Paloma’s Record Goes From 0-2 to 2-0

Paloma Valley High in Menifee opened the football season by giving up 90 points and turning the ball over 14 times in two losses, but when the Wildcats kick off tonight at La Quinta, they’ll have a 2-0 record because of paperwork problems at Hacienda Heights Los Altos and Corona Santiago.

Los Altos failed to forward paperwork last spring on transfer students and reported the oversight after a season-opening 42-21 victory.

Santiago hadn’t turned in paperwork for a 14-year-old sophomore--who needs permission from a parent, a form signed by a doctor and an evaluation from a coach that he’s ready for varsity competition--until this week. Santiago had beaten Garden Grove Santiago, 49-0, and Paloma Valley, 48-15.

“That’s never happened to me before in more than 25 years of coaching,” said Craig Lind, Paloma Valley’s fifth-year coach. “Two forfeit [wins] ... I don’t know what to make of that. It doesn’t make us any better.”

Dan Loumena

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Owen Hanson, a senior at Los Alamitos, qualified for the ReMax Long Drive Championships by launching a 337-yard drive in qualifying Sunday at Haines City, Fla.

Hanson, who played sparingly as the No. 8 golfer for Los Alamitos last year, will compete in the long drive finals Oct. 16-19 in Mesquite, Nev.

“If he could tighten up the rest of his game, he’d be something,” said Al Gragnano, who coached Hanson last season.

Peter Yoon