVING Rec Yds Avg TD Martin, Magnolia 49 669 13.7 1 Alvarez-Mena, Valencia 47 762 16.2 85 Torres, Savanna 38 609 16.0 4 Lopez, Valencia 21 340 16.2 4 Jimenez, Anaheim 21 215 10.2 2
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SCORING TD FG XP TP Washington, Brea Olinda 22 0 0 132 Jimmerson, Savanna 12 0 0 72 Mora, Valencia 10 0 0 60 Alvarez-Mena, Valencia 9 0 2 56 Gober, Western 9 0 2 56
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NOTEBOOK
The Orange League will have an interesting mix of old versus new this season. Of the seven large-school teams in Orange County that hired new coaches this year, three are in the Orange League. . . . Mike Marrujo is starting his 20th season at Valencia, one of four schools in the county that hasn’t had to replace a head football coach in that span. Only Saddleback’s Jerry Witte (27 years), Pacifica’s Bill Craven (24 years) and Los Alamitos’ John Barnes (21 years) have held their posts longer. . . . George Dena had every intention of retiring after spending last season as offensive coordinator at Brea. But when Ben Haley took the job at Anaheim earlier this year, Dena couldn’t pass up the chance to take the same position at his alma mater. The Colonists open league play at Brea on Oct. 13. . . . Last season at Santiago, Haley had the legendary Dick Hill at his side. But Hill, the county’s all-time winningest coach with 212 victories, didn’t follow Haley to Anaheim, instead opting to coach at Fullerton.